I hate when I’m trying to send a funny video to a friend and I get the friendly reminder that “this file’s too large to upload.” And then I think of the hassle it is to upload to sites like Dropbox, and the whole video-sending plan is abandoned. If only there was a way to send files of any size and type in seconds. Oh, yes. Hello, Minbox.
We caught up with co-founder Alexander Mimran to talk inspiration, measuring success and what he would be doing if the Internet didn’t exist.
Tell us a little more about your background and the inspiration for Minbox
Minbox was previously a smart email client for iOS. We had a lot of great features, one of them was unlimited file attachment support. Our users (some of which were photographers) loved that one specific feature so we decided to narrow our focus and build a reduced version of our original product, but as a Mac app. It allowed us to shed a lot of product weight, move faster, and put our energy towards something that solves an immediate and pervasive pain point. However, our messaging DNA is still visible in the product, as you can see.
How do you plan to market Minbox in a way that will convince users it’s different from Dropbox?
The cloud-storage space is focused on ‘backup’ and ‘sync’, but a large component is neglected… that’s ‘send’. We all send files on a daily basis and believe there are still too many pain points associated with the process—we’re focused on easing that pain.
What has been your biggest pre-launch challenge and how have you overcome it?
Building something people love isn’t easy! Minbox is used and loved daily by thousands of people and that has been a great (necessary) achievement along the way.
What is your vision for Minbox in the next year? What is your measure for success?
We hope to own the ‘send’ mindspace and capture an important part of the cloud-storage market. Delivery (esp for creative professionals) is in desperate need of disruption.
What would you do if the Internet didn’t exist?
What would anyone do! We’d probably be making Tarantino-esque indie movies. Either that or we’d be a kick-ass electro-rock band… pre-iTunes!
Best business advice you’ve ever received?
“Rap is something you do, Hip Hop is something you live.” – KRS One
Nice! Thanks, Alexander. If you guys want to send huge files faster than it takes to blink, you need to download Minbox. “Any file size. Any file type. As many as you want… Srsly.”
