Challenge

After launching tl;dv (“too long; didn’t view”) as a free app, Raphael Allstadt and his team decided in 2023 that it was time to monetize the AI-powered meetings tool. While the team knew that a subscription model was the clear path forward, tl;dv needed a billing solution that would be simple to integrate into its existing infrastructure without disrupting product development or adding headcount.

tl;dv knew from its analytics that there was relatively little demand for the product in the company’s native Germany, while the US drove massive usage. That meant any payment partner would need to process USD, but also have the ability to add currencies from markets showing fast user growth, such as Brazil and Japan. New markets would also require discounts and flexible pricing to make tl;dv competitive in emerging markets where affordability was an important factor.

In addition, tl;dv required a payments solution that would let them easily accept digital payment methods like PayPal and SEPA to meet regional preferences and reduce checkout friction, along with helping tl;dv manage the complexities of tax compliance.

At the same time, tl;dv knew it would need flexibility as it continued to scale. Enterprise customers might need alternatives to monthly subscriptions, while the finance team would benefit from better visibility into revenue as the company grew. All of this had to be managed by a lean engineering team that was focused on shipping new features and keeping pace with competitors.

Solution

tl;dv chose Stripe as its billing and payment partner for the ease of integrating Stripe technology into its product’s existing infrastructure, and because Stripe offered the advanced capabilities tl;dv would need to scale across global markets.

Using Stripe Billing, tl;dv designed a freemium, per-seat subscription model, which it was able to launch without slowing down product development thanks to Stripe’s clear documentation and modular APIs.

“With Stripe’s documentation, it was really self-serve to get going. We didn’t need to talk to anyone to get started, and it was simple to map Stripe with the realities of a freemium, self-serve business like ours,” said Allstadt.

Because of Billing’s integration with Stripe Payments, tl;dv could accept payments in USD and other currencies and collect funds with local payment methods like PayPal and SEPA Direct Debit. Billing’s flexibility also allowed tl;dv to experiment with pricing, test customer demand for monthly versus annual plans, and introduce IP-based discounts to better compete in emerging markets.

To navigate regional tax regulations, tl;dv adopted Stripe Tax. This single integration lets tl;dv automate tax calculation, collection, and reporting for transactions in more than 60 countries, allowing it to stay compliant in regions like the EU.

As tl;dv began attracting more enterprise customers, it added Stripe Invoicing to generate and manage invoices. Customers receive a white-label payment experience, while Invoicing provides the finance team with streamlined visibility into revenue by placing all of the company’s payments on one screen.

Results

tl;dv grows revenue 600% YoY with no billing team

tl;dv integrated Stripe in just three weeks with two engineers. With Stripe powering its payments and billing, tl;dv grew its revenue 600% year-over-year and reached millions in annual recurring revenue without having to dedicate ongoing engineering resources. Its freemium model delivers 3–4x more leads compared to offering free trials, allowing the business to quickly scale.

“Stripe was the most popular option among my engineering team when we were looking at solutions because it was the simplest to implement and integrate into the product we had already built. Stripe helped take us from 0 to 8 figures in revenue,” said Allstadt.

Conversions increased 20% thanks to local currency support

In addition to offering local payment methods like SEPA Direct Debits and PayPal to remove friction at checkout, tl;dv added local currencies, boosting its conversion rate by 20% in markets such as Brazil and Japan.

“We expect foreign currencies to help us tremendously down the road with churn and conversion rate growth,” said Allstadt.

Stripe Tax helps ensure seamless compliance

tl;dv implemented Stripe Tax in less than a day, allowing it to gain real-time visibility into what revenue is taxable across each market so that it can stay compliant without having to build and manage tax logic in-house.

“As we are starting to hit thresholds in different markets, tax compliance is becoming a bigger issue for us,” said Allstadt. “Stripe Tax tells us exactly what is taxable, so it is super helpful for our work with our accountants.”

40% of revenue comes through Invoicing

Stripe Invoicing allows tl;dv to easily collect revenue from enterprise customers, which now drives 40% of the company’s business. Centralizing all its revenue in a single platform also makes it easy for tl;dv to keep its finger on the pulse of the business.

“Centralizing all our financial motions and revenue intelligence into a single source of truth is super powerful. Having everything in one place frees up massive time for operations. I would estimate it saves our finance team three to four hours per week in reporting time,” said Allstadt.