Web Startups with a subscription based business model

[psaccounts]

Are there any founders here who are building Web Startups with a business model to sell subscriptions (or at least a free+premium model and not an advertising driven business model)?

* How difficult was is to acquire paying customers? * What type of customers are these -- individuals or small organizations? * What kind of objections did you typically face before they signed the check? * And for the benefit of the startup community, can you describe how you acquired these customers (i.e., personal contacts, cold calling, selling at relevant trade shows, etc?).

[sebg]

I found a web startup here on HN that is based on a subscription model :: https://www.timesvr.com/ . They were using PayPal subscription services when I joined and left.

I am interested in these questions as well as security and data retention issues.

[lbrandy]

Here's another question:

How do you handle billing?

[ddemchuk]

I'm interested in all of those questions because I have two ideas for apps that are in the same market but one targets consumers and the other targets professionals...