Canva

[MGF28]

This is terrible news. RIP Affinity, these things NEVER work out for the user, no matter how hard the CEO tries to spin it. So sad, they should have just raised their prices if they needed more a little more profit.

[Return]

21 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

Ash is and has been one of the four Directors of Serif, and is the Managing Director. 

He has been the public face of Serif for major announcements since I've been an Affinity user. 

I'm not sure they even have a CEO.

https://rocketreach.co/serif-europe-ltd-management_b5c6e74df42e0d20

Latest is here
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02117968/officers

[VectorVonDoom]

39 minutes ago, LondonSquirrel said:

That is the case with most applications. AI is closed format, for example.

There are an awful lot of pessimists around. The glass is nine tenths empty for them, without even seeing the glass.

Plenty read AI files nothing (???) reads afdesign files. Yes in theory Adobe could completely change their format but why would they possibly want to? The more people working with AI files the better.

[loukash]

26 minutes ago, Bryan Rieger said:

I recently fired up SheepSaver running MacOS 9.0.4 (on my M1 Pro powered MacBook Pro) and was amazed at the size and performance of many of the apps. Yes, MacOS 9 feels more than a little dated/clunky now, but I was somewhat astounded by how much I liked working in many of those older (Macromedia) applications in a VM. Not sure if it'll become a daily driver, but it's nice to know that it's an option.

Looks like it's about time to cheer up the current doomy mood in here with this screenshot again:  

[loukash]

3 minutes ago, BofG said:

a proprietary format, which no other applications can open

photopea.com can. It's not very great at it (yet), but it can.

[Gaz]

On 3/27/2024 at 11:51 AM, Ash said:

The Affinity suite is easily as good as CS6, the last version of the Adobe suite I’ve had dealing with, in a lot of ways it’s better. But the main reason for buying and dedicating my time to build a career around this suite, and convincing friends and colleagues to switch, is because it has a perpetual license. If it didn’t, then for me it would be no different to Adobe.

I welcome the pledges, how quickly they were published and that Affinity don’t shut down freedom of speech on this forum, however negative it’s been, just face the comments head on. I have a lot of admiration for that. Certainly something Adobe wouldn’t have done. The pledges have certainly put my mind, more at rest.

I will continue supporting Affinity (and Canva) going forward. Purchasing major upgrades as they happen, as I realise you guys also need funding for continued development. Good luck with the new collaboration.

[Thomas Bohn]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

I'm not sure they even have a CEO.

Managing Director is just British for CEO

[esto]

2 hours ago, D.VE said:

It speaks volumes that all the statements come from Ash and not the Serif CEO...

 

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

I'm not sure they even have a CEO.

 

1 hour ago, Bryan Rieger said:

CEO

For what it's worth, the announcement post on YouTube says 'Our CEO Ashley Hewson shares an exciting update', so I think it's him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcaGgGErLMo&lc=UgzNMvO6y0AjvUxKltN4AaABAg

 

[Archangel]

14 hours ago, Alfred said:

Registration was essentially a means of harvesting contact details so that they could put you on their mailing list and their sales staff could call you for ‘upselling’ purposes.

@Alfred So a sort of subscription to their sales service?

[lphilpot]

22 hours ago, Alfred said:

I agree. A pledge is a solemn promise, often made in a formal context. It implies more commitment, not less, than a mere promise.

The problem is, these "pledges" say nothing specific. For instance, the perpetual licensing -- Is it for all products, all levels, all support plans, all extras, etc.? Forever? Or just a "lite" version one step above free, with minimal capabilities? We don't know because it doesn't say.

Pledges are meant to sway the receiver to believe intent. Nothing more. The proof will be in the pudding and unfortunately we won't know that for years in a positive sense. However, in a negative sense we may learn far sooner than we'd like.

[TanBrae]

On 3/26/2024 at 3:54 AM, Alfred said:

We were sold version 2 on the understanding that all point releases would be free. If 2.5 turns out to be a paid upgrade, huge swathes of users will abandon ship.

Not to mention 3.0! 
I bought an Adobe suite for college - mainly because I wanted to learn PS. They are GREAT products, but when they went subscription, and stopped supporting my version (6), I couldn't afford it. 

I was SO happy when I found Affinity Photo! I can't tell you how many photos I've edited since first making the purchase a few years ago. Just got done editing some 200+ .jpg photos for my husband's daughter. I was pleasantly surprised at how well AP did with them, knowing how messy it can be to edit .jpgs. 

Now, I'm concerned I'll be left high and dry, again, with Affinity's move to SELL to a not-so-choice company. May be a good move for Serif, but more than likely NOT for consumers. I'm just sad. I have a very small business that I'm trying to build, and any output I have to make just really cuts into my income. 

DANG, Affinity! REALLY?

[Old Bruce]

Regarding the purchase of Affinity by Canva all I can say is I have not seen a reaction like this since Tom Cruise was cast as Jack Reacher.

And some advice (from a different movie); could we all just "Chill, Winston".

[TanBrae]

1 hour ago, Gaz said:

I will continue supporting Affinity (and Canva) going forward. Purchasing major upgrades as they happen, as I realise you guys also need funding for continued development. Good luck with the new collaboration.

I didn't mind purchasing that major upgrade as it was still very reasonably priced. What I fear is that they WILL become subscription, only, or the already paid for versions will become unsupported, and eventually worthless. 

It's ridiculous to me how much software costs. We have a local business who's slogan is (paraphrasing) "We'd rather sell for less and make a whole lot more sales"... makes a LOT more sense to me, than to make software "exclusive" to only those who are already making a ton of money. Blah! So, Affinity, BAD move, in my opinion. You had a good thing going. WHY????

[TanBrae]

4 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

Regarding the purchase of Affinity by Canva all I can say is I have not seen a reaction like this since Tom Cruise was cast as Jack Reacher.

And some advice (from a different movie); could we all just "Chill, Winston".

Because we are afraid! I, for one, don't make enough money off my new business to afford expensive software TO run my business. 

[debraspicher]

11 hours ago, JGD said:

• Until all these fears are well and properly assuaged, I – and, I suspect, many others – won’t even bother with giving suggestions for my pet features on the betas, the topmost – variable font support – having been the first one mentioned in said video and on the pledge. Why should I, if Adobe already offers it in such stable form, and me having to switch back to CC may become a reality? Not until V3 rolls around as a truly groundbreaking, perpetually-licensed set of apps, and especially not now when Affinity devs are loaded with cash and could and should hire proper testers and pay for proper focus groups, instead of relying on community efforts.

You see, you had a tacit, unwritten agreement with your testers, in that we knew you were, staying with the Churchillian metaphor, the strapped-for-cash underdogs that were fighting the good fight, and with this acquisition you obviously lost a lot of that goodwill and the tiny bit that remains is now on probation, if not on thin ice. With Canva being just the lesser and more affordable and flexible of two evils – at least for the time being –, we’re now just your customers, not your fighting buddies, sorry.

It's like they're asking for an extended credit line on my faith. Except, they still haven't even paid off all of the other debt they'd accrued.

You sold the company for millions? No extended credit line for you. Your balance is now due. 

Sincerely, Valued Customer.

[Jon_TA]

12 minutes ago, TanBrae said:

Because we are afraid! I, for one, don't make enough money off my new business to afford expensive software TO run my business. 

You aren't the only one trying to get a business off the ground! The affinity trio Was the only software I can currently afford that had the features I needed to run my business. The Adobe "lock-in" fees & contract are too damn crazy to afford.

[Chills]

5 hours ago, monzo said:

If it was a company built on the loyalty, goodwill and support from my customers, then I like to think I wouldn’t leave them at the mercy of the exact type of corporate company they wanted to avoid.

Out of the many options available, I would either insist on a majority shareholding, so I could ensure my loyal customers retained all the rights and support that I had originally promised them, or look into a licensing deal, where another company gets a version of my software based on a per-license fee.

But that’s just me.

Of all the people I know who have sold software companies, only one (a German) has acted in the way you describe.  He took a lower cash deal to ensure safeguards for the staff.  He also ensured agreements his company had made with others were upheld.   All the others (approaching double figures) took the money and ran. 

As for "insist on a major shareholding"  shows you have never run a company as a director-shareholder. That would never happen, usually it is a total buy-out. Even if you continue working for the new owners, you probably only get a small shareholding. Also, it is usually impossible to dictate terms after the sale. They buy it, they can do what they like with it.

[loukash]

42 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

Regarding the purchase of Affinity by Canva all I can say is I have not seen a reaction like this since Tom Cruise was cast as Jack Reacher.

You've never been to the Discogs forums, huh?  
(The difference here being: as opposed to the incompetent Discogs management, Serif actually does communicate pretty well.)

[monzo]

7 minutes ago, Chills said:

As for "insist on a major shareholding"  shows you have never run a company as a director-shareholder. That would never happen, usually it is a total buy-out. Even if you continue working for the new owners, you probably only get a small shareholding. 

You know nothing about my business interests, and there are no set rules for acquiring, or merging two companies. It’s a mutual agreement hacked out between lawyers.

The bottom line is I would never have treated my customers in this way.

And note it didn’t take them long to wash their hands of us, either. A tweet from two hours ago:

”You can find out more about Canva subscription options via their site. Please contact them directly with any questions”

[jacekl]

3 minutes ago, loukash said:

You've never been to the Discogs forums, huh?  
(The difference here being: as opposed to the incompetent Discogs management, Serif actually does communicate pretty well.)

And what kind of things happened on Discogs? I have an account there, but I look there rarely, I haven't seen anything.

[Elian Gonzalez]

Well, here's a scenario to add to your anxiety: for exisiting Affinity customers, we'll be offered a stand-alone license for version 3 of the suite. But for *new* customers, they will likely be pushed to a subscription model (Canva Ultra Pro or some some thing) that offers you the Affinity suite plus Canva stuff. Eventually, though, existing license holders will be shoehorned into this model. (Keyword watch: "grandfathered", which NEVER means what we pretend it does.)

As we know, "perpetual license" is limited to your current version. So for those who are ready to declare "I'll stick with version 2.4 forever," good for you, but it will not updated or supported and there will be lots of justification to subscribe. Some won't, but I suspect many quietly will, as Canva undoubtedly has gamed out.

It comes down to this: subscribe now or later? 

[dmstraker]

Good luck everyone! I'm presuming that, despite shock all round, this is good news for the business, customers, and importantly, employees. And please don't forget the volunteers, like many of the people on this forum. Personally, I've created over 900 videos on YouTube in my InAffinity channel and learned a huge amount about photo editing in the process. Affinity Photo (and I presume the other apps) is a brilliant product and I am in awe of how you have created this.

Well done also on the four commitments. Wisely thought out and should help calm nerves all round.

I can empathise significantly. I was a sofware engineer in small and large companies, UK and global. I moved to marketing and general business and eventually managing mergers and acquisitions in Agilent Technologies (the $10B spin-off from HP of its original businesses), where I was the Workplace Services (facilities, security, H&S, etc) global M&A manager. The most critical element of this, amidst all the IT, HR, Finance, WPS, etc, was cultural integration. One thing we found was that when acquired, people in a company will go along with many changes for the first 100 day, but will want to settle down soon after that.

Canva sounds like a good fit with Serif but there will be differences and how these are handled is so important. Australian and UK cultures have a lot of overlap, but they are not the same. Key will be leadership, which is often misunderstood. The first layer of understanding for this is followership. Without followers, you may be a manager but you are not a leader. Leaders also need to understand psychology, a subject I studied while writing the many pages on the changingminds.org website.

I could ramble further, but you've probably had enough by now and I have a photo competition to judge and potatoes to plant.

Best wishes to all the wonderful Serif, Affinity and Canva people

.. Dave ..

 

[Alfred]

4 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

Ash is and has been one of the four Directors of Serif, and is the Managing Director. 

He has been the public face of Serif for major announcements since I've been an Affinity user. 

I'm not sure they even have a CEO.

https://rocketreach.co/serif-europe-ltd-management_b5c6e74df42e0d20

 

4 hours ago, Bryan Rieger said:

CEO is more of an Americanism, while Managing Director is/was more often used in the UK (and Australia I believe). That said, the CEO title seems to becoming the more standard term used throughout the world today.

I’ve seen Ashley Hewson referred to as the CEO (rather than the MD) in several places over the past couple of days.

[R C-R]

13 minutes ago, dmstraker said:

Well done also on the four commitments. Wisely thought out and should help calm nerves all round.

Except that it has not done so for a lot of folks posting to this discussion.

[R C-R]

2 minutes ago, Alfred said:

I’ve seen Ashley Hewson referred to as the CEO (rather than the MD) in several places over the past couple of days.

I have seen that as well, plus my unfortunately not well fact checked comment about him being a founder of Serif.