Docstoc

Docstoc
Type Private
Founded Los Angeles, California, USA
(August 2007)
Headquarters Santa Monica, California, USA
Key people Jason Nazar (CEO, Co-Founder),
Alon Shwartz (CTO, co-founder)
Services Document sharing and publishing, with a focus on small businesses
Slogan(s) We make every small business better!
Website Docstoc.com
Alexa rank positive decrease 1,191 (April 2014)[1]
Type of site Social Software
Available in English
Current status Active

Docstoc is an electronic document repository and online store, aimed at providing professional, financial and legal documents for the business community. Users can upload, share and sell their own documents, or purchase professional documents written in-house by professionals and lawyers.

History

Docstoc was officially launched by co-founders Jason Nazar (CEO) and Alon Shwartz (CTO) in October 2007, one month after its debut at the TechCrunch40 Conference.[2] Docstoc began as a resource for sharing documents (including .doc, .pdf and .ppt formats), and allowed users to embed documents on their blog or website. Docstoc announced its emergence from beta on May 13, 2009[3] and introduced several new features, including revenue sharing with users through advertisements.[4] Docstoc was initially compared to content sharing databases such as Scribd, but after its departure from beta evolved into a resource focused on the needs of business owners. The company expanded rapidly in 2011, and currently employs over 30 people.

Technology

The original Docstoc technology allows users to upload, share or embed documents on their website. Features such as DocShots allow users to hover over an embedded document link and view a preview without having to download it.[5] Documents can also be set to private, and shared with select people.

In 2010, The Docstore Marketplace was launched, and Docstoc encouraged professional users such as lawyers, accountants and real estate brokers to earn revenue from selling their own business documents on the site.[6] Users can sell their commercial documents (such as contracts, business templates, technical guides or academic papers) and split the revenue with Docstoc. All of these seller documents must be approved by Docstoc before being placed in the Docstore, in order to manage professional quality. Document owners can also register for DocCash, a service which generates 50/50 revenue from advertisements between Docstoc and the user.

In 2011, Docstoc focused on producing its own high-quality business content, with the goal of creating 10,000 professional documents internally by the end of the year; these premium documents were in addition to the over 20 million documents already uploaded by users.[7] It also developed partnerships with content providers such as LegalZoom and ProQuest Dissertations, and produced its own articles and videos featuring tips for business professionals. For users interested in frequent use, the website launched Docstoc Premium, a subscription service that allows users to access premium business documents and packages using credits, and surf the website without advertisements.[8] Users can also access Docstoc Premium documents remotely through the iPad app, which was launched in May, 2011.[9]

Financing

In November 2007, a month after their launch, Docstoc received 750k in Series A funding from investors including Scott Walchek, Brett Brewer, Matt Coffin, Robin Richards, and Crosscut Ventures. Docstoc then raised 3.25 million in their Series B round in April of the following year. The company is currently profitable, and according to CEO Jason Nazar, has been doubling in revenue over the last three years,[7] despite recent stock losses.

Traffic

DocStoc's CEE was quoted by CNN Money in February 2010 saying that the DocStoc database held 13 million documents, was getting twenty million visitors per month, and hosting a million downloads per month.[10] In 2011, the website reported hosting over 20 million user documents and growing from 3 million registered users to over 11 million users.[11]

Acquisition

Intuit, maker of financial products like Quickbooks and TurboTax, has announced its planned acquisition of Docstoc.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Docstoc.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  2. ↑ "Docstoc CrunchBase Profile". CrunchBase, Last Revised November 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Docstoc Out of Beta Press Release". Jason Nazar (CEO of Docstoc), released May 13, 2009.
  4. ↑ Brad Linder (13 May 2009). "Docstoc leave beta, launches API and revenue sharing". Switched. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  5. ↑ Brad Linder (19 February 2009). "DocShots makes it easier to share documents on your web site". Switched. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  6. ↑ Mathew Ingram (23 February 2010). "DocStoc Launches Online Document Store". GigaOM. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Jason Kincaid (5 July 2011). "DocStoc Turns A Page As It Looks To Be A One-Stop Shop For Small Business Knowledge". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  8. ↑ "Docstoc Premium Page". Docstoc, accessed December 12, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Documents an Templates (by Docstoc Inc.)". Apple Store, Updated November 29, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Docstoc launches online document store". CNN Money. February 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  11. ↑ Jason Kincaid (12 May 2011). "Docstoc Goes Mobile; Brings Premium Document Sharing To The iPad". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  12. ↑ "Intuit Agrees To Acquire Small Business Document Startup Docstoc". TechCrunch. December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.

External links