Mostly Growth

They debate why revenue multiples are losing relevance and why EBITDA and DCF matter more now. They walk through how interest rates, gross margins, and AI-driven uncertainty reshape valuations. They explore valuation methods, the shift toward profitability, and the trade-offs companies face when adopting AI.

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

They debate which decisions are safe to hand to AI, from scheduling and meeting representation to customer support triage. They explore AI making purchases with agent credit cards and setting spend controls. They walk through a domains-of-delegation framework covering sales outreach, internal comms, and hiring workflows. They close by discussing how leadership shifts from deciding to designing rules for autonomous agents.

They debate Sequoia’s thesis that companies should sell outcomes, not tools. They weigh which industries are most exposed and where bundled AI-plus-service models could win. They explore AI’s impact on consulting, accounting, support, law, and dev shops. They discuss moats, niche specialization, profitability shifts, and how valuation might change for service-led businesses.

They dig into why free-to-paid conversion hovers around 8% and which levers actually move that number. Topics include finding higher-intent users through organic and LLM-driven search, mid-funnel SEO tactics, and the tradeoffs between reducing friction and boosting user motivation. They also cover pricing and packaging tweaks, sales-assist onboarding, and how AI agents could reshape conversion journeys.

They rank which private tech giants are most likely to go public next and why that timing matters. They compare capital needs for AI, space, fintech, and hardware businesses. They explain practical IPO signals like hiring bankers and audit-ready boards. They debate split-valuation fundraising and what those rounds signal about the market.

They dig into a 132-company survey exposing a customer success identity crisis. They compare team sizes, reporting lines, and where CS lands on the P&L. Compensation models and which metrics to pay on get heated debate. They tackle who actually owns expansion and whether charging for CS makes sense.

Scott Woody, CEO of Metronome and former Stripe exec, is a usage-based pricing expert. He explores who’s getting AI pricing right today and how market timing matters. He dives into agentic buyers, hybrid seat-plus-usage models, and the evolving role of credit systems. He also discusses vendor routing, optimization signals, and why investors favor consumption models.

They unpack Figma’s new AI credit pricing and why investors cheered. Conversations cover hybrid seat plus credit models, power-law usage patterns, and the fine print that triggers overages. The hosts also map how credit-based pricing is spreading across SaaS and debate who ultimately pays when AI changes cost dynamics.

They debate whether the recent sell-off means SaaS is finished and unpack the market’s bearish assumptions. They run a company-by-company health check on public SaaS names. They explore AI’s threat to seat-based and PLG pricing, plus why incumbents’ data moats matter. They also tackle valuation shifts, SaaS sprawl, security risks, and the tradeoffs of build versus buy.