2013 starts on a very positive note: Simon Peyton-Jones has just endorsed our company, FP Complete. And, as the saying goes, he put his money where his mouth is: He invested his own money in FP Complete. Here’s what he wrote about us in his blog:
Of course, FP Complete thereby faces the challenge of making a business out of a language ecosystem, something known to be difficult! Here I am encouraged by the fact that Aaron and Bartosz are not, like many of us, primarily techno-geeks whose primary motivation is the technology itself (just read the Haskell Weekly News if you have any doubt what I mean). They are excited by Haskell all right, but they want to build a business, and they have experience of doing just that. And I’m very encouraged by the fact that Michael Snoyman (a giant of the Haskell community) has joined them, along with several others.
Of course, if you’ve been following my blogs you know that I am a techno-geek too. You might have noticed a slow evolution in my interests from the messiness of C++ and its template metaprogramming, through a flirt with the D language, the pitfalls of concurrency and parallelism, to the clarity and robustness of Haskell. If I was able to entice some of you to make some of this journey with me, it makes me very happy.
But, as Simon PJ pointed out, loving a language and having fun with it is not the same as creating a successful business. Aaron (the CEO) and I have been spending a lot of time discussing business strategies. Everything we do is a deliberate step towards self-sustainability and profitability. All our work would be for naught if we couldn’t create a steady stream of revenue. It is a tremendous task, but we have experience and we are quick learners. We talk to companies to help them figure out how they can improve their bottom lines using Haskell. We identify the obstacles in the way of adoption of Haskell and help overcome them. If we can tap into even a small percentage of profits that the industry will make by adopting Haskell, our future is secured. And Simon P-J may stay assured that his investment will pay back manyfold.
Bartosz Milewski's Programming Cafe 
January 3, 2013 at 4:20 pm
I wish you well. If I may be so impertinent to offer advice from someone who has been in the business nearly 40 years; make a plan but do not be a slave to it. Remain flexible – be prepared to radically change direction if the opportunity arises if for no other reason than it is fun. If I may suggest a company motto “Have fun – make money”. One without the other is miserable.
January 3, 2013 at 5:41 pm
Godspeed
January 17, 2013 at 3:36 am
Hi Bartosz,
first of all this will sound mean but I have to say it:
As a “science is my religion” guy Im happy to see this happening. Not because I feel that it will work, but because of the scientific method. So regardless if FPC succeeds or not it is valuable as an scientific experiment.
February 1, 2013 at 4:43 am
Bartosz,
Do you see a role for some of the more advanced topics in Haskell, such as Arrows, FRP, in the industrial application of Haskell?
February 1, 2013 at 1:12 pm
@Matt: Definitely! You can start writing tutorials as soon as you get the beta invitation, and you are free to make them publicly available (for now, only to beta members). You get your own URL, like https://haskell.fpcomplete.com/user/mattwilbur and you can promote it. If you think your publication should be promoted on our main page, just contact us and we’ll evaluate it. A good FRP or Arrows tutorial would be a great addition.