Swedish citizens pay 1% (or more) of their income to the Swedish church every year... But they don't have to! - This niche was dominated by scammy services based in tax havens. We wanted to provide a clean and FREE solution to a problem that is easily fixed.
Niche Mates make niche products.
This one is REALLY niche.
What does "Gå ur svenska kyrkan" mean?
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It's Swedish for "leave the swedish church".
What's the problem you're solving?
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Swedish citizens born before 1996 automatically become members of the Swedish church- religious or not.
It wouldn't matter... if you didn't have to pay part of your income to them! Depending on where you live, you pay between 1-2% of your salary to the Swedish church.
You're allowed to leave, but they don't make it easy. It's a great business they've got going:
- Acquisition costs are 0 - you become a member automatically upon birth
- Most members are unaware that they are paying - it's not talked about a lot
- Recurring revenue - a 1-2% royalty on productivity of millions of people...
- It's hard to opt-out - why would they make it easy to stop giving them money?
The church asks you to print out a form (that's hard to find), sign with a blue pen (wtf?) and send to the congregation you belong to (which one do I belong to??).
They make it hard. We make it easy.
Why did we build this?
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Leaving the church is free, but it's a lot of work to figure out how to do it. Over 20k people search every month about this, with little information to find.
There's a few scammy sites out there that "help". They're often based in tax havens, charge WAY too much and don't deliver what they promise.
We figured we could make things easy for the customer and make a small margin in the process.
► We Need YOU 🤜 💥 🤛
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I'd love some feedback on the layout of the site. Maybe you could translate it to learn more about how it works?
Thanks for checking out Gå ur Svenska Kyrkan =)
@matt_phelps Hey 🖐 Congratulations on the launch! For our global users, can you please update the post in English? The community would be able to engage more that way :)
@matt_phelps Yup, Matt. Thank you so much. I leave the title updation choice upto you. If you feel that the name can also translate into a meaning, then please update it, otherwise we are fine with the tagline and description updation. Really sorry to bother you with all the translation work 😅
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Dude, have you really done your research?
You are making pretty bold claims right and left, without justification.
"Swedish citizens born before 1996 automatically become members of the Swedish church- religious or not."
No one is "made" a member anymore. This is a remnant from when church and state in Sweden was not separated. Post church state separation, you have to be baptized to become a member.
"It wouldn't matter... if you didn't have to pay part of your income to them! Depending on where you live, you pay between 1-2% of your salary to the Swedish church."
If you don't want to remain a member, you can leave. And if you pay close attention to your tax return you see the amount listed every single year, so all cards are on the table. But you make it sound like there's shady business involved, which is false.
"You're allowed to leave, but they don't make it easy."
Pick up the phone, send an email or fill out an online form. These are really some next level difficult tasks. Yes you have to sign a document with your name, but that's because the membership is connected to your taxes and you need to verify with your legal name and signature.
"It's a great business they've got going"
Dude, come on. It's the church. They help homeless people, sick and dying people at the hospitals, people in crisis etc. You keep making them sound like a shady corporation.
"- Acquisition costs are 0 - you become a member automatically upon birth"
Not true. If you are a member, the church pays for your baptism, confirmation, wedding, funeral (and gravestone maintenance after you're gone). So if you're determined to just look at the numbers (which I think is a silly thing to do) you are getting so much more than you're paying for.
"- Most members are unaware that they are paying - it's not talked about a lot"
I don't know how you do your taxes, but you are supposed to read through your documents before you send them in. And if people do that, they can see how much they are paying, so there are no hidden costs anywhere.
"- Recurring revenue - a 1-2% royalty on productivity of millions of people..."
Dude, call it what it is. A membership fee. If someone doesn't know where their money is going, even when it is spelled out clearly on your tax returns from the IRS, then they probably need to get a hold of their finances first.
"- It's hard to opt-out - why would they make it easy to stop giving them money?
The church asks you to print out a form (that's hard to find), sign with a blue pen (wtf?) and send to the congregation you belong to (which one do I belong to??).
They make it hard. We make it easy."
No it's not. You fill out a form online and send it via email or you can just pick up the phone and call the vicar. What you are describing is one of the alternatives. It's not the only way. And sure, you could argue that the membership shouldn't even be on the tax return (which is my opinion) but now that it is, of course you need to sign it, it's not only the church it is the IRS too.
"Why did we build this?
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Leaving the church is free, but it's a lot of work to figure out how to do it. Over 20k people search every month about this, with little information to find.
There's a few scammy sites out there that "help". They're often based in tax havens, charge WAY too much and don't deliver what they promise.
We figured we could make things easy for the customer and make a small margin in the process."
Dude, honestly. Why should someone give their money to you to help them leave the church? Here's the process:
Send an email to your congregation where you live or call the vicar.
Get a letter back that you sign and send back.
DONE!
And you've not spent a single dime on anything.
Who is really trying to make the money here?
Your process isn't much different from theirs. With your system you still require the signature. So it's not like this is a productivity game changing solution.
Hey @marcusurbanski ! Thanks for your thoughts.
It seems like you think leaving the church is very straightforward. Fair enough, it might be for you and I. So why do thousands of citizens pay for services like this every year? Why do people thank us for "finally getting them out"?
Btw, we also help people leave the church for FREE. We make it very clear how to do it and even email them everything they need... but they still choose to pay 🤔
Not everyone has a printer, not everyone scans their tax documents thoroughly and not everyone wants to spend their time figuring out how to leave. $15 might be worth the saved time?
Some of your points are not true, others are a matter of opinion. My opinion is that it could be far simpler to leave the church than it is. I don't think people would PAY to do it otherwise.
Why do people pay for bottled water when it's essentially free? It's convenient. Not everyone is as resourceful as you are. Instead of patronizing these people, we helped them.
Marcus! Thanks for your comment! You put in a lot of effort and have given great feedback. I appreciate it =)
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@matt_phelps Hey bro, I admit that I was a little on the front with a lot of my comments, thanks for being a good sport. All in all, if it all comes down to simplifying a decision that someone has already made, then I'm all for it and I do believe your product would help in that process. Best of luck!
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