Apple already had everyone's billing information from iTunes... you could buy things just by typing in your password... That, for the first time, brought very, very easy payment to the modern software world. That, more than anything, is why there is a business for paid apps.

If you sit on, sleep on, stare at, or touch something for more than an hour a day, spend whatever it takes to get the best.

Making a product better often requires removing features.

Charge for something and make more than you spend.

People want to download publications quickly and read them without cruft. Publications that started in print carry too much baggage and usually have awful apps. 'The Magazine' was designed from the start to be streamlined, natively digital, and respectful of readers' time and attention.

With Betaworks' drive and resources now behind it, I'm confident that Instapaper has a very bright future. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do.

Instapaper is much bigger today than I could have predicted in 2008, and it has simply grown far beyond what one person can do. To really shine, it needs a full-time staff of at least a few people.