With no strings attached products, prove your worth – every day

Adam Feil
January 29, 2024

Adam Feil

@Adam

This post is also available in: Danish

We all know the feeling; we have a subscription that we want to get rid of, but we are tied to it for a certain period of time. But should we question the current subscription terms?

The software company Workfeed, which creates a platform for shift planning and time tracking, removed all lock-in periods a year ago:

“When we have no commitment to our subscription, we are forced to prove our worth – every single day. Unlike the old dinosaurs in the market who hold on to customers by the skin of their teeth and long commitments, we only retain customers if they get the desired value from our product. This forces us to ensure a really good onboarding process. All for the benefit of the customer,” Workfeed co-founder Kristian Emil Larsen tells TechSavvy.media

However, it’s not just with lock-in periods that Workfeed goes against the grain. They’ve removed cancellation notices and they even give customers their money back if they cancel their subscription early:

Workfeed-1 - TechSavvy — A sample of Workfeeds digital platform

“Many customers pay for their Workfeed subscription annually. If for any reason they don’t want to use the product for that entire period, they can cancel it at any time and we will refund them for the remainder of the period. It was really scary to introduce, because what if customers just wanted their money back? Fortunately, that didn’t happen.”

Since Workfeed removed their binding last year and offered money back, it’s been used by 24 companies and they noticed:

“10 out of 24 companies that have canceled their subscription and received a refund have done so within the first month. So it also acts as an extra safety net for choosing the right tool. With competitors, they would have had to wait 12 months to move on, which is nonsense in our view. The customers who leave us say the termination process is a great experience, which I’m really happy about. I would much rather they leave us with a smile on their face than a bad experience, and I believe it actually strengthens our reputation and thus our position in the market,” explains Kristian Emil Larsen.

Challenging other companies to follow suit

Kristian Emil Larsen hopes that Workfeed’s approach can help inspire other companies to remove their lock-in periods. He believes it’s time to let customers decide whether they want a subscription or not. He also says that many of their closest partners have already joined the trend.

“If consumers start demanding more commitment periods, businesses will be forced to follow suit. Customers love it. It minimizes risk and signals that you’re dealing with someone who believes in their own abilities,” says Kristian Emil Larsen.

Workfeed, which today has around 1500 customers across 14 countries, was founded in 2017 by Rasmus Skovdal, Jimmy Engelbrecht Sørensen and Kristian Emil Larsen. The company has previously received investment from renowned tech entrepreneur David Heinemeier Hansson. According to Kristian Emil Larsen, he has helped inspire Workfeed to think differently.

“Before David invested in Workfeed, we were all big admirers of his approach to running a business. A big part of this is about challenging the norm and going in a different direction. We’re trying to build a business that we ourselves would love to do business with. It requires being able to see things from both the consumer and the business point of view,” Kristian Emil Larsen concludes.