Fostering Honest SaaS Conversations with Austin Petersmith, CEO of Capiche | Ep. #366

With the explosive proliferation of SaaS products, it can be difficult to keep up to speed with developments such as pricing trends. While there are review sites for products, these have largely become an extension of marketing and sales rather than objective information for customers. Capiche is looking to turn this model on its head, and CEO, Austin Petersmith, joins us to share insights into the exciting platform. Capiche is a secret society for SaaS products, showing pricing data for a variety of companies. We kick off the episode by learning more about Austin and the company. With a background in journalism and experience in tech startups, Austin saw the flawed software development review ecosystem that comes from a pay to play model. He realized the need for elevated conversations, which set the wheels in motion for the creation of Capiche. We then move to discuss the pricing data the site has available. With pricing asymmetry and opacity as the biggest problems, by making data available, Capiche puts users back in the driver’s seat. From there, we then look at the platform’s approach to monetization and why they are opting to build their community first. Their customer-centric approach ensures that they stay true to the transparent ethos which the platform was built on. We round the show off with some tips from Austin for anyone looking to build community and more. Be sure to tune in today!   TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:31] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [01:00] Find out more about Austin’s story and what led to the creation of Capiche. [03:56] What Austin thought was missing with SaaS products and the conversations about them.  [04:42] The SaaS pricing data that Capiche has available and the benefits for users. [06:42] Capiche’s growth plan and why they’re opting for high quality over monetization now. [08:00] What Capiche is working on currently. [09:22] Some of the ways that Austin has thought about monetizing Capiche.  [11:27] How Capiche looks to turn the conventional review site approach on its head. [11:57] Capiche user metrics and other data.  [14:52] Lessons that Austin has learned from the mistakes he made building Capiche. [17:52] Austin’s favorite business tool at the moment.  [19:03] A recent great business book Austin has read.   Resources From The Interview:     Austin Petersmith on LinkedIn Austin Petersmith on Twitter Austin Petersmith’s email Capiche Jon Stewart Jason Calacanis Inside.com Notion Wirecutter Hacker News Figma Must read book: The Great CEO Within     Leave Some Feedback:     What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here Subscribe to Leveling Up on iTunes Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed     Connect with Eric Siu:      Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter