Need more reason to convince you the subscription takeover is here? We found two. Today, we meet the newest members of the subscription club, drop the details on our LIVE launch event, and hear some weekend wisdom from Chief Instigator Dan Martell. 

Today's Top Subscription News

Chargebee Raises Millions

Chargebee revealed on Wednesday it has raised $14 million in a Series D round led by Steadview Capital. This sum brings the California-based provider of subscription management and billing tech total funds raised to date $38.2 million PLUS an additional $18 million Series C from March 2018.

"Enterprises and rising startups recognize the value of subscription businesses. Unlike transactional revenue models, subscriptions require companies to evaluate longer-term metrics and redefine KPIs for success," Chargebee's CEO, Krish Subramanian, told VentureBeat. "This new investment will [enable us] to build an end-to-end solution that provides revenue operations teams with deeper insight into their core business metrics."

New Email Startup Swoops In

While Slack is doing the most to kill conventional email, a new email startup is on the rise. 

It's called Consider, backed by Kleiner Perkins. TechCrunch reported that Consider is trying to make corporate email look more like Slack by balancing some premium individual features with collaboration tools.

The startup says it's not trying to steal Slack's thunder, but wants people to use email in a more collaborative way. 

Consider is charging $10 per month and isn't discouraging individual users curious for a new inbox experience. 

PYOP 

Publish your own podcast. A potential new Spotify feature has been uncovered by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong. Engadget reported this feature will allow you to publish your own podcast in the Spotify app.

Wong reverse-engineers apps to discover feature previews, which is how she found the 'create podcast' button on Spotify. It appears as though anyone will be able to record, edit, and publish a podcast from their phone using the Anchor app, then upload it to Spotify.

Anchor was recently acquired by Spotify. Per a tweet by Wong, there is a Brazil version of the Anchor promo page.

Interesting content creation potential there. 

Deep Dive

Reasons to Believe in the Subscription Takeover 

Reason #1: The “Netflix for stocks” has officially dropped with Charles Schwab betting that investors will ‘binge’ on advice with a subscription model for money management. Schwab & Co. rolled out a pilot project dubbed 'Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium,' as the first online business brokerage giant to dip into the space with a $300 initial planning session plus a $30 monthly fee thereafter to get you automated portfolio management via its robo-advisor platform and unlimited access to its network of financial planners.

Reason #2: Natalist, a subscription box that apparently wants to get you pregnant. Natalist launched August 27th as a curated collection of re-designed essentials for women trying to conceive. It’s a mom-led startup by Silicon Valley alum Halle Tecco, who previously started and ran early-stage digital health venture fund Rock Health, and invested in a number of female-founded health companies, including EverlyWell, KindBody, and Tia — to arm families with educational conception essentials. 

The monthly “Get Pregnant Bundle” changes as one progresses through the fertility journey and continues until birth. The first month, for example, includes an illustrated Conception 101 guidebook complete with the basics of human reproduction and practical tips on getting pregnant, plus items ranging from ovulation tests to prenatal vitamins. The cost is on par with drugstore prices, if not less. The idea was born after Tecco experienced frustrations in her own pregnancy journey, and to the subscription model she turned for a solution.

Schwab’s senior VP of digital advice and innovation says it best:

“What drove our interest was the increasing prevalence of subscriptions in other industries… People like the simpler approach, and feel it’s the right way to pay for services. It’s second nature to them.” 

Weekend Wisdom

In wisdom, Dan Martell shares his wild personal story, and how it shaped whom he's become.

"By the time I was seventeen I had ended up in jail twice."

Entrepreneurship, for Dan, became "the ultimate personal development program." Check out this Weekend Wisdom to see just how.

And that’s a wrap for your August 30th subscription news. Tune in next week for our LIVE Launch Event. Until then, to recruit your friends into the subscription know, send them to profitwell.com/recur/recurnow to sign up for episodes on the daily.