AI-generated analysis, not investment advice. The articles are written by AI, edited, and checked against company filings — but the judgements are opinions and the figures go stale. How this is made · Terms

Evernote: Three Hundred Forty-One People to SixtyNarrow moat

Bending Spoons (BSP) — moat facet

Evernote is the proof the method works on an abandoned product: 82% fewer people, a product that shipped more often, and registrations that turned from falling to growing.

Evernote is the business that made Bending Spoons famous, and the numbers in the prospectus are the reason. The company bought Evernote Corporation on 3 January 2023 for $199.7 million1; at acquisition more than 200 million people had created an Evernote account and the average customer tenure was 7.2 years2.

Evernote new user registrations, change on the year (%)-23%2021-23%2022-20%2023+29%2024+20%2025Bending Spoons Form 424B4, Business; acquisition completed 3 January 2023
Three years of decline, then two of growth.

Then it cut. The number of full-time equivalent team members dedicated to Evernote declined from 341 at the time of the acquisition to 60 at the end of 2024, nearly all of whom were Spooners, a reduction of 82%3, and management layers came down from four to two4. In July 2023 operations moved from the United States to Europe, with separation terms of 16 weeks of salary, health insurance for up to a year and a pro-rated performance bonus5.

What followed is harder to dismiss than the layoffs. Product releases rose 50% in 2023 and doubled again in 2024, with over 150 updates in 20256. Information-technology infrastructure expense as a share of revenue was cut 47% in 2025 against 2022, median note opening time fell 35%, and more than 6,000 reliability-related enhancements were made between 2023 and 20257. New user registrations had fallen 23%, 23% and 20% in 2021, 2022 and 2023, then rose 29% in 2024 and 20% in 20258.

The monetisation change was counter-intuitive: non-paying users were given all features with usage limits, and conversions triggered by hitting a limit doubled against 2022 and were 51% of all conversions in 20259. Average revenue per monthly active user was two and a half times as high in 2025 as in 202210.

Half of the rebuilt team was then moved to the next job. Bending Spoons redeployed half the Evernote team to Harvest in July 2025 to execute that transformation11, which is what owning the people rather than the business unit allows. It is also why the Evernote headcount figure should be read as a measure of what the product needs rather than of what the company is willing to spend on it.

Evernote contributed revenue of $95.0 million and income before tax of $11.3 million in 202312, and its net revenue retention of 99% is the highest of the four businesses the company discloses13. That retention figure is the one to watch: it is what says the price rises did not cost Bending Spoons the base.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Registrations positive since 2024; retention 99%; revenue per user 2.5 times 2022.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Full-time equivalents dedicated to Evernote
60 at end-2024, from 341 at acquisition

The cost base the transformation removed; a rise back would mean the smaller team cannot hold the product.

Source: Bending Spoons Form 424B4 prospectus ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Seventy Dollars to One Hundred and Thirty
Evernote's price went up 86% within four months of the purchase, and the only published check on whether that was too far is a retention number the…
References
  1. ReportedThe company bought Evernote Corporation on 3 January 2023 for $199.7 million; at acquisition more than 200 million people had created an Evernote account and the average customer tenure was 7.2 years.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe company bought Evernote Corporation on 3 January 2023 for $199.7 million; at acquisition more than 200 million people had created an Evernote account and the average customer tenure was 7.2 years.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedThe number of full-time equivalent team members dedicated to Evernote declined from 341 at the time of the acquisition to 60 at the end of 2024, nearly all of whom were Spooners, a reduction of 82%, and management layers came down from four to two.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the Business section on the Platform: people, hiring, compensation and culture. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe number of full-time equivalent team members dedicated to Evernote declined from 341 at the time of the acquisition to 60 at the end of 2024, nearly all of whom were Spooners, a reduction of 82%, and management layers came down from four to two.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the Business section on the Platform: people, hiring, compensation and culture. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  5. Third-party estimateIn July 2023 operations moved from the United States to Europe, with separation terms of 16 weeks of salary, health insurance for up to a year and a pro-rated performance bonus.
    Business Today, Evernote lays off US-based employees as it shifts base to Europe - the July 2023 layoff and its separation terms. — July 2023 · publ. 10 July 2023 · source ↗
  6. ReportedProduct releases rose 50% in 2023 and doubled again in 2024, with over 150 updates in 2025.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the Business section on the Platform: people, hiring, compensation and culture. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedInformation-technology infrastructure expense as a share of revenue was cut 47% in 2025 against 2022, median note opening time fell 35%, and more than 6,000 reliability-related enhancements were made between 2023 and 2025.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the Business section on the transformation of individual acquired businesses. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedNew user registrations had fallen 23%, 23% and 20% in 2021, 2022 and 2023, then rose 29% in 2024 and 20% in 2025.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the Business section on the transformation of individual acquired businesses. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedThe monetisation change was counter-intuitive: non-paying users were given all features with usage limits, and conversions triggered by hitting a limit doubled against 2022 and were 51% of all conversions in 2025.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the Business section on the transformation of individual acquired businesses. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedAverage revenue per monthly active user was two and a half times as high in 2025 as in 2022.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the Business section on the transformation of individual acquired businesses. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedBending Spoons redeployed half the Evernote team to Harvest in July 2025 to execute that transformation, which is what owning the people rather than the business unit allows.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - the Business section on the transformation of individual acquired businesses. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedEvernote contributed revenue of $95.0 million and income before tax of $11.3 million in 2023, and its net revenue retention of 99% is the highest of the four businesses the company discloses.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
  13. ReportedEvernote contributed revenue of $95.0 million and income before tax of $11.3 million in 2023, and its net revenue retention of 99% is the highest of the four businesses the company discloses.
    Bending Spoons S.p.A. Form 424B4, the final initial-public-offering prospectus dated 30 June 2026 - the master document, covering the business, the Playbook, the Platform, the audited financial statements for 2023-2025, the Q1 2026 interim, the acquisitions, customers, risk factors and legal proceedings - Note 5 business combinations, the acquisition history and the pro-forma financial information. — FY2023-Q1 2026 · publ. 1 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated October 20, 2026