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An update on costs, community and our future.

· 5 min read
Simon
Simon
scderox - ScootKit Employee

A detailed statement from Simon, our Founder and CEO.

Building and running an independent software company is an incredibly rewarding journey, but today, it has become a fight for survival. Transparency has always been at the core of how we operate, and I need to have an open, unfiltered conversation with you about a severe crisis in the tech landscape, the harsh reality of our operating costs, and what we must do to keep our doors open.

We are navigating a terrifying paradox: our community is growing faster than ever, yet the fundamental economics of running this company have shifted so drastically that our very existence is threatened.

Here is a look behind the curtain at what is happening, what we are building to make your servers better, and why we are being forced into making hard decisions.

The Reality of Today's Market: A Fight to Keep the Lights On​

If you follow tech news, you are likely aware of the massive, industry-wide boom in Artificial Intelligence. This insatiable demand for AI computing power has caused a massive bottleneck in hardware production.

Recently, our hosting and infrastructure partners reached out with devastating news: the costs to procure and operate modern servers have skyrocketed. As reported by market research firms, RAM memory prices alone have spiked by up to 500% since September 2025, and global supply chains for high-performance SSDs are critically strained.

For a massive tech conglomerate, these changes might be a rounding error. For a small, independent company like ours, they are an existential threat. Over the past few months, our total Operating Expenses (OpEx) have increased by more than 25%. We are facing substantially higher costs just to keep the servers running.

The Harsh Truth About Our Free Plans​

Alongside these rising infrastructure costs, we are facing another severe reality. We are thrilled to see our user base growing, but the vast majority of this growth is coming from our non-paying customer base.

Operating a freemium model in this economic climate is no longer just a delicate balancing act; it is becoming financially impossible. Every free instance requires real CPU cycles, real RAM, and real electricity—all of which now cost us significantly more.

We cannot sustain a model where infrastructure costs rise by 25% while the ratio of paying-to-free users declines. To offset the immediate bleeding, effective today, the free plan extension will be reduced from 10 days to 7 days. However, I must be completely candid: if market conditions do not improve, we will be forced to fundamentally rethink our entire Free Plan strategy. We are actively evaluating what changes are necessary to keep the company alive. We simply have no choice if we want to ensure the platform survives for everyone.

Despite the massive 25%+ increase in our OpEx, we are choosing not to raise prices on our paid plans at this time. Protecting our paying customers—the very people keeping our doors open—is our absolute top priority.

Doubling Down: Delivering Value to Survive​

When faced with an existential crisis, the only way forward is to build an undeniably superior product. Your support is the only way we survive, and we are working tirelessly to earn it.

Here are the massive updates we are rolling out to elevate your communities:

🌟 Featureboard: The Future of Community Feedback​

We are launching a complete AI-powered community feedback platform for product teams.

  • AI Gatekeeper: A built-in AI checks each submission for clarity and duplicates before it reaches your team.
  • Bilingual by Default: All content is automatically translated between English and German.
  • 👉 Check it out now at featureboard.net

Featureboard AI Dashboard Screenshot

🛠️ The Ultimate Support Bot​

We have built a system where you can run Modmail and Tickets side by side, letting members pick whichever method feels most natural.

  • AI-Powered Summaries: When a ticket closes, an AI-generated summary captures the key points of the conversation.
  • Beautiful Transcripts: Transcripts are available through modmail.net, providing a clean, searchable web-based interface.
  • 👉 Enable the Support Bot for your server here

Support Bot Ticket Interface Screenshot

📝 Message Editor v4 (Components V2) - Coming in a few weeks!​

Creating rich bot messages is about to get much easier. We've completely redesigned our editor using Discord's Components V2 system.

  • Important Note: This feature is not available yet, but will roll out in a few weeks.
  • It features a live Discord-style preview and drag-and-drop component reordering.

Message Editor Live Preview Screenshot

🤝 Shared Marketplace Content & 🖼️ Guild Image Storage​

Organizations on the SCNX Marketplace can now publish reusable messages, configuration templates, and custom commands. Anyone with a share link can import these setups directly into their server.

Additionally, our Guild Image Storage (currently in Early Access) provides a shared image library for your server where your team can upload and reuse images across all bot configurations.

We Need Your Help to Keep the Doors Open​

We are a small, passionate team. We do not have millions in venture capital to burn. If you rely on our platform, if our tools save you time, or if you simply believe in keeping independent software alive, we urgently ask you to consider upgrading to a paid plan.

Upgrading directly funds our ability to pay the server bills, keep the lights on, and keep our team working. We know budgets are tight, but your support is the only way we survive this market.

Thank you for your trust, your understanding, and for standing by us when it matters most.

— Simon, Founder & CEO