How many people work to Fastmail?

Agx · 10 Nov 2015, 04:59 PM

Hi!

How many people work to FastMail?

Someone of FM can tell this?

Bye!

BritTim · 10 Nov 2015, 05:26 PM

I am not from Fastmail. I can tell you that the number of people at Fastmail is not high, but their technical competence is well above average. It is my strong conviction that quality and motivation far outweigh quantity in providing a service like Fastmail's. It is important that they are not totally reliant on a couple of key individuals, and the company has sufficient financial strength, but an employee warehouse full of bodies would do nothing to increase my confidence.

randian · 10 Nov 2015, 11:59 PM

The lack of bodies does translate into frustratingly slow development IMO.

Just Bill · 11 Nov 2015, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by randian

The lack of bodies does translate into frustratingly slow development IMO.

I only require reliability, so I'm good with Fastmail having just a handful of employees. I don't require more bells and whistles than what is already available.

David · 11 Nov 2015, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just Bill

I only require reliability, so I'm good with Fastmail having just a handful of employees. I don't require more bells and whistles than what is already available.

I would tend to agree. Keeping costs down (for the average user) is an important requirement for me.

n5bb · 11 Nov 2015, 12:36 PM

According to their Linked in page, Fastmail has between 11-50 employees.

Bill

robn · 11 Nov 2015, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n5bb

According to their Linked in page, Fastmail has between 11-50 employees.

That's the right range.

awasmuth · 11 Nov 2015, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by randian

The lack of bodies does translate into frustratingly slow development IMO.

Hm, looking back at the last year with CalDAV, CardDAV, iOS push email, JMAP, the move from Iceland to Amsterdam and countless other small things I have the impression that development is at an all time high.

robn · 11 Nov 2015, 04:00 PM

There's a tradeoff in there too. Adding people can increase overall output, but it also adds coordination overhead, so there's a point of diminishing returns (this is better known as Brook's law).

We're happy with our size. Maybe we could add more engineers and management at the same time to massively improve our output, but it's organisational complexity that we don't really want to deal with. We're not trying to win any races here.

danieldk · 16 Nov 2015, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by randian

The lack of bodies does translate into frustratingly slow development IMO.

I disagree. The number of employees is a tiny fraction of that of Google. Still, Fastmail has (arguably) the better web interface, is faster, and develops good open standards (JMAP).

mekitron · 9 Feb 2016, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robn

We're not trying to win any races here.

This is the reason, I use FastMail.

10 Nov 2015, 04:59 PM	#1
Agx Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 164	How many people work to Fastmail? Hi! How many people work to FastMail? Someone of FM can tell this? Bye!

10 Nov 2015, 05:26 PM	#2
BritTim The "e" in e-mail Join Date: May 2003 Location: mostly in Thailand Posts: 3,095	I am not from Fastmail. I can tell you that the number of people at Fastmail is not high, but their technical competence is well above average. It is my strong conviction that quality and motivation far outweigh quantity in providing a service like Fastmail's. It is important that they are not totally reliant on a couple of key individuals, and the company has sufficient financial strength, but an employee warehouse full of bodies would do nothing to increase my confidence.

10 Nov 2015, 11:59 PM	#3
randian Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 561	The lack of bodies does translate into frustratingly slow development IMO.

11 Nov 2015, 12:36 PM	#6
n5bb Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: May 2004 Location: Irving, Texas Posts: 8,929	According to their Linked in page, Fastmail has between 11-50 employees. Bill

11 Nov 2015, 04:00 PM	#9
robn Master of the @ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,007 Representative of: Fastmail.fm	There's a tradeoff in there too. Adding people can increase overall output, but it also adds coordination overhead, so there's a point of diminishing returns (this is better known as Brook's law). We're happy with our size. Maybe we could add more engineers and management at the same time to massively improve our output, but it's organisational complexity that we don't really want to deal with. We're not trying to win any races here.