TotemCash got its start in 1998, releasing the now-legendary VirtuaGirl desktop strippers, which, according to one interview, “achieved a level of mainstream and adult success than no-one could have anticipated, with over 100 million installations.”
AVN Online recently caught up with TotemCash co-founder, Richard “Rex” Excoffier, to find out what makes virtual strippers such a lucrative business.
VirtuaGirl reached the 3 million downloads mark in 2008 — what is the story with VirtuaGirl and VirtuaGuy today in 2009?
We released the first version of VirtuaGirl back in 1998. It has been an immediate success and that version reached more than 1,000 million installs. The new HD version we’re featuring now comes with a community that reached 6 millions members in May 2009.
How have you been able to sustain that success?
I believe innovation is the key. Adding new features to the software for the end user and adding new promo tools for the affiliates is the only way to sustain success. The latest version of the software automatically brings a fresh new girl, in HD, on the user desktop every day, for free. From there it’s just a matter of time ‘til he falls in love with one of the girls and pays to see her naked.
Any success stories you’d like to share?
In 2000 my partner walks into my office with a bank statement in his hands telling me this is how much we have in bank. Then he added, “OK, I lied to you we have a bit more and with the difference we can both become helicopter pilots.” We’re still both flying today, he’s now even running an helicopter company on the side.
What would you tell a new affiliate or someone interested in becoming an affiliate about your business?
Most affiliates I know are facing difficulties maintaining their income with porn websites selling videos due to the competition of tube sites. We don’t ***** much from the tube sites and we’re an alternative product to promote along with cams and dating sites. Our product is softer than most sites around so starting to promote us takes a bit more than redirecting porn traffic, but it’s worth the effort. Last but not least, we’re the only one in this industry to share the detailed statistics of our top 100 affiliates