Mostly Growth

In this (classic) episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ are joined by Emily Kramer, founder of the MKT1 newsletter and former head of marketing at Asana and Carta, to break down how modern B2B marketers should think about strategy, budgeting, and distribution. They unpack her iconic Fuel vs. Engine framework, why most marketing teams are drowning in RAM (Random Acts of Marketing), and what finance and marketing leaders consistently get wrong about annual planning. Plus, Emily shares her LinkedIn flywheel playbook and calls out which channels are hot — and which are not.—SPONSORS:beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.—LINKS: MKT1: https://www.mkt1.co/Emily on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilykramer/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro & Replay1:57 Meet Emily Kramer2:55 Steph Curry or Taylor Swift?3:51 What Is RAM?5:35 Fuel vs. Engine6:27 Diagnosing the Imbalance9:22 Sponsors - beehiiv | Tabs | Lightfield12:22 Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up13:24 Making the Math Work15:55 Gut-Checking Your Plan17:33 People Spend vs. Program Spend19:55 CMOs & Budget Trade-Offs23:18 The LinkedIn Flywheel24:20 Thought Leader Ads26:09 Signal-Based Follow-Up27:08 Who Should Post on LinkedIn?30:18 Is LinkedIn Pay-to-Play?32:42 Channels: Hot or Not34:41 Business Blunders38:16 Something We Tried: Supper Clubs40:22 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #LinkedInGrowth #SaaSMarketing

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle is joined by Ron Gabrisko, longtime CRO of Databricks, to break down how Databricks scaled from under $1M in sales to billions in ARR. They unpack the enterprise sales bet, why PLG alone wasn’t enough, and what founders misunderstand about selling to the biggest customers.—SPONSORS:Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run—LINKS: Databricks: https://www.databricks.com/Ron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-gabrisko-4a21a/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Databricks CRO0:59 Getting to the first million ARR1:40 Betting on enterprise early3:40 What founders underestimate about enterprise sales5:08 Comp plan evolution: commit to consumption7:00 Explaining consumption comp to reps8:24 Fast starts: bundling services to speed up usage9:44 Sponsors — Lightfield | beehiiv | Tabs12:44 Seasonality in a consumption business14:46 Reinventing yourself at each phase of growth16:46 Hiring at scale: Ron still DMs candidates18:36 What Ron looks for in interviews19:24 The first million-dollar deals21:34 Hunter vs. Core: separating new logo from expansion23:10 AI in go-to-market at Databricks24:31 AI spend vs. people spend25:38 What's overhyped about AI in sales26:26 Business blunders: the $800 to $6,400 token bill28:10 Business blunders: 9-9-7 grind culture30:32 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #SalesStrategy #AIStrategy #RevenueOperations

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle break down why AI may be more transformative for Main Street businesses than Fortune 500 companies. They unpack how AI changes the math for owners of pizza shops, landscaping companies, vet clinics, and medical practices by helping small teams sell more, serve customers faster, and keep more of the upside.—SPONSORS:Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Who Gets Paid When Anthropic Raises at $965B?https://youtu.be/kXd7QgJiNboShould You Stay or Leave Your Job?https://youtu.be/2-HBLBHwWfA—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro banter: AI realtors and pizza shops4:55 Best time ever to be a small business owner6:01 The employee doesn't win with AI — the owner does6:31 Franchisee as the sleeper AI play8:57 Sponsors — Tabs | Lightfield | beehiiv11:58 Dad's car dealership story13:00 Three buckets: get customers, support them, manage money15:55 Get more customers: landscaping20:13 Support existing customers: the vet21:40 Deterministic beats AI for routine tasks22:03 Smart routing, not triage23:48 Managing money: the Botox clinic25:48 Patient intake forms are broken26:19 Expense categorization and supply ordering27:04 Scaling a service, not replacing it27:55 Which Main Street business wins?29:41 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIStrategy #SmallBusiness #GrowthStrategy #ProductMonetization

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ break down Anthropic’s massive fundraise, its confidential IPO filing, and who actually gets paid when AI valuations go vertical. They cover crossover funds, SPVs, management fees, employee secondaries, lockups, banker fees, and why the real money may be made before the company ever trades publicly.—SPONSORS:beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:SpaceX S1 Breakdown: The Numbers Behind the Biggest IPO in Historyhttps://youtu.be/AARjbTO8FKoAnthropic Is Catching OpenAI Faster Than Anyone Expectedhttps://youtu.be/HqzjybVek4MShould You Stay or Leave Your Job?https://youtu.be/2-HBLBHwWfA—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Germany's golf license3:45 Why the raise and IPO filing happened together6:08 Who led the round: crossover funds10:11 Sponsors — beehiiv | Tabs | Lightfield13:12 SPVs explained15:06 SPV fee structures18:02 AI IPOs as a management fee machine20:06 Seed VC vs. late stage21:04 Carry vesting: golden handcuffs24:45 Have Anthropic employees made money?25:32 OpenAI secondary: 75 people hit $30M25:40 Anthropic's secondary at $350B27:03 What "confidential filing" actually means29:53 Banker fees: 3–5% of the float31:00 Employee, investor, or banker?33:00 Could anyone acquire Anthropic?33:25 Fun fact: Germany's church tax34:12 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #IPO #VentureCapital #AIStrategy #Investing

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle break down the five paths to building a $100M ARR business — from mice to elephants — and what new data from 1,043 startups reveals about which paths founders actually choose, why most companies stay with their first customer segment, and why deer hunters may be growing 3–5x faster.—SPONSORS:Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:SaaS Has a Branding Problemhttps://youtu.be/qWyjFTqnfhg—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Swag, merch stores, and VC baby bibs5:13 Topic intro: 5 ways to build a $100M business7:43 The framework: flies, mice, rabbits, deer, elephants8:51 Mouse hunting: $100/year, need a million customers9:07 Rabbit hunting: the most common starting point9:57 Deer hunting: where sales investment starts to make sense10:09 Sponsors — Lightfield | beehiiv | Tabs13:09 Company examples for each animal15:46 The data: 1,043 companies from Chartmogul17:16 Retention by animal: the leaky bucket problem20:36 Starting animal doesn't affect early growth — but does later21:12 Retention rates: mice 25%, deer 70%, elephants 100%23:27 Retention imprints on your DNA — even 3 years later24:25 The sweet spot: deer is the best starting point26:31 Why elephant hunting early usually fails28:10 70% of companies never change target customer29:03 Most common migration: rabbit to deer30:35 HubSpot: the rabbit-to-deer poster child31:28 Takeaway: you are what you hunt31:33 Business blunders: AI-generated LinkedIn comments33:34 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #ProductGrowth #StartupGrowth #RevenueOperations

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle digs into who's actually hiring in GTM right now — and the data is full of surprises. SDR jobs are supposedly dying, yet AI-native startups are doubling down on them. GTM engineering is the breakout role. Customer support is being automated away. The full picture from 120K+ job posts.—SPONSORS:Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Should You Stay or Leave Your Job?https://youtu.be/2-HBLBHwWfAWhen the marketing math doesn’t math | with Emily Kramerhttps://youtu.be/sSuoV_YSrlwFantasy Startup Draft: The First 5 Hires We’d Make Todayhttps://youtu.be/usxbRdABi0I—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Coyote encounter2:04 Show intro2:28 Who's hiring in GTM?4:44 SDR posts down 21% — but AI companies are hiring the most7:30 AI native companies only 5% of GTM hiring7:58 Jevons paradox and SDR efficiency9:29 Why AI companies need more SDRs, not fewer10:33 Sponsors — Tabs | Lightfield | beehiiv13:34 Customer support down 67% at AI native companies15:07 Customer success is holding steady16:04 Solutions engineering: still in demand17:39 GTM hiring overall down 15% YoY18:21 Sales: still 40% of GTM, holding up19:57 Marketing down 20% — but growth marketing up 8%21:22 Fastest growing role: GTM engineer22:13 RevOps is flat — and that's actually good23:16 GTM ratios: 10 salespeople to 4 SEs, 4 marketers24:06 Are GTM roles becoming more generalist?27:04 Career advice: develop AI skills28:44 Biggest surprise: RevOps not getting crushed29:35 Biggest takeaway: marketers are leading AI adoption31:44 Hull parking permit misspelling33:03 RevSwap AI: revenue laundering platform33:59 General Catalyst ad backfires34:39 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #GrowthMarketing #RevenueOperations #AIStrategy

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle unpack the career anxiety spreading across tech. They talk about AI, private-company wealth, career leverage, title vs. cash vs. equity, and why the smartest move may be getting brutally clear on the game you’re actually playing.—SPONSORS:beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:A CFO Explains Secondarieshttps://youtu.be/pENvBuXhGukSam Jacobs of Pavilionhttps://youtu.be/8X-JVOF-1A0Bruno Annicq of Wellhubhttps://youtu.be/dfjSjPAXEEk—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 SF trip and CFO dinners1:27 A consistent feeling: am I on the right thing?2:47 Anthropic secondary: 75 people hit $30M cap3:06 Anecdote 1: CFO at 50M ARR SaaS7:58 Anecdote 2: banker pivoting to defense tech8:03 Cybersecurity: best and worst of times10:40 Sponsors — beehiiv | Tabs | Lightfield13:40 Graduation speaker gets booed for AI speech15:10 The comparison trap: luck vs. merit in SaaS17:54 What are you maximizing for?18:29 Is leaving tech a real path?21:07 Advice for the great reshuffling21:51 Lever 1: maximize equity22:51 Lever 2: maximize base cash23:30 Lever 3: maximize title and opportunity24:00 Lever 4: lifestyle and autonomy24:52 CJ's career story: consulting at 58k28:28 OpenView: pay cut for long-term growth29:13 Is there career arbitrage right now?29:48 Why join a fast-growing AI company31:06 Hot AI startups pay well — but expectations are high32:04 18 months to get in the club33:26 How to pick the right AI company34:19 Can you have a great job at a bad company?35:03 Mediocre at a great company beats the reverse36:18 Career at a twilight company?38:38 If you had to choose: what do you join?38:49 Best time ever to be a small business owner39:45 AI at the pizza shop story41:18 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #CareerGrowth #SaaS #AIStrategy #StartupGrowth

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle break down SpaceX’s potential $1.5T IPO, Starlink’s subscription engine, xAI’s cash burn, and why the next wave of mega-IPOs could pull hundreds of billions out of the market. The question isn’t just whether SpaceX is worth it. It’s who has to fund the bet.—SPONSORS:Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—TIMESTAMPS0:00 SpaceX IPO at $2T?0:57 Topic framing: the everything's-confidential S13:18 What SpaceX is: rockets, Starlink, xAI, X6:42 Launch services: $4B, reusable rockets7:03 Rideshare pricing: $350K, transparent pricing8:26 Launch is a loss leader for Starlink8:30 Starlink: $10B and 63% EBITDA margins10:20 Sponsors — Lightfield | beehiiv | Tabs13:20 Starlink plans: residential vs. roam15:45 10M subscribers, path to 20M16:26 X/Twitter and xAI: $5B, burning $1B/month18:40 Data centers in space: the AI thesis20:05 IPO process and Morgan Stanley20:51 $1.75T valuation: Comcast in space21:14 Will SpaceX buy Tesla?22:26 Bundling vs. unbundling: why it works here25:05 Forward multiple: 50–70x27:35 S&P 500 inclusion boost28:32 30% retail allocation: meme stock?30:22 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #IPO #SpaceX #GrowthStrategy #Investing

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ break down the strange economics of AI margins. They unpack why a 100% markup on token costs still does not look like SaaS, what companies should include in gross margin, why AI pricing is so cost-driven, and whether model costs, open source, or bring-your-own-tokens will reshape the whole category.—SPONSORS:Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Disney World Is a Pricing Masterclasshttps://youtu.be/LwTlFE10Yew—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Concert parking 3x premium4:08 Show intro4:31 Topic intro: AI founder's 100% markup5:58 Lowest margin businesses8:12 Luxury vs. discount retail margins10:42 Highest margin businesses11:04 Sponsors — Tabs | Lightfield | beehiiv14:05 AI margin survey: 230 companies14:55 Median target: ~50% gross margin16:31 Anthropic, OpenAI, and Lovable data17:01 LLMs vs. application layer18:33 What belongs in gross margin20:02 Free tier AI costs: COGS or S&M?21:40 Token maxing era and Snowflake analogy26:47 Will open source models be good enough?27:52 Shrinkflation: swap models under the hood28:44 BYOT: bring your own tokens30:58 Do gross margins even matter?33:15 Toast: bifurcated margin preview34:05 Prediction: software and AI margins split 80/2035:30 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIStrategy #ProductMonetization #Pricing #FutureOfSoftware

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ break down the pricing genius of Disney World — from MagicBands and Lightning Lanes to free kids’ meals, “jumbo” pizza, Florida resident discounts, and why the Disney app is really a sales funnel. The lesson: Disney doesn’t just price a product. It prices the whole ecosystem.—SPONSORS:beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:AI Pricing Is Getting Weirderhttps://youtu.be/MJ2TfipaHeo—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Disney trip cost2:25 Show intro2:48 Topic intro: Disney pricing lessons3:39 Lesson 1: 3 days cheaper than 2 — the loss leader ticket5:17 Lesson 2: Magic Band and friction removal7:31 Typeform auto-upgrade analogy8:35 Sponsors — beehiiv | Tabs | Lightfield11:36 Lesson 3: Lightning Lane and dynamic pricing16:37 Lesson 4: Character breakfast — kids eat free19:49 Lesson 5: $44 pizza and packaging perception22:06 Lesson 6: Exit through the gift shop23:02 Lesson 7: Sell at peak emotional moments26:04 Lesson 8: The trolley ride and onboarding dead space29:12 Lesson 9: Florida resident pricing and segmentation32:18 Lesson 10: The Disney app as monetization layer35:06 Takeaway: everything is interconnected — optimize for LTV36:26 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #ProductMonetization #Pricing #GrowthStrategy #UsageBasedPricing

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ break down why AI pricing is getting less settled, not more. They dig into pricing and packaging shifts from Microsoft, GitHub, ServiceNow, Salesforce, SAP, Adobe, Canva, Anthropic, and more — from usage credits and AI passes to headless products and agent pricing. Plus: why large software companies are now leading the AI monetization curve.—SPONSORS:Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Unpacking Spirit Airlines Complex Financial Model with CFO Scott Haralsonhttps://youtu.be/9GQNhV7F3rUSaaS Has a Branding Problemhttps://youtu.be/qWyjFTqnfhgHubSpot, Intercom, and the New SaaS Pricing Battlehttps://youtu.be/ajnwAw2RMMI—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Spirit Airlines shutdown3:16 AI pricing is still changing fast4:47 Salesforce goes headless: killing the seat?10:11 Sponsors — Lightfield | beehiiv | Tabs13:12 Microsoft: every seat becomes a seat + usage hybrid15:04 GitHub Copilot moves to usage based16:31 29% of companies now have AI credits17:17 WTF is a credit?20:13 Credits are vendor-friendly, not customer-friendly22:48 ServiceNow: 50% of new revenue is non-seat24:20 SAP shifts to AI consumption pricing25:40 Adobe: outcome based pricing for CX29:06 Canva AI pass: subscription add-on model31:35 Anthropic lowers seat price, shifts to usage34:22 What this means for investors34:53 Survey: what pricing models investors actually want37:04 Business blunders37:08 Daycare silent auction dress code blunder39:40 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #Pricing #AIStrategy #ProductMonetization

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle break down the creator monetization flywheel, from Disney’s original “Total Merchandising Concept” to Dude Perfect’s modern media empire. They unpack why trust sits at the center, how creators sequence new revenue pillars, and what their own flywheels could become across content, community, talent, consulting, products, and events.—SPONSORS:Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Vacation and TSA global entry kids2:16 Intro4:21 Disney's 1957 total merchandising concept8:01 Dude Perfect: stadium, show, and shelf10:45 Sponsors — Tabs | Lightfield | beehiiv13:46 CJ's mostly media empire sketch17:02 Content vs. audience at the center17:41 The content creator mullet25:42 Kyle's flywheel: consulting, media, insights32:35 Niching down into sub-brands33:14 Multiplayer game or solopreneur?34:16 Business blunders34:19 Anthropic's AB test pricing blunder35:41 CJ runs household finances through Claude36:43 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #CreatorEconomy #ProductMonetization #GrowthStrategy #SaaS

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar are joined by beehiiv co-founder and CEO Tyler Denk to talk about why he shares the company’s revenue, burn, and cash so publicly, how beehiiv reset the business after nearly selling and cutting spend by 90%, how growth and onboarding differ across creators, brands, and media companies, and why more software companies are starting to think like media businesses.—SPONSORS:beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.—LINKS: Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-denk/Company: https://www.beehiiv.com/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Building a CRM for the futurehttps://youtu.be/7OQ0kgU4zps—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 beehiiv MCP discussion3:54 Building in public: revenue transparency6:19 Acquisition interest: why Tyler stayed the course8:46 Morning Brew origin story9:06 Platform consolidation thesis11:23 Sponsors — beehiiv | Tabs | Lightfield14:23 Wide ICP challenge: PLG to enterprise16:52 Podcast launch success17:42 Multi product stickiness and churn20:33 Ad network and SaaS flywheel24:58 Ad revenue vs. subscription thesis26:03 Boost feature for subscriber acquisition26:58 Creator economy M&A wave28:07 Hustle acquisition analogy33:36 Creator Spotlight origin and evolution34:20 Top 3 growth bets to 50M ARR35:07 Bet 2: enterprise sales36:20 Bet 3: ad network / ML investment37:30 Bet 4: MCP as agentic infrastructure37:43 Things we tried: Claude skill building40:05 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #CreatorEconomy #Newsletter #SaaS #ProductGrowth

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar break down why “SaaS” may have become a dirty word, HubSpot’s shaky AEO launch, Legora’s big Jude Law swing, Elena Verna’s point that users now teach themselves software, and whether Allbirds is headed for the bleakest AI pivot in tech.—SPONSORS:Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Pricing in the Real World: Babies, Bots, and Billinghttps://youtu.be/T1cjFSZR0k0Why Distribution Is the Only Moat Lefthttps://youtu.be/quGUbAbvUSwClaude in Excel: The 5-Minute Setuphttps://youtu.be/g0oV9aWYprk—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 SaaStock rebrands at its own funeral4:17 Show intro4:41 Are SaaS conferences dead?8:16 HubSpot's AEO tool and Jason Lemkin's takedown9:40 Sponsors — Lightfield | beehiiv | Tabs12:40 Launching AI products: you have to come correct14:58 AEO tools landscape16:06 Incumbents vs. AI natives on price19:42 Celebrity endorsements in tech: Lagora and Jude Law23:05 The trend: Ramp, Salesforce, celebrity branding23:27 Elena Verna: users discovering AI use cases themselves25:53 Claude Cowork as a personal AI27:45 The IKEA effect in AI29:11 Allbirds pivots to AI: meme stock or real?31:27 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #AIStrategy #ProductMonetization #GrowthMarketing

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar break down why SaaS may be heading from nonstop price increases into an all-out price war. They unpack HubSpot vs. Intercom, what cloud, airlines, and streaming can teach SaaS, and how companies should decide when to fight, where to discount, and how to win without destroying their business.—SPONSORS:Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Anthropic Is Catching OpenAI Faster Than Anyone Expectedhttps://youtu.be/HqzjybVek4MBuilding a CRM for the futurehttps://youtu.be/7OQ0kgU4zps—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro banter: Olympic fees and resort fees1:39 Show intro2:02 Topic intro: era of price wars3:00 Historical examples: cloud and SaaS4:00 Streaming wars example5:23 Airline basic economy example6:18 HubSpot undercutting Intercom in half8:41 ERP price war examples9:56 Sponsors — Tabs | Lightfield | beehiiv12:56 Whoop: subsidizing adoption14:41 How to respond: what's the playbook?15:15 Decide if you should fight the war19:23 Win beyond price: talk track and value20:20 Build a business case for customers24:51 Pick your battles: customers and segments25:40 Adobe bundling example26:42 End game planning28:16 Death spiral: the CFO's nightmare29:18 Lightfield unit economics example30:11 If all else fails: get acquired30:20 Business blunders30:43 Gartner magic quadrant blunder31:44 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #Pricing #ProductMonetization #GrowthStrategy

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle break down Anthropic’s absurd revenue ramp, debate whether OpenAI’s ad forecast passes the sniff test, and talk through how teams are actually using Claude today.—SPONSORS:beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runLightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Why Your Free Users Don’t Convert (And How to Fix It)https://youtu.be/i5ZZiZEu8M4Why SaaS Growth Always Slows (And How the Best Avoid It)https://youtu.be/d-G5i6a1DmwGrindr’s $0 CAC Secret from the CFO Who Launched Disney+ | Vanna Krantzhttps://youtu.be/ijFIMmtpLNwChatGPT’s $44 Billion Ad Playhttps://youtu.be/PcZoKVdaGm0—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 ChatGPT vs. Claude4:25 Show intro4:49 Topic intro: Anthropic Q15:23 $30B run rate — $21B added in one quarter6:07 Anthropic revenue timeline7:38 Claude Code and Cowork driving growth9:08 Anthropic vs. OpenAI business models9:47 Sponsors — beehiiv | Tabs | Lightfield12:48 ChatGPT free-to-paid conversion15:37 $10M revenue per employee16:35 OpenAI ad model update17:02 OpenAI's $102B ad forecast19:23 ARPU comparison vs. Meta19:56 Ad model changes incentives22:31 Go to market teams adopting Claude23:10 Claude chat vs. cowork vs. code breakdown26:21 Survey: top use cases26:44 Go to market and prospecting use cases29:48 Is Claude replacing tools?31:33 Calendly rescheduling blunder32:56 Corporate concert blunder34:38 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIStrategy #Anthropic #SaaS #ProductMonetization

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle sit down with Keith Peiris, cofounder of Lightfield, to unpack AI-native CRM, pricing, and go-to-market experiments. From shutting down a 25M-user product to betting on CRM’s future, they explore build vs. buy, AI hype cycles, and what monetization looks like in the AI era.—SPONSORS:Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run—LINKS: Lightfield: https://lightfield.app/Keith on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/keithpeirisMostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Steve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-cerasoli-269792180/TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro banter — OpenAI buys TBPN1:46 Show intro2:21 Challenges with the acquisition6:04 Claude code and the build vs. buy pendulum7:02 Cost of building approaches zero9:01 Sponsors — Lightfield | beehiiv | Tabs11:58 Killing Tome to build Lightfield15:52 Pivot story: board and team reaction17:33 Why AI CRM hasn't had its moment yet19:59 CRM as a world model of your business22:23 Go to market strategy: starting with YC25:24 Call recorder as a distribution wedge26:51 Why Lightfield chose seat-based pricing28:54 Long term greedy pricing strategy31:18 Business blunders31:37 Microsoft Copilot terms of use32:00 Seven-Eleven merch store32:31 Whale hunting blunder33:48 Things we tried: Apple AI receptionist34:41 Things we tried: the milkman35:39 Lightfield lead scorer demo36:25 What do you pay for?37:04 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIStartup #CRMSoftware #StartupPivot #Salestech #ProductLedGrowth

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, we break down revenue growth endurance—the metric that shows how well companies sustain growth over time. Why most SaaS companies see growth collapse, what separates the top quartile, and how endurance drives compounding ARR and valuation. Plus, what it actually takes to bend the growth curve.—SPONSORS:beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Steve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-cerasoli-269792180/—RELATED EPISODES:SaaS Is Dead? The Market Thinks So.https://youtu.be/VMLuuaob1ZMThe 5 Paths for Legacy SaaS Companieshttps://youtu.be/m1VqazWTBQ8Escaping the AI Thirst Trap: Building Products That Actually Last | Des Traynorhttps://youtu.be/LLtMIoppG3Y—TIMESTAMPS:All verified. Here are the timestamps:0:00 Intro banter: 10K race PR2:54 Show intro3:17 Topic intro: growth endurance3:52 What is growth endurance?4:54 Benchmarks: what does good look like?5:19 Who's crushing it: fintech and vertical SaaS7:03 Palantir as the poster child8:01 Valuation implications9:25 Laggards: Zscaler, Lyft, Coinbase10:18 Sponsors — beehiiv | Lightfield12:14 Fintech: much less predictable13:41 Sector-specific patterns: cyber and dev tools15:53 Private company data from Chartmogul16:39 43% median growth endurance18:36 Implications of falling off trajectory19:46 1 in 25 chance of re-accelerating20:29 Forecast honestly, not for the board22:45 Don't let Rule of 40 lie to you23:01 How to inflect growth23:27 Intercom's AI pivot24:55 GTM velocity and weekly sprints27:14 Fix marketing bottlenecks and pull pipeline forward30:01 One-off launches vs. recurring campaigns31:07 Batching vs. continuous shipping33:10 Pricing and packaging swings34:00 Mostly Metrics price increase story35:13 Meta premium subscriptions38:58 OpenAI CFO Sarah Fryer scoop40:58 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #RevenueGrowth #StartupMetrics #ProductMonetization

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, we tackle the question every legacy SaaS company is facing: what now? From “do nothing” to full reinvention, we break down the five strategic paths—profit maximization, internal disruptors, going on offense with AI, and more. If SaaS isn’t dead but the playbook is, this is what comes next.—SPONSORS:Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Big Bubble Trouble: Lessons from 400 Years of Financial Bubbleshttps://youtu.be/6__QACkHOgMSaaS Is Back… Or Is It?https://youtu.be/-Ua6ukTJihw—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro banter: changing sides of the bed1:14 Show intro2:00 SaaS apocalypse topic intro3:54 Software down 20% — worst of any sector4:49 SaaS company advantages5:51 On-prem to SaaS analogy8:43 Sponsors — Lightfield | beehiiv10:39 Path 1: Ignore it12:16 Newspaper analogy and timeline15:01 Limits of the newspaper analogy17:03 Path 2: Get really profitable21:48 The PE playbook22:26 Thoma Bravo: insulated categories23:19 Path 3: Startup within a startup23:35 Challenger brand example: Cricket Wireless25:19 Service as software carveout26:25 Intuit example27:54 Intercom: burning the bridges28:36 Path 4: Go on the offensive29:33 Anthropic vs. Cursor credits example33:22 Path 5: Total reinvention35:13 Bolt / StackBlitz example37:04 Which route would you pick?38:48 Business blunders38:56 AI use cases that were never real problems41:47 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #AIStrategy #ProductMonetization #GrowthStrategy

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, we break down why distribution is becoming the only real moat. As software gets easier to build, advantage shifts to who reaches the customer. We cover how AG1 buys attention, bundling as CAC, defaults as growth engines, and how AI companies are using cost structure itself as distribution.—SPONSORS:beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow and monetize their audience without platform tax. With best-in-class deliverability, built-in automations, customization, and powerful analytics, beehiiv helps writers scale with full ownership of their audience. Trusted by serious newsletter operators, it’s designed for people who treat newsletters like a business. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Why Your Free Users Don’t Convert (And How to Fix It)https://youtu.be/i5ZZiZEu8M4What Decisions Should AI Be Allowed to Make?https://youtu.be/Jv6-3X-JCSc—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro banter: distribution hacks1:02 Pizza outreach hack1:54 VC associate shows up at founder's apartment3:15 Renee Shah tl;dv stunts4:43 Distribution as a moat: topic intro5:15 Starter Story and This Week in Fintech acquisitions6:45 Calendly: great distribution, copyable product8:06 Sponsors — beehiiv | Lightfield09:57 Athletic Greens: creator distribution11:17 Whitelisting and creator programs13:06 Referral commission model14:51 Long term creator partnerships15:55 B2B creators: still early16:38 Bundled perks program21:16 Inference costs as distribution23:12 Winning at the defaults: Supabase25:51 PartsTech: embedded partnerships31:47 Community plays: GCAI example31:51 In-house media: Beehive Creator Spotlight33:34 Stunts and guerrilla marketing: Red Bull37:07 Fun facts: OpenAI ads $100M in 6 weeks40:26 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #Distribution #GrowthMarketing #SaaS #CreatorEconomy

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle celebrate their 50th episode and reflect on what they’ve learned after 50+ hours on the mic. Then they dive into the shift from revenue multiples to EBITDA, why SaaS lost its shortcut, how valuation actually works (DCF, comps, precedent deals), and what AI-driven uncertainty means for pricing, fundraising, and exits.—SPONSORS:HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/=—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro3:19 Show intro3:42 Revenue multiples topic intro5:23 Current multiples: Figma to Palantir6:36 Median at 3.1x, lowest in 8 years7:21 Why is the revenue multiple dying?8:38 Terminal value conundrum9:15 DCF walkthrough10:01 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic13:42 Why 2021 valuations were so high16:30 Gross margins matter18:24 Three ways to value a company20:24 Comps22:04 Precedent transactions22:26 What this means for operators24:27 EBITDA multiples today25:54 Low EBITDA examples: PayPal, Zoom27:47 The prisoner's dilemma29:22 Growth investor anecdote30:38 Takeaways31:29 Fun facts: securitizing cheese32:51 VC paid ads debate36:09 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #Valuation #RevenueMultiples #FinanceLeadership

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ break down why usage-based pricing is taking off—and how it breaks the traditional SaaS playbook. They cover what’s driving the shift, what breaks (sales comp, forecasting, renewals, metrics), and how to get investors and customers comfortable. Plus, how Snowflake reframed the model and common mistakes to avoid.—SPONSORS:Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving,visit https://www.rightrev.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:The IPO Playbook: Expert Advice from Lee Kirkpatrick, Twilio’s Former CFOhttps://youtu.be/PTKAUD7PSWUSaaS Is Back… Or Is It?https://youtu.be/-Ua6ukTJihw—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro5:33 Usage based pricing is taking off5:54 Why investors now love usage based7:20 AI native and pricing pattern match10:37 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev14:18 Usage based is how you run a company15:31 Sales commissions16:35 Revenue recognition18:55 Renewal conversations20:42 Onboarding22:43 Sales rep culture shift23:30 Forecasting23:54 Getting investors comfortable24:28 Snowflake's forecasting approach29:52 Portfolio of bets framing30:30 Getting customers comfortable30:48 What a "credit" actually means31:43 Help customers business case their usage33:12 Renewal terms transparency34:29 Takeaways35:27 Business blunders — Ramp vs. OpenAI38:19 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #UsageBasedPricing #SaaS #ProductMonetization #AIStartups

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ explore one of the most important questions in the AI era: what decisions should we actually delegate to machines? From agents spending money with corporate cards to handling customer support, hiring, and even sales, they break down where automation makes sense—and where it gets uncomfortable. Plus, how leadership changes when your job shifts from making decisions to setting the rules.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:AI Is Breaking SaaS Pricing (Scott Woody)https://youtu.be/ujkZWqeHpQYMulti-Year Deals and the Illusion of Better Pricing | Russell Lesterhttps://youtu.be/lCU0HFrp0YY—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 ChatGPT sold a house2:13 What are we delegating to AI agents?3:04 Ramp's agent cards5:06 Mastercard's open standard7:14 Dynamic budget reallocation9:38 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack13:18 Domains of delegation13:56 Meetings16:08 Customer interactions17:22 Sales20:03 Internal announcements22:19 Hiring and team management25:42 Would you let AI buy software?27:09 Flight rebooking scenario29:36 Business blunders30:38 Chipotle blunders33:11 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIAgents #Automation #FutureOfWork #SaaS

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, we unpack Sequoia’s thesis that the next $1T company will sell outcomes, not software. If selling tools puts you in a race against AI, does selling the work win instead? We break down which industries are most exposed, real-world examples, and what this shift means for moats, pricing, and valuation.—SPONSORS:HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro2:36 Sequoia's "Services as Software" report2:56 The trillion dollar thesis6:31 Which businesses to target7:47 Barriers around personal information9:00 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic12:41 Services still need humans16:28 Outsourced dev shops18:17 Sequoia's 2x2 framework20:40 Management consulting — is McKinsey dead?23:33 Outsourced call centers25:36 Law firms28:37 Accounting firms28:58 The 10x accountant30:20 Moats in this space33:51 How investors will value these companies36:37 Hot Wheels, Nvidia, Altman brothers37:32 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #AIAgents #ServicesAsASoftware #ProductMonetization

In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar break down one of the most overlooked levers in SaaS: free-to-paid conversion. With the average product converting just 8% of users, they unpack the tactics that actually move the needle—from attracting higher-intent users and improving onboarding to rethinking pricing, packaging, and sales-assist models.—SPONSORS:Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving,visit https://www.rightrev.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:AI Is Breaking SaaS Pricinghttps://youtu.be/ujkZWqeHpQY—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro2:33 What percent of apps do you pay for?3:43 The 8% conversion benchmark4:48 Start with marketing, not the product6:50 Organic vs. paid channel conversion8:39 Mid-funnel SEO explained9:54 Sponsors — Tropic | Hockey Stack | RightRev13:30 Finding mid-funnel SEO topics14:42 State of paid search17:26 Onboarding friction vs. motivation21:10 Who owns conversion?22:53 Free to paid as a compound metric25:10 Pricing and plans as the fastest lever26:08 Who owns pricing decisions?27:08 Sales teams and conversion30:23 AI agents as buyers32:56 Agentic onboarding and future funnels33:50 Business blunders — Cluey revenue scandal35:41 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #FreeToPaid #SaaS #ProductGrowth #ProductMonetization

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle break down one of the most consequential questions in tech right now: which major private company will IPO first, and just how big will it be? From Anthropic and SpaceX to OpenAI, Databricks, and Canva, they rank the candidates, debate the motivations to go public in an era of unlimited private capital, and unpack what it means when an IPO could raise $100 billion or more. They also dig into the murky world of split-valuation fundraising rounds — and what it signals about the current market.---SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what's already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com---LINKS:Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/---RELATED EPISODES:AI Is Breaking SaaS Pricinghttps://youtu.be/ujkZWqeHpQY---TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and intro1:23 Intro banter and skincare routines3:51 IPO candidates and capital intensity5:28 Why go public when private capital is infinite?6:00 The case for going public8:32 Secondary market data and VC pressure9:26 Ranking the candidates: Anthropic first11:04 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack14:48 IPO banking fees16:13 SpaceX: second in line17:00 SpaceX valuation and capital raised18:01 OpenAI: third19:33 Databricks: fourth21:51 Canva: last on the list24:05 Stripe25:11 Honorable mentions: Ramp, Anysphere/Cursor, Plaid26:37 Wildcard: Liquid Death27:07 Business blunder: split-valuation fundraising31:11 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #IPO #AIStocks #SaaSGrowth #VentureCapital

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle unpack one of the most confusing functions in SaaS: customer success. Based on a survey of 132 GTM leaders, they break down how CS teams are staffed, compensated, and structured — and why 93% of companies still aren’t confident they’ve gotten the model right. From P&L placement to comp plans to expansion ownership, they explore whether customer success is actually driving revenue or just absorbing budget.—SPONSORS:HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro banter3:24 CS team size benchmarks5:13 93% lack confidence in their CS model6:36 Renewal rates are solid8:10 CS identity crisis9:12 Where CS reports11:44 CS on the P&L10:02 Sponsors — Hockey Stack | RightRev | Tropic13:41 P&L placement results15:51 Staffing by count vs. revenue17:44 CS as a coverage problem18:28 CS is not paid like sales20:14 MBO vs. commission vs. hybrid22:01 Why commission is hard23:13 Hybrid comp gets diluted24:30 What CS is actually paid on25:19 Pay on adoption, not NPS27:26 NPS is not predictive29:26 Who owns expansion revenue?32:12 Should you charge for CS?34:09 Takeaways36:48 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #CustomerSuccess #SaaS #RevOps #ProductMonetization

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ sit down with Metronome CEO Scott Woody to unpack one of the biggest questions in tech: how AI will actually make money. They discuss usage-based pricing, credit models, and why AI may push software toward value-aligned monetization—plus what happens when agents, not humans, start making purchasing decisions.—SPONSORS:Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com—LINKS: Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-woody-21677121/Metronome: https://metronome.com/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Figma’s AI Credit Model: Should You Copy It?https://youtu.be/-ooA-jgApCs—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Claude outage and AI habits1:58 Stripe’s startup energy3:33 The AI monetization question4:12 Who’s getting AI pricing right6:04 Are agents the real buyers9:03 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev12:44 ChatGPT pricing psychology13:41 Why $9.99 beats $8.9715:05 Agents optimize pricing decisions18:22 Seats plus usage hybrids20:08 Investors push usage pricing22:40 Hard to change SaaS business models23:52 Usage vs seat pricing battle24:46 AI cost pressure forces change25:56 Optimization proves real value32:53 Credits are just a wrapper34:22 Value across multiple products35:29 Credits shift risk to buyer36:11 Complex credits need sales36:43 Credits move risk in pricing37:58 Block layoffs awkward all-hands#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaSPricing #AIMonetization #UsageBasedPricing #CreditPricing

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ break down Figma’s new AI credit model and why investors sent the stock up 14%. They unpack hybrid seat + credit pricing, power-law usage, the fine print on overages, and what this means for SaaS monetization in the age of AI. Plus: Snapchat’s 25M paying subs and a cautionary overages tale.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.reuters.com/business/figma-jumps-ai-push-boosts-software-design-spending-2026-02-19/https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/33459875669015-How-AI-credits-workhttps://www.saastr.com/salesforce-now-has-3-pricing-models-for-agentforce-and-maybe-right-now-thats-the-way-to-do-it/https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/2025-state-of-saas-pricing-changes—RELATED EPISODES:SaaS Is Dead? The Market Thinks So.https://youtu.be/VMLuuaob1ZM—TIMESTAMPS:Podcast:0:00 Wrong side of the bed1:51 Investors reward monetization4:36 Power users drive credits5:10 Credit models surge in SaaS7:25 Usage layered onto seats9:08 Figma vs vibe coding10:10 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack13:51 What a credit costs16:07 AI efficiency vs seat risk19:17 Use-it-or-lose-it credits20:53 Credit model fatigue22:13 Salesforce’s AI pricing evolution23:36 No single “best” pricing model24:29 Late but polished AI rollout25:42 Monetizing power users27:05 Snapchat’s surprise subscription scale#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIPricing #UsageBasedPricing #SaaSMonetization #ProductLedGrowth

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar tackle the “SaaS-pocalypse.” With median EV/NTM revenue multiples grinding to a 10-year low and stocks like Salesforce, Oracle, Figma, and Asana sharply off their peaks, they break down the real bear case: collapsing retention, AI replacing SaaS, and startups outflanking incumbents. Then they explain why renewal rates, Rule of 40 profiles, and first-party data suggest SaaS isn’t dead—just repriced.SPONSORS:HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/the-era-of-capital-intensive-ipos-and-the-14b-ipo-you-probably-forgot-about—RELATED EPISODES:Pricing Strategy Guide: 7 Pricing Models Every Operator Should Knowhttps://youtu.be/5nxETc2IhrA—TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Snowstorm Banter And Shovel Debate 01:47 Is SaaS Dead? 03:27 Zombie Or Thriving 05:15 AI Threat To Project Tools 06:48 Flexible Use Cases As Moat 07:11 DocuSign Debate 08:09 Contract Data As Strategic Asset 08:32 AI Update Spooks Security Stocks 09:06 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic 12:47 Market Panic Or Rational? 13:17 SaaS Multiples Hit 3x 15:27 From Revenue To EBITDA Multiples 17:37 DCF And Terminal Value Risk 19:43 Biggest SaaS Selloffs 20:28 Figma Down 80% 21:00 PLG Tools Hit Hardest 21:46 Seat Based Pricing Risk 23:12 Bear Case 3 Assumptions 25:16 AI Still SaaS Delivery 27:32 Incumbents Win With Data 29:48 Adoption Beats Vibe Coding 30:25 Reinventing SaaS In The AI Era 31:09 Build Vs Buy Accountability 32:06 Centralized Data Vs SaaS Stack 33:20 SaaS Sprawl And DIY Chaos 35:24 Vibe Coding Vs Enterprise Compliance 35:42 Cluely Interview Meltdown 37:35 Inside The AI Startup Chaos #MostlyGrowthPodcast #SaaS #AIinBusiness #ProductLedGrowth #TechStrategy

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle Poyar sits down with Emir Atli, co-founder & CRO of HockeyStack, to unpack what 90% of GTM teams get wrong about AI. They explore why most AI efforts stall, how broken data infrastructure kills results, and how agent-first workflows, sales blueprints, and AI-driven forecasting helped HockeyStack accelerate cycles, lift win rates, and drive 3x growth.—SPONSORS:Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com—LINKS: HockeyStack: https://www.hockeystack.com/Emir on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emircatli/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:ChatGPT’s $44 Billion Ad Playhttps://youtu.be/PcZoKVdaGm0—TIMESTAMPS:00:00 AI Pressure On GTM Teams01:28 Broken GTM Infrastructure03:15 Agents Over Prompting04:42 Measuring Agent ROI06:11 Reverse Engineering Top Performers08:21 Scaling Spam vs Pipeline Execution10:02 Sponsor — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev13:42 Sales Experience Drives Wins15:11 Executive Alignment Wins Enterprise Deals17:07 Building The Sales Blueprint19:08 Shorter Cycles And Higher Win Rates20:01 Replacing Opinion Based Forecasting23:21 AI Marketing Analyst Insights25:39 Balancing Human Judgment With AI27:48 Business Blunder Tariff On Swag29:04 LinkedIn Algorithm Frustration31:12 Tool Of The Week Granola31:56 Switching From ChatGPT To Claude32:54 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIAgents #B2BSales #GTMStrategy #RevenueOperations

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, CJ and Kyle break down OpenAI’s move to introduce ads in ChatGPT and what it means for AI monetization. They contrast Anthropic’s anti-ad positioning with ChatGPT’s scale advantage, unpack the $60 CPM pricing model, and debate whether conversational ads can justify premium ROI. From market size math to competitive threats from Google and Meta, it’s a deep dive on ads, optionality, and the future economics of AI.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:The Economics of Free: When Zero Breaks the Pricing Curvehttps://youtu.be/P2_ufRTQnl8—TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Super Bowl AI Ads04:12 Intro04:35 ChatGPT Ad Revenue Potential06:24 CPM vs CPC10:04 Sponsor — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack13:55 Where ChatGPT Sits in the Funnel16:26 Early Ad Partners & ROI Proof18:04 Payments & Marketplace Opportunity19:06 What ChatGPT Ads Might Look Like22:27 Metadata vs Search Intent23:10 Testing What ChatGPT Knows24:17 How ChatGPT Ads Will Appear28:36 Bear Case: UX Degradation31:28 Monetization Limits & 20% Query Reality32:07 Sensitivity of Monetization Rate33:13 Business Blunders36:03 AI Double Standard in Audits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AdMonetization #ChatGPT #GrowthStrategy #ProductMonetization

On this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ dive into vertical SaaS and the “riches in niches” playbook. From Skimmer to Rock Auto to Epicor, they unpack why obscure software companies win, the TAM trap, product attach rate, month-one churn, and gross profit per location. Plus: front vs back office, marketplaces, competitive moats, and whether vertical AI is the next wave.—SPONSORS:HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models likeusage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scalemonetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving,visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.rockauto.com/https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/the-top-metrics-for-vertical-saas-76ahttps://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/owning-the-control-point—RELATED EPISODES:The Layer-Cake Playbook for Vertical SaaS Growth | with Roland Ligtenberghttps://youtu.be/yPxWvhPISKoScaling to $1B+ Revenue: From ServiceNow to Samsara | Dominic Phillipshttps://youtu.be/vBY6WZBMljwWhy AI Hasn’t Hit Main Street Yet, According to Mangomint’s CEOhttps://youtu.be/2D-eEPkDnPk—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Vertical SaaS Riches in Niches00:01:10 Skimmer & Hyper-Specific Operating Systems00:02:27 The Layered Niche Opportunity00:04:23 Intro00:04:47 Defining Vertical vs. Horizontal Software00:06:10 The TAM Trap & Multi-Product Strategy00:07:45 Why Vertical Retention Is So High00:08:33 Investing in Vertical SaaS Post–Product Market Fit00:10:28 Word of Mouth, Low CAC & 95% Retention00:10:27 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic00:14:08 PartsTech: Zero Marketing Spend & Vertical Efficiency00:15:02 Partnerships & Ecosystem-Driven Growth00:16:12 Arbitrage Opportunities in Vertical SaaS00:17:03 Vertical SaaS Business Models: Front, Back & Marketplace00:17:47 Why System of Record Wins00:19:27 Tech Refresh Cycles & Generational Shift00:21:10 Building the Next Vertical SaaS: What Investors Want00:22:03 Product Attach Rate vs. Monetizable SKU Expansion00:23:00 Month-One Churn as the Retention North Star00:25:32 Implementation During Trial to Lock in Adoption00:26:14 Tracking “TAM Burn” and the Retention Waterfall00:28:47 Gross Profit per Location as a True North Metric00:30:02 Vertical SaaS Is Crowded—Vertical AI Is Next00:31:30 Salesforce Army Deal Stock Drop00:32:49 Anthropic’s Super Bowl Ad Strategy00:35:33 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #VerticalSaaS #SaaSMetrics #GoToMarket #VerticalAI

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson break down how newsletters went from career risk to career leverage. Drawing on their own stories, they walk through a tactical, no-fluff guide to starting and growing a newsletter—from naming, domains, and branding to writing, consistency, and AI use. —SPONSORS:Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models likeusage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scalemonetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving,visit https://www.rightrev.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/how-to-grow-your-b2b-newsletter?draft=truehttps://open.spotify.com/episode/4fLZsXKtoTY05btVmh1jO3?si=a4db1f43cb0c495bhttps://growthinreverse.com/cj-gustafson/https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/deep-research-for-gtmhttps://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/rumors-of-my-death-have-been-greatly-exaggerated—RELATED EPISODES:Fantasy Startup Draft: The First 5 Hires We’d Make Todayhttps://youtu.be/usxbRdABi0I—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Newsletter Side Hustles and Getting Fired00:02:41 When a Newsletter Becomes a Career Catalyst00:04:05 Ownership, Control, and Leaving With the Audience00:05:20 From Career Risk to Job Requirement00:06:38 Show Intro00:07:02 Why Newsletters Beat Social Media Algorithms00:08:27 Built-In Growth and Forwardability of Email00:09:13 Naming Your Newsletter and Finding Audience-Market Fit00:10:34 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev00:14:14 Domains as a Strategic Newsletter Asset00:15:40 Why Owning Your Domain Future-Proofs Distribution00:17:04 The Power of Direct Traffic and Memorability00:17:51 Choosing the Right “From” Name and Sender Identity00:19:16 Defining Your Newsletter Logline00:20:36 Visual Identity and Brand Consistency00:10:29 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev00:14:14 Domains, Naming, and Brand Personality00:22:45 Finding Stories and Newsletter Writing Inspiration00:24:39 Writing Titles That Drive Opens Without Clickbait00:27:00 Consistency, Timing, and Building Inbox Habits00:28:01 Using AI as a Research and Brainstorming Assistant00:29:46 Welcome Emails and Early Engagement Growth Loops00:30:21 Promoting Newsletters Beyond Twitter00:30:39 Newsletter Swaps as the Best Distribution Channel00:31:57 Using Onboarding Surveys to Understand and Grow Audience00:32:57 SEO Basics for Newsletters on Your Own Domain00:34:47 Separating Email Subject Lines from SEO Titles00:35:09 Experimenting With Paid Growth and Subscriber LTV00:36:46 The Simple Formula for Building a Durable Newsletter00:37:16 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #NewsletterGrowth #ContentMarketing #PersonalBrand #CreatorEconomy

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson run a fantasy startup draft—Super Bowl–style. If you were founding a company today, who would you hire first? Marketing generalist, founding BDR, product marketing, RevOps, customer success, or a first business hire? Kyle and CJ draft five non-technical roles each, debate tradeoffs, and explain how early hiring choices shape growth, efficiency, and execution. Then it’s on you to vote on the winning roster—with real (and painful) stakes for the loser.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:When the marketing math doesn’t math | with Emily Kramerhttps://youtu.be/sSuoV_YSrlwThe Psychology Behind Why Buyers Don’t Change | DemandJenhttps://youtu.be/h7ZgPkgZ5oE—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Fantasy Punishments and Cold Open  00:02:35 Show Intro and Draft Stakes  00:03:37 Framing the Fantasy Startup Draft  00:05:41 Round One00:10:13 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack  00:13:54 Round Two00:18:00 Round Three00:21:10 Round Four00:24:12 Round Five00:27:18 Why This Pick Didn’t Make the Draft  00:28:12 Pricing in the Real World: Super Bowl Ads  00:30:51 Bonuses in the Real World: NFL Playoff Incentives  00:32:59 Voting, Final Thoughts, and Wrap-Up#MostlyGrowthPodcast #StartupDraft #GoToMarket #EarlyStageStartups #RevenueOps

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar, CJ Gustafson, and Ben Hillman break down the economics and psychology of “free,” explaining why the jump from free to even $0.01 fundamentally changes behavior. They unpack freemium, free trials, reverse trials, ungated products, and credit-card trials, sharing real conversion benchmarks and CFO-level tradeoffs between acquisition and revenue. The takeaway: “free” isn’t one strategy—it’s a set of levers that must match what you’re optimizing for.—SPONSORS:HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mksc.1060.0254https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517722002059https://x.com/samwhoo/status/2007590903448514921?s=20https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/guys-i-dont-think-tim-cook-knows-how-to-monetize-ai/—RELATED EPISODES:From Credit Karma to Notion: CFO Rama Katkar on Leading Finance Through Every Growth Stagehttps://youtu.be/NWgn9ryTP38—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Personal Stories About Free00:02:38 Mostly Growth Introduction00:03:01 Why “Free” Changes Consumer Behavior00:04:30 The Psychology of Free Pricing and Promotions00:06:10 Why “Free” Works Differently in B2B vs B2C00:08:12 Free Trials vs Freemium: Key Monetization Differences00:09:04 Credit Cards, Free Trials, and CFO Anxiety00:09:21 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic00:13:02 Reverse Trials and the Calendly Playbook00:15:39 Ungated Free Products and Zero-Friction Adoption00:18:17 The Math Behind Free Funnels and Conversion Leakage00:20:31 Why Small Conversion Gains Matter in Freemium Models00:21:25 Newsletter Paywalls, Email Gates, and Monetization Tradeoffs00:23:50 How the Freemium Conversion Data Was Collected00:24:49 Why Free Trials Are Still More Popular Than Freemium00:27:36 When Freemium Works: Network Effects and Compounding Value00:29:14 Choosing Trial Lengths and What to Gate in Freemium00:31:11 Designing Freemium Around User Needs and Conversion Extremes00:33:25 Credit Card Trials: Higher Conversion vs Lower Quality Users00:35:08 Comparing Freemium, Free Trials, and CC-Gated Trials00:36:22 Choosing the Right Free Motion for Your Company Stage00:37:43 StackOverflow’s Decline in the Age of AI00:38:35 Apple’s AI Monetization Problem and Industry Uncertainty00:40:29 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #PricingStrategy #Freemium #ProductLedGrowth #SaaSMonetization

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson unpack the pricing models hiding in plain sight. They break down razor-and-blade economics, hardware plus software, waitlists, free samples, luxury and Veblen goods, decoy pricing, two-part tariffs, and price anchoring. Using examples from Costco to SaaS and AI, they show how pricing psychology drives acquisition, retention, and willingness to pay.—SPONSORS:Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/plg-vs-microsoft—RELATED EPISODES:Pricing in the Real World: Babies, Bots, and Billinghttps://youtu.be/T1cjFSZR0k0The CFO Case for Probabilistic Forecasting With AI | Bruno Annicqhttps://youtu.be/dfjSjPAXEEk—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Snowstorm banter00:03:28 Setting up the episode: real-world pricing models00:04:09 Razor–razor blade pricing explained00:07:45 Applying razor–blade pricing to SaaS and hardware00:08:59 Hardware + software razor–blade tradeoffs00:09:51 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev00:13:31 Waitlists as a growth and pricing lever00:19:39 Free samples and freemium models00:23:23 Luxury pricing, exclusivity, and Veblen goods00:27:29 Luxury tiers in tech and professional services00:29:52 Decoy pricing and the Economist example00:32:54 Two-part tariffs and membership economics00:37:05 Price anchoring and steering buyers to the middle00:38:46 Event-driven price increases tied to new value00:41:26 Outro#MostlyGrowthPodcast #PricingStrategy #PricingModels #SaaSPricing #Monetization

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson sit down with Jen Allen-Knuth to break down why “status quo” is the most dangerous competitor in B2B sales. They unpack the psychology of change, why buyers care more about confidence than features, and how sales principles show up in leadership, forecasting, and finance. The conversation covers qualifying real pipeline, running better discovery, smarter outbound, and how execs—from CROs to CFOs—can sell change inside their own companies.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com—LINKS: DemandJen: https://demandjen.com/Jen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demandjen1/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9OCYOD-e9s—RELATED EPISODES:Can You Measure the ROI of a Super Bowl Ad?https://youtu.be/YgWm4HqDlbw—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Meeting Jen Allen-Knuth00:01:12 Walkup Music, Conferences, and Setting the Vibe00:03:34 Mostly Growth Show Intro00:03:57 Meta Sales Lessons00:06:20 Why Every Executive Needs Sales Skills00:08:35 Sales Psychology, Loss Aversion, and the Cost of Inaction00:11:09 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack00:14:50 Why Great Sales Reps Assume Deals Will Fail00:16:58 The Art of the Anti-Sell00:19:03 Giving Buyers an Explicit Out on Price00:21:00 The Three Strongest Signals a Deal Will Close00:23:10 Asking How Buyers Reached Their Conclusion00:25:34 Status Quo as the Biggest Competitor00:27:24 How Much Pipeline You Actually Need to Hit Target00:28:30 Shifting to What Actually Works in Outbound Messaging00:31:52 Leading with Insight Instead of Pitching the Product00:32:42 Why Every AE Needs to Generate Their Own Outbound00:33:22 Business Blunders and the Problem with Breakup Emails00:35:07 The Providence Place Mall Squatter Blunder00:35:42 Reacting to the Providence Mall Squatter Story00:36:40 Outbound Messaging as a Business Blunder00:38:05 Solopreneur S-Corp and Payroll Pain00:40:13 Using ChatGPT for Admin and Operations00:42:33 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #B2BSales #OutboundSales #SalesPsychology #RevenueGrowth

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson unpack the real economics of brand marketing—from Super Bowl ads and CPM math to attribution, incrementality, and PLG arbitrage. They debate when brand spend actually drives growth, why CFOs struggle to measure it, and how B2B companies justify big bets. The episode wraps with Pricing in the Real World, breaking down Rivian’s lower-priced R2 launch, EV subsidies, and pricing strategy under uncertainty.—SPONSORS:HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://skift.com/2019/01/31/what-is-expensify-thinking-with-its-pricey-super-bowl-ad/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Tgsy7D0Jghttps://adage.com/article/special-report-super-bowl/super-bowl-commercial-prices-hit-8-million-first-time/2600146/https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/guide-to-marketing-attributionhttps://www.growthunhinged.com/p/brand-vs-growthhttps://www.themotherhood.com/super-bowl-advertising-guidelines/https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/gw30je/til_that_the_nfl_sent_a_cease_and_desist_order_to/https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/teslas-full-self-driving-is-switching-to-a-subscription-only-service-120053137.htmlhttps://www.caranddriver.com/rivian/r3—RELATED EPISODES:Scaling to $1B+ Revenue: From ServiceNow to Samsara | Dominic Phillipshttps://youtu.be/vBY6WZBMljwThe Layer-Cake Playbook for Vertical SaaS Growth | with Roland Ligtenberghttps://youtu.be/yPxWvhPISKo—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:11 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic00:05:15 Super Bowl Ads, QR Codes, and CFO Risk Assessment00:08:37 Super Bowl Ads as Ego vs. Economic Signal00:11:21 Bottom-Up PLG and the Expensify Playbook00:12:56 Which B2B Companies Can Justify a Super Bowl Ad00:14:44 CPM Math and Why the Numbers Sometimes Work00:16:28 Brand vs. Demand and Measuring Brand as Growth00:18:49 Brand as a Moat and Trust Over Time00:21:10 Measuring Brand Through Branded Search and Conversion00:23:22 Attribution Limits and Incrementality Testing00:26:12 Geo-Based Brand Experiments and Targeted Events00:28:13 Marketing Arbitrage and Analytics Discipline00:29:06 Unconventional B2B Marketing That Actually Worked00:30:33 Predicting Which Tech Companies Will Run Super Bowl Ads00:32:31 Subscription Pricing Comes to Cars00:34:18 EV Pricing, Subsidies, and Forecasting Demand00:34:48 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #brandmarketing #b2bmarketing #pricingstrategy #superbowl

In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar unpack how marketplaces really make money by dissecting take rates across companies like Uber, Airbnb, DoorDash, Etsy, and Amazon. They explore what drives take rates—power dynamics, frequency, ticket size, and value delivered—plus why pushing a “rake too far” can backfire. The episode blends real examples, a take-rate guessing game, and practical frameworks for pricing, monetization, and long-term marketplace health.—SPONSORS:Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/comparing-marketplace-take-rateshttps://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/a-viral-reddit-post-alleging-fraud-from-a-food-delivery-app-turned-out-to-be-ai-generated/https://abovethecrowd.com/2013/04/18/a-rake-too-far-optimal-platformpricing-strategy/https://www.boatsetter.com/boating-resources/boatsetter-and-getmyboat-announce-merger-forming-a-powerhouse-marketplace-for-boat-rentals-on-the-water-adventure—RELATED EPISODES:The Layer-Cake Playbook for Vertical SaaS Growth | with Roland Ligtenberghttps://youtu.be/yPxWvhPISKoThe End of LTV to CAC: Rethinking SaaS Metrics for AIhttps://youtu.be/vh3AGdqlSxUSloponomics: Surviving the AI Content Flood with Rudenesshttps://youtu.be/kOK8oJ-lhZM—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:14 Inside the DoorDash Priority Delivery Controversy00:04:16 Why Marketplaces Monetize the Way They Do00:05:26 The Take Rate Formula: Frequency, Size, and Effort00:07:20 Take Rates as a Power Dynamic00:08:21 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev00:12:25 Marketplace Take Rate Game00:18:26 Take Rates Beyond Marketplaces: Recruiting, Sales, and Art00:20:50 A Rake Too Far and the Risks of Over-Monetization00:23:29 Optimizing Lifetime Value Versus One-Time Gouging00:25:15 Amazon’s Layered Marketplace Monetization Model00:27:23 Brainstorming Add-On Revenue Streams for Marketplaces00:31:21 Boat Rental Marketplace Merger and Antitrust00:33:28 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #Marketplaces #Monetization #TakeRate #PricingStrategy

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast for product monetization, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar dig into what actually makes a sales comp plan effective—and why so many go wrong. They break down OTE, quotas, accelerators, spiffs, ramps, and usage-based models, plus how incentives shape behavior across sales and customer success. The conversation covers margin-based comp, AI’s impact on forecasting, common gaming pitfalls, and practical rules for building simple, aligned plans that drive growth without breaking trust.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.youtube.com/c/Vinwikihttps://www.lookingforleverage.com/p/the-characteristics-of-a-great-sales-comp-plan—RELATED EPISODES:Pricing in the Real World: Babies, Bots, and Billinghttps://youtu.be/T1cjFSZR0k0The End of LTV to CAC: Rethinking SaaS Metrics for AIhttps://youtu.be/vh3AGdqlSxUCowboy Forecasting: The Power of Fast Informed Estimates on the Back of an Envelopehttps://youtu.be/BgO3oDiE8wEDriving revenue without selling | Greg Henry of 1Passwordhttps://youtu.be/f5FsNoG8A3E—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:07 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack00:05:11 Commission Economics and Why Incentives Matter00:06:13 How Exotic Car Salespeople Get Paid00:07:36 Comping Sales Teams on Margin vs Revenue00:09:43 Rapid-Fire Breakdown of Sales Comp Terms00:12:49 Presidents Club Stories and Sales Motivation00:13:38 What Makes a Great (or Terrible) Sales Comp Plan00:14:46 How Sales Reps Game Overcomplicated Plans00:16:41 Accelerators, Timing Deals, and Quarter Misalignment00:17:42 Ramp Periods and Realistic Expectations for New Reps00:19:22 How AI Improves Forecasting More Than Sales Velocity00:20:11 Quotas, Deal Volume, and the Physics of Sales Math00:22:21 Cash Timing, Signed Comp Plans, and Avoiding Clawbacks00:25:04 How AI Could Reshape Quotas and Sales Efficiency Assumptions00:26:46 Improving Sales Performance by Moving the Middle of the Pack00:28:16 Rethinking Compensation for Customer Success Teams00:32:07 Usage-Based Pricing and Comping for Product Adoption00:35:25 Business Blunders: Managing Slack, Boundaries, and Energy Vampires00:38:06 Managing Slack Etiquette, Boundaries, and Closing Thoughts#MostlyGrowthPodcast #SalesComp #GoToMarket #RevenueGrowth #B2BSaaS

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle and CJ are joined by Russell Lester, President and CFO of Tropic, for a deep dive into what real procurement data reveals about SaaS pricing. They break down multiyear discounts, why volume matters more than contract length, how AI is reshaping pricing models, and when longer commitments actually hurt buyers. Plus, lessons on negotiation leverage, price increases, and navigating today’s increasingly complex SaaS market.—SPONSORS:HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.—LINKS: Tropic: https://www.tropicapp.io/Russell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-lester-aa98463/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/your-guide-to-negotiating-multi-year-deals—RELATED EPISODES:Where Did All the Middle Managers Go?https://youtu.be/LvN7RzmApPU—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:12 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic00:05:11 Welcome Russell Lester, Pricing and Discounting00:06:41 Meeting Punctuality, Culture, and Waiting Rules00:08:19 Transition to Multi-Year Discounts and Pricing Strategy00:09:12 Procurement Data Insights: Volume Beats Term00:10:00 AI Products, Risk, and Multi-Year Contract Tradeoffs00:11:05 Multi-Year Discounting vs Negotiation Leverage00:13:18 Lock-In Value and Avoiding Annual Price Uplifts00:14:43 The “AI Tax” and Emerging AI Pricing Models00:17:19 Why SaaS Pricing Data Is Messy and Context-Dependent00:18:42 How Companies Actually Save Money on SaaS00:20:40 Tropic as a Case Study in Pricing Model Evolution00:22:28 Measuring ROI, Value Pricing, and Bundled AI Services00:23:16 Cost Avoidance Pricing and Proving Real Savings00:26:34 Buyer-First Marketplaces and Negotiating Objectivity00:27:31 AI Pricing Complexity and Too Many Choices00:29:47 Everyday Low Pricing vs Discount Theater00:31:20 Pricing in the Real World: Credits and Audible00:33:12 Expansion Revenue Through Gamified Consumption00:34:15 Gartner’s “OaaS” Term and AI Category Confusion00:35:07 CES Worst-in-Show and Gimmicky AI Products00:36:23 LinkedIn Experts, AI Noise, and the Illusion of Insight00:37:50 AI, Real Expertise, and Extracting Signal from People00:38:48 Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #PricingStrategy #SaaSEconomics #AIPricing #GoToMarket

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson sit down with Daniel Lang, CEO and co-founder of Mangomint, the vertical SaaS platform powering thousands of salons and spas across North America. Daniel shares how Mangomint scaled past $25M ARR in a crowded market by obsessing over product quality, sequencing, and customer trust. The conversation dives into why AI has not meaningfully arrived in Main Street businesses, what it actually takes to build agentic products for SMBs, and why systems of record, communication layers, and context matter more than hype.—SPONSORS:Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models likeusage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scalemonetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving,visit https://www.rightrev.com—LINKS: Mangomint: https://www.mangomint.com/Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellangnet/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:The End of LTV to CAC: Rethinking SaaS Metrics for AIhttps://youtu.be/vh3AGdqlSxU—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:00:58 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev00:05:01 Mangomint Hits $25M ARR00:06:08 AI-Washing vs Real Value00:08:05 Is AI Used by Small Businesses?00:09:52 System of Record Wins AI00:11:00 AI Belongs in the Core System00:12:24 Why Salesforce Lacks Context00:14:36 Systems of Action Explained00:16:05 AI Use Cases in Beauty & Wellness00:17:39 Why “AI Growth” Claims Fail00:19:06 Labor as Automation ROI00:20:21 Beating Switching Costs00:22:03 Market Consolidation Ahead00:22:22 Starting with Scheduling00:23:19 No Contracts, More Trust00:24:28 Narrow ICP Strategy00:26:11 Shipping Less, Better00:27:06 Communication as the Unlock00:28:10 Product-Led Growth Motion00:29:49 Why Field Sales Fails00:32:02 Payback Beyond CAC00:33:03 When Non-Scalable Breaks00:34:23 Buying a Media Company00:36:16 Audience as a Moat00:38:21 Business Blunders Segment00:42:46 Tools and AI Commoditization00:44:31 Closing Thoughts and Outro#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AI #SystemOfRecord #ProductLedGrowth #SmallBusiness

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar, CJ Gustafson, and Ben Hillman unpack what actually matters as AI reshapes how companies grow. They debate why legacy metrics like LTV to CAC are breaking down, explore emerging measures such as gross profit per token and outcome-based performance, and discuss how AI changes sales compensation, org design, and go-to-market economics. Along the way, they dig into Domino’s surprising stock performance, private equity’s quiet bet on pickleball, and real-world pricing oddities, tying everyday examples back to durable growth fundamentals.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comTropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Escaping the AI Thirst Trap: Building Products That Actually Last | Des Traynorhttps://youtu.be/LLtMIoppG3YThe Product-Market Fit Treadmill | Brian Balfour Explainshttps://youtu.be/I5UqGlBOdoA—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:10 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack00:05:14 Back From the Break and New Year Catch-Up00:06:06 How Different Generations Are Adopting and Using AI00:09:24 Potentially Reliable Things We Read at 2am00:10:08 Domino’s Turnaround and the Tech-Forward Franchise Playbook00:11:36 Pickleball as a Private Equity Roll-Up Opportunity00:14:30 The Next Generation of AI Metrics: Tokens, Gross Profit, and Outcomes00:19:26 Rethinking Sales Compensation and Productivity in AI00:24:11 Why LTV to CAC Breaks Down in the AI Era00:25:21 Measuring AI Quality and Domain-Specific Outcomes00:29:20 Forward Deployed Engineers and the New AI Org Model00:33:13 Pre-Sales Prototyping, CAC, and “Building Before Buying”00:35:32 Pricing in the Real World: Pet Fees, Tipping, and Toll Roads#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIinBusiness #SaaSMetrics #StartupGrowth #PricingStrategy

In this year-end episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson, Kyle Poyar, and Ben Hillman reflect on what it actually takes to build a modern media business around newsletters and podcasts. They unpack CJ’s first year going full-time, comparing creative intuition versus metric-driven operating styles, and discuss what content truly drives growth. The conversation also covers distribution dynamics, the emotional reality of unsubscribes and burnout, and closes with a candid look at monetization, team building, and the tradeoffs between simplicity and scale.—SPONSORS:Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetricsMetronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/deep-research-for-gtmhttps://www.growthunhinged.com/p/2025-state-of-b2b-gtm-reporthttps://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/presenting-the-state-of-the-agentic-financial-stackhttps://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/the-great-ai-arr-illusionhttps://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/presenting-the-2025-tech-stack-reporthttps://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/download-the-annual-planning-biblehttps://www.growthunhinged.com/p/how-to-sell-annual-planshttps://www.growthunhinged.com/p/get-recommended-by-chatgpthttps://www.growthunhinged.com/p/gtm-vibecoding-ideashttps://www.growthunhinged.com/p/how-to-use-ai-agents-for-marketing—RELATED EPISODES:We get roasted for swag and drop some GTM goldhttps://youtu.be/uubf_8al95wDo vanity plates bring serious business?https://youtu.be/Cm1rubFb-kgPricing in the Real World: Babies, Bots, and Billinghttps://youtu.be/T1cjFSZR0k0—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:12 Sponsors — Pulley | Metronome00:03:32 Action Figure Swag and Year-in-Review Setup00:05:07 Going Full-Time and the First-Year Reality Check00:06:44 Writing Schedules, Creative Work, and Time Optimization00:08:36 Writing Speed, Craft, and the Myth That Time Equals Quality00:10:11 Perfectionism vs. Throughput in Newsletter Writing00:12:23 Creator Burnout, Motivation, and Engagement Anxiety00:13:28 Playing the Long Game vs. Obsessing Over Metrics00:15:02 Best Work of the Year and High-Leverage Content Bets00:17:15 Big Research Reports as Career-Defining Projects00:18:39 When Memes Outperform Deep Work00:19:12 LinkedIn Algorithms vs. Content Quality00:20:11 Writing for the Feed vs. Writing to Think00:21:23 Optimizing LinkedIn Profiles for Credibility00:23:07 Subscriber Growth, Audience Quality, and Churn Reality00:26:40 Reports and Research as Growth Engines00:27:57 Tactical “How-To” Content That Actually Converts00:29:41 Tactical Value Beats Sounding Smart00:30:00 Building a Team and Scaling Beyond a Solopreneur00:31:25 Simplicity vs. Scale in Early Business Decisions00:34:57 Avoiding Boredom and Shiny Object Syndrome00:36:32 Balancing Writing, Consulting, and Energy00:37:14 Making the Leap Financially as a Creator00:38:21 Subscriptions vs. Advertising as the Real Business Model#MostlyGrowthPodcast #creatorEconomy #newsletterGrowth #solopreneurLife

In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson, Kyle Poyar, and Ben Hillman go deep on pricing—how it’s discovered, negotiated, and perceived in the real world. The conversation spans Salesforce’s rapid-fire evolution of AI pricing models, unpacking the tradeoffs between consumption-based pricing, flat-rate enterprise licenses, and bundling AI to drive expansion and simplify buying decisions. The hosts also examine what Salesforce’s acquisition of Qualified signals for the AI SDR market, competition, and private equity, before zooming out to practical lessons on multi-year contracts, renewal dynamics, and when longer commitments actually pay off for buyers and sellers. Throughout, everyday analogies—from daycare costs to grocery store loss leaders and Instacart price variation—ground abstract pricing strategy in lived experience, making the case that pricing is less about theory and more about psychology, cash flow timing, and incentives.—SPONSORS:Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.comPulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://www.forrester.com/blogs/ai-agents-become-economic-actors-salesforce-rewrites-the-rules-of-pricing/https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/CRM/salesforce/revenuehttps://seekingalpha.com/news/4532724-salesforce-to-acquire-qualifiedhttps://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/your-guide-to-negotiating-multi-year-dealshttps://finance.yahoo.com/news/whole-foods-ceo-says-he-is-slashing-prices-on-private-label-food-to-battle-supermarkets-120042642.htmlhttps://www.fastcompany.com/91458229/want-the-same-milk-and-eggs-instacart-might-charge-you-more-than-your-neighborhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad_higXixRA—RELATED EPISODES:5,762 Job Applications. Zero Offers.https://youtu.be/VgzzsmgJxi0Escaping the AI Thirst Trap: Building Products That Actually Last | Des Traynorhttps://youtu.be/LLtMIoppG3YSloponomics: Surviving the AI Content Flood with Rudenesshttps://youtu.be/kOK8oJ-lhZMFrom SMB to Enterprise: The CFO Scaling Playbook With Andrew Casey | Mostly Classicshttps://youtu.be/kMuJ6gAuEpgIs a weekly martini ARR? | with Dave Kellogghttps://youtu.be/Yb1lUQLJ6qw—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:12 Sponsors — Metronome | Pulley00:03:33 Newsletter Discount Experiment00:04:52 The Real Cost of Daycare00:07:14 Childcare Pricing Mechanics00:09:01 Salesforce’s New AI Pricing00:10:14 Agility vs. Confusion in Pricing00:13:31 CFO Budgeting and Flat-Rate AI00:17:31 Margins, Performance, and AI Usage00:19:24 Salesforce Margins and AI M&A00:20:02 Salesforce Acquires Qualified00:22:33 M&A Implications for Martech00:24:24 Bundling AI in Vertical SaaS00:25:29 AI Tools Move to Bundles00:27:48 Multi-Year Deal Strategy00:28:56 Single-Year vs. Multi-Year Discounts00:31:50 Avoiding Price Increases00:32:45 Multi-Year Deal Adoption00:34:27 Best Vendors for Multi-Year Deals00:37:40 Grocery Pricing and Loss Leaders00:43:48 Wrap Up#MostlyGrowth #SaaSPricing #EnterpriseAI #GoToMarket #CFOInsights

In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson, Kyle Poyar, and Ben Hillman unpack a wide-ranging set of predictions and observations about where go-to-market strategy, AI, and pricing models are headed next. They discuss why what ChatGPT says about your product may become a core marketing KPI, the resurgence of direct mail and physical touchpoints in an AI-saturated world, and why “almost as good as a human” is a dangerous positioning for AI-driven products. The conversation also explores AI monetization paths through advertising, the risk of an AI infrastructure timing mismatch leading to a broader financial pullback, and what historical parallels like railroads and the Sears catalog can teach us about today’s buildout. The episode closes with real-world pricing lessons, from energy-as-a-service solar subscriptions to the surprisingly massive standalone economics of Apple’s AirPods, tying together how distribution, perception, and monetization shape durable growth.—SPONSORS:Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetricsMetronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:996 Culture, Exploding AI Bills & SaaS Chaoshttps://youtu.be/qhrxDL0gsRoThe Layer-Cake Playbook for Vertical SaaS Growth | with Roland Ligtenberghttps://youtu.be/yPxWvhPISKoOpenAI’s Impossible Math: $500B or Bust?https://youtu.be/L6PLnvjcnpkFrom Birding Apps to Billion-Dollar Bundles: The Future of SaaS Growthhttps://youtu.be/mzITrIP70OkWhere Did All the Middle Managers Go?https://youtu.be/LvN7RzmApPU—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:07 Sponsors — Pulley, Metronome00:03:27 Welcome Back And Consumer Friction00:04:56 Insurance Middlemen Frustrations00:06:34 Explaining Newsletter Businesses00:07:25 Family Perceptions Of Work00:08:32 GTM And Growth Predictions00:09:46 Trust And Objectivity In ChatGPT00:11:28 ChatGPT As Marketing KPI00:13:41 Direct Mail Marketing Comeback00:15:23 Tech Buying Media Assets00:17:19 Fake Subscribers And Email Lore00:18:30 AI Quality Over Automation00:21:38 AI Healthcare And Ad Models00:24:07 Advertising Fuels AI Economics00:25:07 AI Boom Versus Bust Timing00:27:16 Infrastructure Before Killer Apps00:29:48 Railroad Economics And Real Estate00:30:13 Solar Subscriptions And Pricing00:32:17 AirPods As Recurring Revenue00:34:24 Show Outro And Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #GrowthMarketing #AITrends #GoToMarket #StartupStrategy

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson sit down with Des Traynor, Co-Founder of Intercom, to unpack how building, marketing, and scaling software has changed over the past decade—and what still matters. Des reflects on the early days of SaaS, why attention and distribution have become the hardest problems in modern growth, and how AI has intensified both competition and hype. The conversation dives into founder-led sales, why customer love and real product value beat narrative-driven marketing, and what weak retention metrics reveal about many AI-native startups. Des also shares Intercom’s thinking on outcome-based pricing, brand investment, and why reality ultimately “bats last” in software, offering a grounded perspective on what it takes to build durable companies in an increasingly noisy market.—SPONSORS:Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.comPulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics—LINKS: Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/Des on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/destraynor/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Mall Santas, Chicken Fingers, and the Case for Keeping It Simplehttps://youtu.be/tgHuqVQgvQwThe CFO Rule for AI Forecasting: “It’s Not Zero” | Dan Griggshttps://youtu.be/S4JvDHUV4k0—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:15 Sponsors — Metronome | Pulley00:03:35 Introducing Des Traynor00:04:18 Early SaaS Nostalgia00:05:45 Why Distribution Got Hard00:07:12 Going Niche in Modern GTM00:08:50 Founder-Led Sales & AI Rebrands00:10:44 Product vs Narrative00:12:08 AI Retention Reality00:14:44 Churn Hiding Growth00:16:00 Easy Come, Easy Churn00:17:56 What Makes AI Companies Great00:19:58 Standing Out With Real Proof00:21:46 Customer-Led Marketing Wins00:23:08 When to Invest in Brand00:25:13 Why CMOs Don’t Last00:27:03 Turning Happy Customers Into Growth00:30:09 Pricing AI: Outcomes vs Cost-Plus00:31:57 Limits of Outcome-Based Pricing00:32:56 What 20% Margins Mean for SaaS00:34:31 Leaving Money on the Table00:36:50 Pricing as a Marketing Choice00:38:03 Business Blunders & NDAs00:40:03 Why Ideas Aren’t the Moat00:41:22 Fake Scarcity & Angel Bait00:42:55 Stuff We Tried This Week00:43:44 Happy Customers as Marketing00:44:12 Vibe Coding Gets Scary Fast00:45:25 SaaS Moats vs DIY Tools#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIStartups #SaaSPricing #FounderLedGrowth #B2BMarketing

In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar explore the hidden mechanics behind focus, competition, and value creation across both consumer culture and B2B SaaS. They unpack why point-solution companies like Untuckit and Raising Cane’s can outperform diversified rivals, examine how competition actually strengthens category demand, and break down the gray zone of mid-market venture exits where founder incentives and investor expectations diverge. The conversation ranges from private equity roll-ups to the realities of cold-calling returning as a top-performing growth channel, to pricing transparency, algorithmic price discrimination, and how everyday behaviors—from mall Santas to $12 club water—reflect deeper strategic forces. It’s a fast, practical look at how operators can stay focused, understand market pressure, and avoid chasing the wrong game.—SPONSORS:Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetricsMetronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com—LINKS: Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:SaaS Founder or Pop Star? CJ Gets Schooledhttps://youtu.be/LMZq_DwVmkYThe Layer-Cake Playbook for Vertical SaaS Growth | with Roland Ligtenberghttps://youtu.be/yPxWvhPISKoThe One Use Case for Venture Debt That Most Founders Never Think Abouthttps://youtu.be/XxH_Y9OH_i0—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:09 Sponsors – Pulley | Metronome00:03:29 Mall Fashion & Nostalgia00:05:17 The Modern Mall Santa Reinvented00:06:19 Untuckit & the Platform vs. Point Solution Debate00:07:58 The Power of Category Focus00:09:23 Obsession, Craft, and the Raising Cane’s Lesson00:10:13 Germany’s “Hidden Champions”00:12:11 Competition: When to Care and When Not To00:13:32 OpenAI, Gemini & the “Code Red” Mindset00:15:01 Competition → Category Education00:16:27 Pricing Pages as Competitive Battlegrounds00:17:32 VC Deck Theater & Competitive Grids00:18:21 Rise of B2B Newsletter Advertising00:19:15 Awkward Exits: The Venture “Gray Zone”00:21:13 Founder Life-Changing Exits vs. VC Math00:22:31 Why Secondaries Exist (and When They Help)00:24:25 Why $100–500M Is the Most Common SaaS Exit Range00:25:41 Structural Misalignment in Venture Exits00:26:47 How Much Secondary Is Too Much?00:29:52 Business Blunders: Justin Bieber the PM00:31:21 Voice Notes, Etiquette, and Chaos00:32:50 Cold Calling Makes a Comeback00:35:17 Catherine Jhung Still Cold Calls CFOs00:37:11 Algorithm Pricing Labels & Data-Driven Pricing00:40:38 Why Clubs Charge $12 for Water00:42:27 Closing Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #mallstrategy #focuswins #businesssimplicity #growthoperators

Christopher O’Donnell, Founder and CEO of Day.ai and former Chief Product Officer at HubSpot, joins CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar to explore what it takes to build an AI-native CRM from first principles in a moment when product development has “no rules.” He reflects on shifting from leading massive teams to coding daily, why CRM needs to return to serving CEOs rather than being trapped in operational bottlenecks, and how blending familiar interfaces with powerful AI assistants can reset user expectations. O’Donnell digs into market selection, product-market fit in rapidly evolving categories, agent-based pricing, and the cultural advantage of staying close to customers rather than the industry echo chamber, all while sharing candid stories about creativity, ecosystems, and the accelerating pace of AI-driven product craftsmanship.—SPONSORS:Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.comPulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics—LINKS: Day.ai: https://day.ai/Christopher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markitecht/Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:OpenAI’s Impossible Math: $500B or Bust?https://youtu.be/L6PLnvjcnpkThe Product-Market Fit Treadmill | Brian Balfour Explainshttps://youtu.be/I5UqGlBOdoA—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:10 Sponsors – Metronome | Pulley00:03:31 Introducing Christopher O’Donnell00:05:20 From Music to Software00:07:10 Leaving HubSpot to Start Again00:09:00 Inspiring Teams at Scale00:10:50 What It Means to Build AI-Native00:12:40 How Location Shapes Careers00:14:30 Relearning in an AI-First Era00:16:20 Shipping and Iterating With AI00:18:10 The App as the Main Character00:20:00 Using AI to Pressure-Test Decisions00:21:50 Rethinking CRM Expectations00:23:40 Choosing a Hybrid CRM Approach00:25:30 Entering a Massive Market00:27:20 PMF in the AI Era00:29:10 The CRM Status Quo and Its Defenders00:31:00 How CRM Lost Its Purpose00:32:50 Rethinking Seat-Based Pricing00:34:40 Why Credit Models Confuse Buyers00:36:30 Flat-Rate Plans and Ecosystem Dynamics00:38:20 Enterprises Sitting on AI Commits00:40:10 Conference Room Dystopia00:42:00 Getting Burned by Ecosystems00:43:50 Trying Amazon’s Rufus00:45:40 Suno and the Music-Tech Debate00:46:28 Show Outro#MostlyGrowthPodcast #AInative #CRMinnovation #ProductLeadership #StartupFounders