Dear Fellow Cohumans,
It is with mixed feelings that I need to inform you that I have just executed a Letter of Intent to sell Cohuman. This is not yet a definitive agreement, but as it affects everyone connected to Cohuman, I feel it is important you know sooner rather than later what is going on.
By way of background, I have been working hard to secure funding for Cohuman for the better part of a year now – really since our September 2010 launch. Finding institutional investors that share our passion for the problem and who are willing to sign on at this early stage of our development has been challenging.
We are fortunate, however, in our efforts to come across our potential acquirer, who has recognized the value of our software and of our team. So, while total world collaboration will not be realized under the Cohuman flag, the vision of networked task lists, organized in automatic priority order should live on within the products of the acquiring company.
(Editor’s note: Cohuman is back and we’ll not be shutting down. We’ve chosen to leave this content as orginally posted but we hope that you’ll keep all your data right here and keep using Cohuman! Got any questions? Go to support@cohuman.com) Regrettably, in the short term, (this is the bad news) we will be shutting down the Cohuman service on August 31, 2011. Please retrieve your data before then, as we will actively delete all user data on this date. Full instructions on how to export your information may be found at the end of this post. We are here to help you at support@cohuman.com and on getsatisfaction.com/cohuman.
This is a very bittersweet moment for us here at Cohuman. Please accept my deepest thanks for having chosen to make Cohuman part of your routine. All of us here firmly believe that Cohuman is an amazing application without precedent and without peer. What we will miss the most though is our community of faithful and active users who have praised us and encouraged us more times than not.
Should you wish to express any words to us or the Cohuman community, you may do so via Facebook and Twitter, but also on our home page where we will be hosting a message board.
We will miss you. Most sincerely,
Matthew Work
CEO, Cohuman
How to export your data from Cohuman
To export your data out of Cohuman you should follow these steps:
1) Click the CSV icon in the upper right hand corner of any Project Panel or Cohuman Panel, that has task information that you would like to keep. This process will create a .csv spreadsheet (compatible with Excel) with all task data except for followers and blocking. Only the first 100 tasks on any list, Project or Cohuman, will be exported (it will export Just Added, Active and snoozed in score order and Finished and Archived tasks in alphabetical order).
2) To retrieve documents you have uploaded to a task, open the Files tab of any Project and download each individually (yes, this is time consuming, we apologize).
Is this irretrievably decided? I’m sure your community would be interested in finding any method to ensure your survival – this tool is far and away the best option for collaboration particularly for remote staff.
Can you not suggest an alternative to shutting down that the community could assist you with?
Mark,
I’m very disappointed and very sorry to hear that cohuman is shutting down. Since I’ve discovered and shared it, I’ve gotten several clients used to it when NOTHING ELSE BEFORE HAS WORKED.
This is a huge huge deal for me.
That said, I’d like to ask why users are being deleted if the software was purchased. Is there a place we should look for it in the future?
I’d like to support the infrastructure where ever it goes, so please let me know how I can do so.
Thanks,
Chel
You were my favorite of the Project Management solutions I found– I was just waiting until some API hooks I needed opened up to move to cohuman. I for one hope your new overlords keep those APIs open. Good luck in your aquisition!
Is the sale a done deal?
If so, who is the buyer?
There will be re-branding, yes?
How long will the service be “gone” before it reopens under new ownership?
Will it return or is it being bought “for the pieces”?
This makes me so sad.
What??? PLease dont! It will really change everything!
Do you recommend any other software to replace the irreplaceable?
Anyway, Its been amazing to grow all together!
Thanks in advance for everything u guys have done so far and congratulations if this is something good for your interest!
Hope to still see you around
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Oh no! I´m really really sad today.
No other project management solution I ever tried worked like Cohuman. NONE!
It will be a long way finding something else.
Anyway, thank you guys for this amazing tool!
Help! Someone please step in and save us!!! Cohuman is an incredible break through…don’t kill our community! I would personally take a call from any decision makers to try to work something out. 503.893.2740. Sell the license to the software, but don’t kill the community. Work with us, we see the value. We want you to make money off of us don’t destroy our work!
It is a shame. Can’t be fun for your staff either. Was a good product. Would be helpful though if you could offer recommendations on a service that a) has similar features and b) would import your CSV project files.
Trully bittersweet… but if that was the only possible way than I guess we just have to let it happen.
Hopefully see you soon.
I don’t understand why the acquiring company would want the users dumped? seems that the established users of a product are part of the value.
Along with other comments we would be more than happy to pay for the free service.
Are you being serious?
Is the person/company to buy this only interested in the technology? (Don’t we have the right to know who it is?)
Shouldn’t be the users’ data to be transformed to something to keep us working?
Is this how much you value our trust in this?!
This is quite a disappointment.
I hope, you will be happy with the money you have earned with our faith in your service. This has been a total misjudgement.
I just found the tool I needed! Is there ANY way we can host our own servers? All the questions people are asking are valid and I really want to find a solution.
PLEASE!!!!!!
Yeah, this sucks. Cohuman’s got a great thing going. Goodbye’s are sad.
Matthew,
I believe we all would really like a bit more explanation, and as both subscribers and advocates really feel we deserve more:
1. Is there any alternative to complete shutdown? What about a paid subscriber service – Has this been considered?
2. Is the aquisition reversible at this stage?
3. Is there any way the present hosted service can continue?
Many loyal users are expecting more answers Matthew, please reveal what you can.
John.
I’m really sad to hear about this. For some reasons I’m not looking forward to the acquisition… I love column the way it is. And I have been suggesting everyone I know to use it. I would be more than happy to pay, even if I don’t get a pro account. I want to support you guys and it would be sad to see this goes to the hands of others
Mattthew,
You have many comments, suggestions, and general negative sentiment both here and on facebook. It is obvious that you should address these via another post real soon.
John
From the comments above, I see that I’m not the only one who has both standardized on Cohuman and is willing to pay. As Sean Ellis puts it, “Achieving product/market fit requires at least 40% of users saying they would be “very disappointed” without your product.” Too bad your potential investors did not see these sorts of passionate users as they reviewed the opportunity.
I wish your team well – you guys do great work.
Since I discovered this software, me and my team has discovered really how to work in collaborative way.
This new is very sad too us, we was justing starting to use it, and the results was very good. And everybody was excited with the solution.
It’s a pity to receive the new that the data will be deleted…
When the email came through late last night I was so disappointed. Having only discovered this a week ago too. I use it for my team projects and tasks, and love as simple the platform is to set-up and use. The fact there’s a mobile app as well I also found beneficial for adding tasks in on the go.
I hope someone out there can see the benefit of keeping this platform going be it under Cohuman or something else.
Very sad to hear the news. While my product is a competitor we appreciate any company that is committed to providing software to make people happier, healthier and more productive.
If you are interested in a simple, free collaborative tool you might consider Astrid.com. The website is improving rapidly and we have a popular app on Android and one coming to Apple shortly.
Google Ventures just invested in us so we have a bright future.
To the Co-human team we wish you the best.
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Hi,
Disclaimer: I am one of the founders of Apollo, http://www.apollohq.com We do project management and CRM together, with calendars, cases&deals, timers, etc.
I am deeply sorry to hear this. Bantam Live first, and now CoHuman. They both had some great ideas and some special features. Having one less player in this market might seem like a good thing, but… it’s actually not. This market is huge, and really, the more the better.
We obviously welcome old CoHuman users to use Apollo. But it’s… a bittersweet deal.
Thanks everybody,
Merc.
Well, same thing here.
I join my voice to the others saying that this tool was very valuable and user friendly. I’ve personally convinced people over 60 of age to use it with ease, that how good you are!
So yes, I’m very intetested to know how much the free users could pay a month to prevent you from selling. You hooked us for sure! And if not, well is there any chance your technology will be implemented soon within this company that you’re selling to?
Thanks,
Greg
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Very disappointing but the closing is very reason we did not adopt it internally. This should be a very good lesson to all early adopters. Proceed with caution and expect the worst before involving everyone.
Wow! We just convinced our team to sign on. Now what?
Hi Cohuman,
Please consider that we are your earned and owned media. regardless of who bought you, your new owners will benefit massively from keeping the service alive on a tiny server somewhere in a closet, even if it is only for people who have subscribed from a certain date.
These people will potentially be your biggest advocates when you decide to relaunch. I know from professional experience that dedicated users are a huge asset when you have them from the get-go, even if it turns into a part of another piece of software or the service changes.
I really do urge you to turn this into a celebration among your current users – and not a let down. You want us to be out there telling the good story, not the other one.
Frederik
Matt, Don’t give in, ask for help! We can help you.
really sorry to see this tool going away. you guys have really created something valuable and unique.
Yes, please reconsider and keep this service available! This is the best project management service we’ve ever used, and our staff members love it! We’ve never been able to communicate so smoothly.
Sad to see it go, this service has been indispensable to my job and to all my clients. Its gonna be tough going back to all those services that only did a fraction of what cohuman could do. I look forward to seeing the service resurrected under a new banner, I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Fredrik is right. Let us survive! We have the will and the strength to help.
We are moving to glasscubes in case anyone is interested.
Too sad! Realy wish that it can revive somewhere.
If you’re interested in moving your Cohuman data somewhere, please send me an email at chris@rapidtask.com .
It would be a shame to see all of this data go to waste. We don’t have an “import from Cohuman” option yet, but if enough people send me mail, we’ll try and develop one as quickly as possible.
With best regards,
… Christopher @ RapidTASK
Any CoHuman users that want to migrate to Teambox, please send me an e-mail.
Teambox is free for unlimited users for up to 3 projects. It is by far the easiest online collaboration tool to use.
Karl Goldfield
@karlgoldfield
anyone want to get together and backward engineer cohuman real quick? probably a lot easier while the service is running. could even work as a workflow skin to an existing service.
let me know..
I too am a passionate user and was frustrated that I couldn’t pay for the service; the usual model is various layers of options. That seemed to spell doom for the service, one way or another.
I’d love to know what others’ experience of other tools are. As reviewers have pointed out, Cohuman understood that most projects are task based and that’s how you get stuff done.
So was it one of those bought out by a big company so they could just shut you down sort of things … It was obvioulsy showing their software up! Shame my business would have used you!
As a software developer this seems like a “no brainier” to me but here goes.
To all the “but why is our data being deleted” questions, the answer is as simple as the reason whey they are being so mysterious as to whom is doing the acquiring.
Some larger company is buying this to kill it and avoid competition to their inferior product; in any other scenario users would be retained.
The second-most-likely scenario, if there are any patents involved, small companies like this tend to be acquired by patent “holding companies” that have subscribers like Microsoft and Google that use the leverage of such patent licencing schemes to prevent new companies (that they don’t control) from ever becoming big enough to give them competition.
Read NPR coverage of the The Software Patent Troll War or listen to the story on NPR’s All Things Considered.
I am still searching and I still haven’t found what I need. This is right up there with a death in the family. Is there any way to hear some news from the acquirer? GetFlow.com would sort of work, but there are no dependencies and no priorities for that one. It would help to know if there are any possibilities for waiting and getting to use this again. I think it says a lot that the other products can’t replace it. I think I have looked at close to 60 of the competitors now.
. grieving – Brian
I’m sorry to see Cohuman go. I recently tried it and I liked it. I tried a lot of competitors too
At the moment I will try my luck at Nyabag, also a new web based task management system. You can find it at
I am still searching a new solution, but the best candidates until now are:
1 – http://WWW.AIRGILE.COM
2 – http://WWW.GETFLOW.COM
3 – http://WWW.5PMWEB.COM
Greetings
I’ve an other one:
http://www.producteev.com/
It feels fresh and powerfull
I’m so sad because of it…
I can’t believe that cohuman will be close!!
This is the best software for task management that I’ve ever used.
Good luck and I’ll miss u…
I’ve tried all the suggestions here but there’s no one like it…
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