Alexander Estner

I help early-stage SaaS founders build & execute their Go-to-market foundation to grow from €0 to €1 million ARR 🚀

3 WAYS I CAN HELP YOU 👇
1️⃣ GTM Advisory - Work 1-on-1 with me in bi-weekly GTM sprints
2️⃣ GTM Audit - Get a 360° assessment of your current GTM status quo + custom action plan
3️⃣ GTM Content - Bi-weekly newsletter +  Daily LinkedIn posts + Free GTM Library

P.S. You will find the links to all 3 in the featured section.

Among other things, I help you with:
👉 Creating your early/ideal customer profile (ICP)
👉 Working on positioning, messaging & value proposition 
👉 Choosing the right pricing for your business (pricing model, value metric & packaging)
👉 Implementing the right sales strategy (sales-led vs. product-led)
👉 Mastering 2-3 growth channels to continuously generate new deals/trials
👉 Setting up the right tech stack in sales, marketing & customer success
👉 Building your commercial teams.

Send me a DM on LinkedIn or book a free 15-minute intro call to learn more about my offering.

Startup Consultant for B2B SaaS

As a freelance startup consultant, I help early-stage B2B SaaS Startups quickly grow their business with a powerful Growth Strategy 🚀


I work on both, strategic and operational, levels and help you with the following topics.

► For Founders (Launch to Seed Stage):
- Clarify, validate and stress test your business idea
- Win first paying customers and kickstart growth for your SaaS
- Develop and implement a powerful B2B SaaS Growth strategy
- Find product-market fit and close your first funding (business angels & seed)

► For Startups (Seed to Series A Stage):
- Accelerate your growth to 5M€+ ARR
- Review or implement a powerful B2B SaaS growth strategy
- Optimization of direct & indirect growth channels
- Create a growth team mentality, track the right KPIs, and set OKRs

► For more information:
- check out my website (www.alexestner.com)
- subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter for founders & early-stage startups (https://startupbusinesstips.substack.com/)

► Interested?
- Send me a DM on Linkedin

GTM is overwhelming, but this checklist will change how you think about it.

This checklist is your roadmap from €0 to €1M ARR.

90% founders start with tactics, skip the foundations. Then wonder why nothing sticks.

But GTM isn't just "getting customers". It's a systematic approach with 10 interconnected foundations.

1️⃣ Ideal Customer Profile
2️⃣ Positioning
3️⃣ Value Proposition & Messaging
4️⃣ GTM Collaterals
5️⃣ Pricing
6️⃣ Sales Motion
7️⃣ Channels
8️⃣ Forecasting & Planning
9️⃣ Internal Operating Systems
🔟 CRM & Tracking

Use this checklist to see what's lacking in your GTM Foundations right now, and start working on it to scale from 0-1mil ARR. 

PS: A few months ago I did my GTM Foundations series, go check it out at MRR Unlocked if you need help with your foundations. 

Link in the comments.

alex-estner

JSESSIONID

li_at

Talks about #saas, #b2bsales, #saassales, #saasgrowth, and #saasmarketing

'Hands-on’ GTM Advisor | Helping SaaS & AI founders build and execute their GTM foundation to grow from €0 to €1 million ARR with less trial and error👇

Let’s hear it from the founders who have successfully scaled their company from €0 to the 1€ million ARR and beyond.

In the latest mrrunlocked.com newsletter, 
I've asked 6 founders to share

❌ What went wrong and
✅ what worked

I asked each founder to share:

1️⃣ The painful mistake(s) they made in the 0-1 stage (that others should not make)

2️⃣ The best tips/things that worked for them.

You will learn from the insights of 6 amazing founders.

👉 Stefan Bader Co-Founder of Cello (Referral Software for SaaS)

👉 Andreas Michel Co-Founder of Ayunis / Locaboo (Software for municipalities)

👉 Hanno Lippitsch Co-Founder of Eversports (Software for sports venues)

👉 Simo Lemhandez Co-Founder of folk (The next gen of CRM)

👉 Adam Cleland Founder of asora (Software for modern family offices)

👉 Brice Maurln Founder of LGM For Sales & GTM (Software for Multi-Channel Outbound)

👇 What's your mistake or tip you wanna share?

P.S. The link to the full guide with all the insights is in the comments below.

CEO @ Cello | Referrals on Autopilot

Cello

Co-Founder & CEO bei Ayunis / Locaboo | SaaS 👨🏻‍💻 | GovTech 🚀

Ayunis / Locaboo

CEO at Eversports

Eversports

Co-founder @ folk CRM | Forbes 30U30

folk

CEO at asora | Software for the modern family office

asora

CEO chez LGM | Get more Replies with Multichannel Outbound.

LGM For Sales & GTM

I've asked 20+ experts on their best GTM advice for 0->1€ M ARR

We cover positioning, ICP, messaging, content, pricing, CRM/KPIs.

You will hear the best tips from experts, including

Anthony Pierri 
Jon Itkin 
Andrej Persolja 
Talya Heller G. 💡 
Matteo Tittarelli ⚡️ 
Toni Hopponen 
Douwe Wester 🟢 👉  
Björn W. Schäfer 
Ashley Herbert Popa 
Sara Stella Lattanzio
Romana Kuts  
Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz 
Rob Litterst 
Arnaud Belinga 🧊🔨 
Dirk Sahlmer 

And the best tips from founders, including
Andreas Michel 
Stefan Bader 
Adam Cleland 
Hanno Lippitsch 
Simo Lemhandez 
Brice Maurln 

The episode goes lives this sunday. 

👇 So sign up on mrrunlocked.com to get all tips in your inbox + a free gift: 50 top GTM infographics for free.

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If you're a first-time founder, GTM is tough. 

To help you, I have compiled 9 of my TOP Infographics that are most important for your GTM when you're going from 0 to mil ARR⬇️

1) GTM Myths 

-> You need to unlearn what you're doing wrong, before you even get started in the right direction!

2) 360-degree GTM audit

-> Use it to understand the current state of your GTM - to identify your starting point. 

3) 3 stages till 1 mil ARR

-> 0 to 1 mil ARR is not one, but three stages. Understand each stage to know what to expect in your GTM journey. 

4) GTM Foundations for SaaS

-> This is like a beginner's overview of everything that makes up GTM. Refresh your GTM concepts.

5) GTM Foundations Checklist 

-> This is where things start getting real. Keep this checklist in hand to track everything you need, to build your GTM Foundations.

6) Your ICP changes over time 

-> ICP is one of the most misunderstood concepts in GTM. Understand the nuances related to your ICP thoroughly. 

7) The Power of Niching Down

-> If you don't niche down right now, you won't be able to scale tomorrow.

8) How to find your ICP

-> Once you know that it is important to have 1 ICP, use these 3 steps to actually find your ICP.

9) 6 phases of founder-led sales 

-> Through this entire journey of 0 to 1mil ARR, know that you (the founder) have to be involved in sales. Learn it through the 6 stages of founder-led sales. 

Hopefully, these 9 will give you a headstart in your GTM. 

---
You can access all of these Infographics for free on https://lnkd.in/eKJXxGzE

Most GTM playbooks are written for VC-backed startups.
So I asked Zdenko Zvada about underrated GTM tactics for bootstrapped founders

He's sharing the insights from 300+ conversations with bootstrapped founders.

My personal opinion: 
Most VC-backed startups should do the same - especially social listening, outreach to negative reviews, and staying longer in founder selling mode are key too.

When I work with founders, we mostly do this too.

But I'm curious: What other tactics work for you?

P.S. On Sunday, we're launching a full episode on mrrunlocked about GTM tactics for bootstrapped founders.

Bootstrapped GTM Tactics

I've asked 16 experts to share their best tip for 0-1€ million ARR

So let's hear what they recommend founders👇

 🎯 Positioning & Messaging

Anthony Pierri 
Nobody will care about your outcomes if they don’t know what product category you fit into. Choose one clear category or use case as your anchor and you’re already 80% ahead.

Jon Itkin 
Assess your market’s maturity before positioning. Early markets reward bold vision, mature ones need precision. Match strategy to reality, not someone else’s playbook.

Andrej Persolja 
Stay close to power users through a private channel like Slack. Their feedback shapes your roadmap, messaging, and what to double down on.

Talya Heller G. 💡  
Test your sales story before scaling; story-market fit comes first. Test with first 3–5 customers, pick a villain, frame the struggle, paint the payoff. Rewrite if it doesn’t close.

Matteo Tittarelli ⚡️  ️ 
Build a Messaging & Positioning Library early. It becomes the context engine for every campaign and asset.

Toni Hopponen 
Design your homepage like a traffic controller: green light for best-fit users, stop sign for others.

💬 ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)

Douwe Wester 🟢 👉  
Start with early customers and watch what they *do*, not what they *say*. Cluster high-signal users, define ICP from results, and update quarterly.

Björn W. Schäfer 
Treat ICP as an ongoing discipline. Segment by ROI, validate with data, and build an anti-ICP list.

Ashley Popa 
Niche down. Broad targeting kills traction. Focus on customers who upgrade and stay, then expand using the bowling-pin approach.

Alexander Estner (me)
Focus on your GTM foundation before scaling: know who benefits most, clarify how you’re different, and master turning pipeline into predictable, repeatable revenue.

✍️ Content Marketing

Sara Lattanzio 
Shape one sharp narrative tied to audience pain. Build in public, pick channels intentionally, and stay consistent. Distribution matters more than production.

 Romana Kuts 
Interview customers. Five calls beat fifty brainstorms. Start with one pain point, turn it into five angles and ten content pieces, reuse relentlessly, and track revenue impact.

💰 Pricing

Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz 
Treat pricing as a process. Set its purpose, differentiate by value metrics, and review quarterly.

Rob Litterst 
Keep pricing simple early. Validation > Perfection. Start with value-hacking to learn what people will pay, then move to growth- and profit-hacking.

📊 CRM & Tracking

Arnaud Belinga 
Before €50–100k ARR, just sell. After micro-PMF, pick a simple CRM tied to your channels and follow up relentlessly.

Dirk Sahlmer 
Track 3–5 metrics that drive better decisions. Focus on leading indicators like activation and CAC payback.

Bonus tip by Rob Kaminski 
1 product, 1 avatar, 1 channel, 1 tactic, for 1 year gives early founders the focus they need.

--
Want to deep dive into each tip? Check out the latest mrrunlocked episode. Link is in the comments.

17 experts' tips turned into a 39-slide GTM masterclass for 0->1€ M ARR 👇 

You learn about:
✅ Positioning & Messaging
✅ Ideal Customer Profile
✅ Content Marketing
✅ Pricing
✅ CRM & KPI Tracking

Including tips from experts, including

Anthony Pierri
Jon Itkin 
Andrej Persolja
Talya Heller G. 💡
Matteo Tittarelli ⚡️ 
Toni Hopponen 
Douwe Wester 🟢 👉 
Björn W. Schäfer
Ashley Herbert Popa
Sara Stella Lattanzio
Romana Kuts
Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz
Rob Litterst 
Arnaud Belinga
Dirk Sahlmer
Rob Kaminski

👉 What tip can you share?

17 expert tips for 0 to 1€M ARR

Lead magnets are evolving from traditional whitepapers and e-books.

Here's a list of different formats you can use to create high-quality lead magnets for your SaaS 

𝟭. 𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 & 𝗘-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀
Instant utility. Copy-paste and go.

- Email templates (lemlist )
- Sales coaching guides (Grain )
- Website optimization e-books (Webflow)

𝟮. 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 & 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀
Higher commitment = higher intent leads.

- Video selling masterclass (Vidyard )
- Video creation course (Tella )

𝟯. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 & 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘀
Live interaction builds stronger relationships.

- Sculpt Conference (Clay )
- SaaS Happy Hour (Paddle )

𝟰. 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀
Quantify the problem. Make the pain tangible.

- Webinar ROI calculator (Livestorm )
- Equity dilution calculator (Cake Equity)

𝟱. 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀
Quick wins. Solve one micro-problem fast.

- LinkedIn headline generator (@Taplio)
- Webcam test (Livestorm)
- AI conversation rank checker (Octolens)

𝟲. 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 & 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵
Original data = credibility + shareability.

- State of Meetings (Calendly)
- SaaS Pricing Report (Valueships)
- GTM Benchmarks (ChartMogul )

All these companies have amazing lead magnets you can take inspiration from. 

Keep in mind, though, different formats solve different problems at different buyer stages. 

Match format to your ICP's most urgent need.

Check out how to create and distribute your lead magnets: https://lnkd.in/ePHrCjDE

---
P.S. Want my best lead magnet? Get 50+ free GTM assets on https://lnkd.in/exxgARTi

For your content to work, 

you need 3 types of content to be in sync

TOFU → To get attention
MOFU → To build trust
BOFU → To convert

Most founders live in TOFU, which helps you get likes, but not so many conversions. 

Let's how each layer works:

1️⃣ TOFU (Top of Funnel) → Awareness content

-> This isn't about your product. It's about topics your audience actually cares about.

-> This builds your audience, helps you get reach, and generate engagement. 

Eg - The 5 biggest productivity myths that are slowing your team down”

2️⃣ MOFU (Middle of Funnel) → Consideration content

-> This is where you go deep. Real frameworks. Actual insights.

-> Content only you could write. Battle-tested stuff.

-> This is where trust happens. Your ICP thinks: "This person actually knows their shit."

Eg - How to reduce project delays by 30%, a step-by-step breakdown”

3️⃣ BOFU (Bottom of Funnel) → Conversion content

-> Show proof. Share results. Remove objections.

-> Social proof. Real outcomes. Clear next step.

Eg - “What happens when you ditch spreadsheets and manage projects the smart way”

Here's the ideal mix:
20% TOFU – Reach plays that pull in new eyes
60% MOFU – Deep, educational, ICP-focused
20% BOFU – Case studies, results, CTAs

Ivan Peric and I have created this framework to help you build your founder brand on LinkedIn. Use it the next time you're creating your content strategy.

Content Strategist & Founder @contentmotion.io | Ich baue eine Content-Agentur für B2B Tech

To optimize your SEO, use these high-intent keywords ⬇️

1. Pain Point/Problem Keyword
Example: “How to export contacts from LinkedIn” 

2. Pricing & Cost Keywords
Example: “Affordable CRM for solopreneurs”

3. Comparison Keywords
Example: “Notion vs. Asana” | “Best alternatives for HubSpot”

4. Competitor-Specific Keywords
Example: “HubSpot CRM vs. Salesforce”

5. Feature-Specific Keywords
Example: “CRM with VOIP calling”

6. Integration Keywords
Example: “Best payroll software that integrates with QuickBooks”

7. Product Category + Audience Keywords
Example: “Project Management software for law firms”

8. Benefit-Driven Keywords
Example: “How much time can I save with a virtual assistant?”

9. Educational Keywords
Example: “How to create a high-converting SaaS homepage”

10. Location-Based Keywords
Example: “Best invoicing software for German freelancers”

11. Template-Based Keywords
Example: “Best LinkedIn post templates for SaaS founders”

These money keywords focus on users who are already very much aware and ‘in the market’ and will help you make the most of your SEO investment.

I’ve been calling myself a solopreneur for over 4 years now.

So I was super excited when Stephanie Sgura asked me to be part of her solopreneurship movement.

In May 2026: Solopreneur Revolution - Live on Tour

The first Summit, that's 100% focused on Solopreneurship:
- Business, Marketing, Sales, AI...

(it's for the German-speaking community)

And I'm part of it 🎉

The best part:

You get early access to the secret pre-sale (4.-7. 12.)

🔹 lowest ticket prices ever

🔹 early Access to all Workshops (limited to 30 seats)

📍 I will be in Vienna myself. 

What you can expect from the summit:

→ Content & Insights for solopreneurs

→ Transformational workshops of successful solopreneurs

→ Networking with peers

→ Roasting Area to get feedback on your business

→ Limited to 200 tickets per event (Vienna & Berlin)

Who's interested in joining and meeting in Vienna?

🎟️ Comment or just send me a DM and I will send you the link to the secret pre-sale.

Over the last 12 months, I've created 50+ infographics on SaaS GTM.

The beauty of them is that they visually communicate the core concept.

Here are my top 10 on go-to-market for SaaS/AI founders 👇

Top GTM Infografics

Here's a list of partners, agencies, and consultants whom I’d highly recommend to every early-stage SaaS founder.

Over the past few years, I’ve built relationships with these amazing service providers.

If you’re a SaaS founder and need help with:

✅ Content & SEO
✅ Recruiting
✅ Paid Marketing (Google, LinkedIn)
✅ Design
✅ Sales
✅ Pricing

I’ll connect you with the right people.

You don't need to do a cold outreach, I'll help you with warm intros to vetted experts.

Content & SEO
--> Talk to Romana Kuts  and Ugljesa D. 

Website & Design
--> Talk to Florian Goertzen Tarik Yayla Tobias Giesen or Maximilian Fleitmann

Recruiting
--> Talk to Elvin Kingma Jan Mark Lingthaler Miguel Marques Dominic Blank 

Sales
--> Talk to Manuel Hartmann (post 1€ million) and Julius Dany (for SDR/cold calling)

LinkedIn & Google Ads
--> Talk to Christoph Schachner and Agata Krzysztofik 

Pricing Consulting (post 1€ million ARR)
--> Talk to Rob Litterst and Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz 

GTM advisory (post 1€ million ARR)
--> Talk to Björn W. Schäfer Daniel Zsolt Rényi  and Matteo Tittarelli ⚡️ 

Check the link in the comments to see the entire list of partners.

Btw, who am I missing on the list?

Founder @ SaaStorm + B2B SaaS SEO, LLMO & Content Advisor + Certified Content Engineer (@ AirOps’25)

Founder at Contentmonk.io | Sharing my strong takes on content, growth, SEO/AEO, and SaaS.

Design & Webflow for SaaS startups @ DailyDesign | START Munich

High-performing Webflow Websites for B2B SaaS that convert visitors into customers

Co-Founder Growably | B2B SaaS websites that convert visitors into customers 💯 | Webflow Premium Partner Agency 🤝🏼

🎨 Design-as-a-Service @ magier | 🏰 Co-Founder @ Wizard Ventures ► Building an Internet Holding

Connecting GTM talent & executives to SaaS companies with accuracy + speed ⚡️ || Ex- SaaS sales professional

Helping 🇩🇪 SaaS professionals find their next ideal step in their career | Founder Chapter.

I help startups hire great remote engineers | Founder @ Remote Crew

🏗 Helping software companies hire and train great sales talent I 🔥 Passionate sales entrepreneur I 🎙️Podcast host Sales Expressed

Helping DACH B2B software firms to scale sales quickly, efficiently & without 6-figure mistakes with done-for-you pipeline generation, fractional sales & HubSpot services.

Co-Founder & CEO at REP | The last sales agency you need

Owner @ Demandgap | Building The Anti-Agency | LinkedIn & Google Ads for B2B

🚀 Helping Businesses Grow with Google Ads | Coaching For Marketing Leaders I Ex-VP Growth | Ex-Google

Building the first stop for pricing and packaging.

The Pricing Guy || AI SaaS eCom B2B || ex-McKinsey

From Founder-Led Sales to scalable GTM Engines | €1–10M ARR | Revenue Rhythm by Funky Flywheels 🕺

Decent marketer and mildly interesting guy | founded Klear B2B

B2B positioning, websites, launches & content | Duolingo streak keeper 🇯🇵

3 massively underrated GTM tactics for bootstrapped founders⬇️

1. Mine negative reviews for leads

Every 1-star review tells you who is unhappy and if they'd pay to fix.

-> Search G2/Capterra/Reddit for competitors
-> Filter for 1-2 star reviews
-> Build a lead list from reviewer names
-> Reach out: "Saw you struggled with X. We built Y to solve it. Want a demo?"

2. Go where micro-communities live

Your first 100 customers won't come from ads. They'll come from Reddit, Slack groups, Discord.

-> Join 3-5 communities your ICP hangs in
-> Help for a week, share free resources
-> Mention your product when it fits
-> DM engaged members with trial invites

3. Get listed in directories

Capterra, G2, Product Hunt, AppSumo, get in front of buyers with intent. You can even build your own. They rank on Google, attract your ICP, and drive traffic to your product.

—
If you want to learn how to execute each of these tactics, check out the latest episode of MRR Unlocked where Zdenko Zvada talks about these in detail. Link in the comments.

How to create a GTM slide for your pitch deck

Investors can smell fluff from a mile away; you can't woo them with fancy GTM channels. They need real proof of 

✅ What has worked in the past 
✅ How do you plan to scale it 

Include these 2 sections in your GTM slide to make it foolproof 

1️⃣ Current scenario

- Show how you've built a repeatable growth engine 
- Mention how you've been acquiring customers today

2️⃣ Plan to scale 

- Chart out your exact plan to scale the engine you've built currently 
- Show how you'll acquire the next set of customers

Basically, reassure investors that 

✅ You've got the blueprint to utilize the funding 
✅ You're ready for growth

---
Majd Alaily has written an entire guest post about how to make the best pitch deck (11 slides) for your startup. This is only 1 slide of the deck. Check out the whole episode at MRR Unlocked. Link in the comments.

3x Founder | ex-Google | Design Thinking | Let's Launch, Grow, Fundraise For Your Startup Together.

11 slides of a winning pitch deck👇

If you're struggling to get funded, you can start by redoing your pitch deck

Here are the 11 most important slides of a pitch deck - 

(in the right order)

1️⃣ Problem 
2️⃣ Solution
3️⃣ Unique Value 
4️⃣ Traction
5️⃣ Competition
6️⃣ Market
7️⃣ Revenue Model
8️⃣ Ambition
9️⃣ Team 
🔟 GTM
1️⃣1️⃣ Ask

If you're skipping any of these slides, you're not giving investors all the information they need to make a decision. 

Check out the carousel below to see the summary of each slide. 

---
Majd Alaily has written an entire episode on "Why pitches fail" for MRR Unlocked. Check the link in the comments to see the full episode.

5 recommendations to better organize your pricing page menu 👇

1️⃣ Keep Plan Names Simple
Don’t overthink naming.
Clarity beats creativity. 

Start with what people expect to see:
Free, Basic, Starter, Standard, Pro, Premium, Plus, Teams, Business, Enterprise.

2️⃣ Show the Monthly Cost
Display the monthly cost right below the plan name (even for annual billing). 

Tie it clearly to your pricing metric so users immediately understand how cost scales.

3️⃣ Include the Billing Period
Always indicate how billing works. 

A toggle above the pricing grid (monthly ↔ yearly) is the standard and most intuitive approach.

4️⃣ Highlight Key Features and Usage Limits
After naming and pricing, call out the core features and usage thresholds for each plan. 

Keep it concise — aim for about five items max. Focus on what truly drives pricing or differentiates plans.

5️⃣ Add Clear CTAs
Every plan needs a specific next step.

For free or PLG plans: “Get Started.”

For sales-led motions: “Request a Demo” or “Contact Sales.”
Different plans can have unique CTAs depending on your GTM model.

These are the essentials. If you can convey all key details across these elements, you don’t need anything extra. Keep it focused and simple.

How to create thought leadership content for your startup?

Here are 7 questions you need to ask yourself -

Great thought leadership content educates, challenges assumptions, and provides actionable insights.

This means writing only about topics where you truly have expertise. 

The best content and sweet spot lies in the intersection of 
✅ Your expertise and 
✅ What your audience needs to know.

7 questions you need to ask yourself - 

1️⃣ In which area or topic do potential customers need to perceive you as an expert?

2️⃣ What industry-specific knowledge can you provide?

3️⃣ What core concepts must potential customers understand before your solution "clicks" for them? 

4️⃣ What widespread beliefs in your industry do you strongly disagree with?

5️⃣ What would make selling your product easier if more people understood these concepts?

6️⃣ What trends (e.g., regulations, technological developments, market pressures) could negatively impact your customers if they don’t adapt?

7️⃣ What recurring questions do you frequently get asked?

Once you answer these questions, you will find your pillars and create relevant content for your ICP

Cloudflare is down again....so half of the internet is not working 🤗

So I take a rest...

I recently asked Stefan Bader to share the most painful mistakes and best tips he learned growing Cello from 0-1€ million ARR 👇

Let's hear his advice.

1) Mistakes
❌ Building things that don’t scale without a tech-debt repayment habit

In the early days, it’s fine to build scrappily and prioritise speed over clean architecture. However, paying down tech debt must become a continuous habit; otherwise, you will eventually trap yourself in a system that slows you down instead of enabling you. We had to learn this and work our way back out.

❌ Title game: Giving out VP titles too early.

At this stage, everyone should be an IC. You have C-level + Senior/Lead/Head is fine, but avoid VP because it creates the wrong expectations and limits flexibility later. Yes, we learned from our mistake.

❌ Being ruthless at hiring: If it’s not a clear “hell yeah,” don’t hire.

Early hires shape culture disproportionately - compromising here slows you down and creates clean-up work later. Retrospectively, the most expensive mistakes we made were related to this.

2) Hacks / Tips
✅ Don’t entirely build your GTM on rented land

When platforms move the goalposts, visibility collapses overnight. Make sure you own some of your channels -> referrals, communities, integrations

✅ Signal > noise - Low-signal volume kills conversion

Build intent-based outbound that gives AEs real buying context - not vanity metrics.

✅ Measure Product–Channel Fit like Product–Market Fit

Even great products fail if their channels collapse. Track CAC payback and conversion drift - they can be early warning signs.

✅ Practice subversive marketing - Break out of the mainstream.

Surprise your market with creative, high-signal plays that challenge expectations and earn organic attention. Make sure you always create value first for your target audience.

✅ Stay launch-ready

Channels degrade faster than most teams react. Build a launch muscle: ship, test, rebuild - fast.

✅ Collapse silos early

Product, sales, and marketing should run as one GTM system. Fragmented teams can’t adapt when channels shift.

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I asked 5 other founders to share their mistakes and tips, too. You find all of this in my latest mrrunlocked newsletter. Link is in the comments.

Marcos Rivera

Most B2B SaaS leaders build value.
But forget to capture it.

Let me guess:

- You’re guessing your price
- You’re losing revenue
- Scaling feels stuck

What if pricing could drive growth?

Here’s what I help you do:

→ Capture more value
→ Make pricing your edge
→ Build pricing confidence

Why should you trust me?

- 25+ years in tech pricing
- Ex–Head of Pricing at Vista Equity
- Priced 400+ SaaS products
- Author of *Street Pricing*
- Trusted by MBAs and SaaS CEOs

Beyond coaching, 

I’m an:

→ Investor 
→ Speaker
→ Entrepreneur 

passionate about helping businesses unlock their full revenue potential.

Ready to take control of your most powerful growth lever—pricing?

Checkout my featured section.

Founder and CEO

We help growth-stage B2B SaaS companies design the right pricing model to scale up

Ready to shift your pricing from guesswork to framework?

Your top 20% of customers are probably subsidizing your bottom 30%.
And you don't even know it.

See the #2 cause ↓

When we audit customer bases, we find this constantly: the customers who get the most value and never churn are often paying less than the customers who churn after 12 months.

Why?

Because most companies optimize pricing for customer acquisition volume, not for customer value fit.

You built pricing to attract as many customers as possible. 
So you attracted a lot of price-sensitive customers who were never going to be good long-term fits.

Meanwhile, your best customers, the ones who would happily pay 2-3x more because they're getting massive value, are grandfathered on old pricing.

The framework shows how to identify this pattern in your own customer base and fix it.

When we help clients migrate their high-value, under-monetized customers to pricing that reflects the value they're getting, we see 30%+ expansion revenue.

From customers who were already happy. 
They just needed a reason to pay more.

Are you optimizing your pricing for volume or value fit?

CEO of Pricing I/O • Award-Winning Author • Sought after Slayer of Bad Pricing

Years of calls, DMs, and pricing debates.
Finally in the same room.

Dan Balcauski, • Mark Stiving, Ph.D., and I have known each other for years through the pricing world. 

We've shared ideas, challenged each other's thinking, and watched the space evolve together.
But somehow, we'd never all been in the same place at the same time.

Until the Usage Economy Summit last week.

Pricing work can feel isolated. 
You're often the only person at your company who thinks about monetization strategy all day. 
The pricing community changes that.

These are the people who get it. Who've been in the trenches. Who know that pricing isn't just a spreadsheet exercise.

Good to finally make this photo happen.

Seat-based pricing is dying faster than most CEOs realize.

12 months ago: 50% of B2B SaaS used flat or seat-based models 

Today: Down to 27% 
Projected 2027: <10% 

The shift? 41% of companies are now using hybrid pricing models.

At SaaS Metrics Palooza, I walked through why this is happening, and the framework we use to build hybrid models that actually work.

Here's the reality:
AI changed who does the work.

It's not just humans anymore. It's systems completing tasks, generating summaries, resolving tickets, approving requests, all autonomously.

So how do you charge for that? By the person? The product? The outcome?

Answer: It depends on who's doing more of the work.

The BAM Framework - Base, Allowance, Meter 

These 3 layers create 5 different hybrid pricing models:

1/ Access Tiers (Base only) - Different AI complexity per tier, fair usage policy 

2/ Flat + Unit (Base + Meter) - Platform fee + outcome-based hybrid pricing 

3/ Flat + Limit + Unit (All 3 layers) - Most popular hybrid, includes volume + overages 

4/ Credit-Based (Base + Allowance) - PLG favorite hybrid, but don't fall into cost-plus trap 

5/ Pay-As-You-Go (Meter only) - Pure consumption, AI infrastructure 

The pattern from 400+ transformations: 
Companies using Flat + Limit + Unit (Model 3) are seeing the most traction. Why?

It gives customers predictability (base fee + included volume) while capturing expansion value (usage after allowance).

But, and this is critical, you need safety mechanisms.

→ Predict usage (dashboards, estimators) 
→ Prevent surprises (match reset timing to contracts) 
→ Protect customers (caps, true-up options, don't penalize usage) 

The companies winning with hybrid pricing aren't just picking a trendy model. They're designing the model that fits how their AI actually creates value.

Based on Tremont's research:
Hybrid models are capturing 3-4x more expansion revenue than traditional seat-based pricing.

The question isn't "should we go hybrid?"
It's "which hybrid model fuels OUR growth?"

Which model fits your product? Person doing the work or product doing the work?

Seat_Based_Pricing

63% of AI monetization barriers are pricing-related.
And here's the #1 question I get from CEOs: "Where does AI actually belong in our pricing?"

Most companies are guessing. Chargebee's research shows 29% are just building AI into the core without charging extra.

That's a mistake.

At SaaS Metrics Palooza, I broke down the framework we use with PE-backed companies to decide where AI belongs.

It's not about the technology. It's about the experience.

Three different AI experiences = three different packaging strategies:

1/ Underscore the Core - When AI reinforces what you already do
Slack started with AI as a $10/user add-on. A few months later? Built into Business+ with a 25% price increase.

Why? They realized AI was becoming core to the Slack experience—making search better, recaps faster, answers easier. Not a "nice to have" feature.

2/ Upgrade the More - When AI extends adjacent use cases
ClickUp Brain charges $28/user (their base plan is $7). That's 4x their standard pricing.

Sounds expensive until you realize it's replacing 3-4 other AI productivity tools at $25-30 each. For customers, $28 is a consolidation play and a bargain.

3/ Unlock the New - When AI creates entirely new workflows
Intercom's Fin resolves support tickets autonomously at $0.99 per resolution. 
New TAM, new use case, standalone product.

Those who package based on experience (not just "it's AI so charge more") capture 2-3x more value and see 40% less pricing pushback.

The mistake? Treating all AI features the same.

Your AI that makes existing workflows 10% faster ≠ Your AI that unlocks entirely new capabilities.

Where does your AI actually belong?

McKinsey published a 4000-word guide on AI pricing. 
They're right about the problem. Wrong about the solution.

After analyzing 150 AI vendors, they found that despite $4.4trillion in potential economic value from AI, less than 1% of software spend is actually going to AI products today.

Why? Three consistent blockers: only 30% of companies publish quantifiable ROI, CFOs can't forecast what they'll spend on AI quarter to quarter and pilots fail to scale without proper change management investment.

I agree with all of this. We're seeing the exact same patterns across our 400+ client benchmark.

But here's where McKinsey loses me.

Their solution: "Test with customers and iterate quickly." That's not a strategy. That's expensive guessing.

Here's what I told a $75M ARR CEO who was about to "test" three different AI pricing models:
"You can't test your way to the right pricing without first understanding which experience you're selling."

→ Are you underscoring your core product? 
(AI makes existing workflows faster/better) 

→ Upgrading adjacent use cases? 
(AI extends what you do into new territory) 

→ Or unlocking entirely new capabilities? 
(AI creates workflows that didn't exist before)

That decision shapes everything, your packaging structure, pricing metric, go-to-market motion, whether you embed or sell standalone.

McKinsey's "iterate quickly" approach skips this question entirely.
So companies end up testing random combinations. 

"What if we bundle it?" 
"Let's try consumption-based." 
"Should we do per-seat or per-action?"

Each test costs 3-6 months and thousands in opportunity cost. This is the difference between consultants who drop decks and consultants who work in the trenches.

A 200-page McKinsey deck will tell you that 41% of companies are moving to hybrid models and you should "test and iterate." Great. Now what?

Working in the trenches with your team means asking: What experience is your AI actually creating for customers? Then designing the pricing model that monetizes that experience.

Not copying what Salesforce or Snowflake is doing. Not testing five models and hoping one works.

Companies that got AI pricing right didn't test their way there. They designed the experience first, then built pricing around it.

→ Slack realized AI was becoming core to the messaging experience, built it into Business+ with a 25% price increase. 
→ ClickUp saw AI extending productivity workflows, charged $28/user as an add-on to consolidate other tools. 
→ Intercom built AI that automated support entirely, 99¢ per resolution, standalone product.

Three different experiences. Three different pricing strategies. All intentional from Day 1.

McKinsey is right that this is the biggest shift in software since SaaS. But "test and iterate" isn't how you capture the opportunity.

Context without expertise is aimless. Expertise without context is pointless. You need both.

That $100K deal at 40% discount? It's worth less than an $80K deal at list price.
Let that sink in for a second.

Same effort to close. Same sales cycle. 
But completely different long-term value.

The $100K deal at 40% off:
→ Trained the customer to expect discounts at renewal
→ Attracted a buyer who shops on price, not value
→ Set a precedent your CS team will fight for years

The $80K deal at list price:
→ Customer who valued the product enough to pay full price
→ Higher expansion potential
→ Healthier baseline for renewal conversations

This is what "quality of revenue" means.
And most SaaS companies don't track it.

Here's the pattern I see everywhere:
Discount up to 10% without approval
Up to 15% needs manager sign-off
Up to 20% needs VP approval

Guess where every deal lands? 
Right at those thresholds. 10%. 15%. 20%. Like clockwork.

That's not strategy. That's bureaucracy with a discount attached.

Discounting isn't bad. Lazy discounting is.

Strategic discounting looks different:
1. Tied to specific customer segments, not just deal size
2. Prescriptive about what you're getting in return (multi-year? Expansion commitment? Reference customer?)
3. Tracked and analyzed, not just approved and forgotten

If your sales team is discounting on every deal, don't blame them.

Look at whether your pricing is set up for them to win without it.

LLM costs have dropped 80% annually for two straight years.

Most AI companies responded by lowering prices or making features "unlimited."

McKinsey's research on 150 vendors shows that's the wrong move. 
Companies that maintained or raised prices despite falling costs saw 2-3x higher revenue growth than those who passed savings to customers.

Yet most are doing the opposite.

Jasper AI went from $10 per 5,000 words to unlimited generation included free. Sounds customer-friendly. But here's what that misses:
Your AI isn't getting cheaper. It's getting more valuable.

Two years ago, AI did single-step tasks, generate an email, summarize a doc, answer a question.

Today, AI agents execute multi-step workflows autonomously. Research across databases, draft outreach, update CRM, schedule follow-ups.

Your costs dropped 80%. 
Your complexity increased 10x.

Customers don't pay for compute. They pay for outcomes.

Adobe got this right. 
Started with embedded AI and simple features. 
Moved to standalone SKUs at higher prices as they added video generation, translation, and complex workflows.

Their costs went down. Their prices went up.

Q1 2025: $125M in AI revenue, expecting to double by year-end.

Only 16% of SaaS companies commercialized AI as standalone products. But those 16% report 2-3x higher customer traction and revenue.

The pattern across companies getting this right: costs fall, prices stay flat or rise with added capabilities. 

Use margin gains to add complexity, better integrations, multi-step workflows, higher quality.

Price based on value delivered, not costs incurred.

Based on our 400+ client benchmark, companies that maintain value-based pricing during falling infrastructure costs capture 4-5x more economic value.

Falling LLM costs are a margin opportunity, not a customer discount.

Question for your team: Are we pricing our AI based on the value customers get, or the costs we incur?

$60K for 6 months of value? That's too expensive.
This is how customers justify churning, even when your product works.

I see this pattern constantly: products that require data integration, team adoption, or behavior change take 6+ months to deliver full value.

But companies charge full price from day one.

So at renewal, customers do the math: 
"I paid $60K but only got 6 months of real value. That's $10K/month. Too expensive."

And they churn.

Not because the product failed. 
Because the pricing model didn't account for the time it takes to realize value.

The carousel above shows three ways to fix this: ramp pricing, success milestones, or hybrid models.

The goal? 
Make it easy for customers to justify the cost at every stage of their journey

If it takes 6 months to see full value:
Don't charge full price from day one

The value may be real.
But it takes time to materialize.

If your pricing model doesn't account for ramp time, customers will churn before they see the full value.

The best time to raise prices is when you're scared to do it.
And I mean it.

Because, if you wait until:
→ You "have the data," you've already left money on the table for years.
→ The board "asks for it," you've lost credibility as a proactive leader.
→ The market "feels right," your competitors will move first.

What I've learned from 400+ pricing projects?
You won't lose all your customers.

That insecurity that everything you've built will turn to dust. I know what it feels like.
But trust me, it almost never happens.

That's why we've rarely, almost never, recommended a client actually reduce prices.

Because the problem is almost never that they're charging too much, it's that they're not capturing value where it exists.

What we find is they're underpriced in segments they may not even realize, leaving money on the table while over-discounting elsewhere.

Raise prices strategically. 
Communicate the value clearly. 
Watch what happens.

Most companies are surprised by how little pushback they get, and how much margin they were leaving behind.

Building a SaaS product is the easy part.
The hard part? 

Knowing what to charge for.
Not how much. What.

I've worked with 400+ companies on pricing transformations, and the most common mistake isn't bad pricing, it's never defining the value metric in the first place.

They default to per-user because competitors do it. 
Or per-seat because the billing system made it easy. 
Or per-transaction because... honestly, no one remembers why.

None of those are strategies. They're inherited defaults.

Here's the question that actually matters: 
What is the thing that, when your customer gets more of it, they're clearly getting more value?

It's not always obvious.

For a fintech client, it wasn't users. It was connected bank accounts, that's what correlated with value delivered.
For others, it might be projects managed, workflows automated, or outcomes achieved.

The right value metric does three things: it scales with customer success, customers understand it intuitively, and it's predictable enough to forecast.

"Per user" used to check all those boxes. But AI is breaking that model.

When automation reduces headcount, when one person can do the work of five, charging per user starts to punish the efficiency you're selling.

I'm seeing companies rethink this now, before their customers start asking why they're being penalized for getting better at their jobs.

What's your value metric? 
And when's the last time you questioned whether it's still the right one?

The best pricing validation doesn't come from spreadsheets. 
It comes from the first real customer conversation.

I was on a call with a client and we'd spent weeks rebuilding their packaging and price points. 
The whole team was nervous, classic pre-launch anxiety.

Then Peter, one of our strategists, came back from the first customer calls.
"No pushback. A few customers actually said the value was clearer now."

That's when the energy in the room shifted.

Here's what most teams get wrong: they over-index on internal validation. 
Board approval. Finance sign-off. Competitive benchmarks. Willingness-to-pay surveys.

All useful. None of it matters as much as one real customer saying "yes, that makes sense."

I'm building Pricing I/O around this exact principle. 

Our engagements start with customer research, not because it looks good in a deck, but because that's where the actual signal is. We want to understand what your market is telling you, not what a spreadsheet predicts they might say.

That's why Phase 1 of every project is discover: 
→ Customer behavior data
→ Real conversations
→ Pricing surveys

The model comes after we understand the market, not before.

Because pricing isn't just math, it's a negotiation with your market. 
And you don't know if your positioning is working until someone actually buys it.

I've seen teams delay launches by months, perfecting models that customers didn't care about. 
And I've seen teams ship "good enough" pricing that customers immediately understood.
The second group wins.

If you're sitting on a pricing change right now, waiting for one more data point, you're probably past the point of useful analysis. 

Ship it to 10 customers. 
Listen. 
Iterate.

The market will tell you what you need to know faster than any spreadsheet.

Most B2B SaaS companies are about to copy their way into a churn crisis.
This is the conversation I'm having with CEOs and boards 3x per week.

I just watched a $50M ARR company copy a competitor's usage-based pricing model.
Six months later: CAC up 60%, churn jumped from 8% to 14%, sales cycles doubled.

What works at scale can destroy an early-stage company.

Before you change your pricing model, answer these three questions:

1. How do your customers actually consume value?
Not how you think. How they actually behave.

CRM where value scales with team size? Per-seat still works.
Data platform where value comes from queries? Usage-based fits.

2. What's your sales motion?
High-touch enterprise sales can handle complexity.
PLG with self-serve? If prospects can't understand their cost in 30 seconds, you've lost them.

3. What's your growth stage?
Series A proving PMF needs different pricing than $100M ARR pre-IPO.

The shift from license-based to outcome-based pricing is real.
But context without expertise is aimless, and expertise without context is pointless.

Just dropped a video about it ↓

https://lnkd.in/gNGqitFU

I break down the complete framework, why AI is accelerating this shift, how to model impact before launch, and how to test without blowing things up.

You don't hire consultants because you have a strategy.
You hire them because you don't.

A CPO told me recently:
"The team wants to start quickly. They have urgent things they're nervous about because nobody knows what they're doing, bluntly."

Not "we're pursuing a strategic initiative."
Just: nobody knows what they're doing and we're scared.

This is how every consulting project actually starts.
But nobody admits it.

Here's what really happens:

Your company launches an AI product. 
Pricing team guesses at a model. 
Three months in, churn spikes. 
Board asks questions. 
Nobody has answers.

Or: Competitor changes pricing. Sales scrambles. Everyone has opinions. Nobody has data. CFO demands a strategy by next board meeting.

Or: New product launching in 60 days. Pricing still says "TBD" in the deck. CEO keeps asking "what are we charging?" and the room goes quiet.

That's when you call.

Not because you woke up wanting to "optimize monetization strategy."

Because you're 30 days from a board meeting with no idea what to tell investors about your AI pricing.

Consultants sell transformation.
You're buying panic relief.

When you say "we need to move fast", you're not impatient. You're scared and running out of time.

When you say "the team is nervous", you're admitting you don't have confidence in your approach.

When you ask "how quickly can you start?", you're really asking: how soon can you stop us from making an expensive mistake?

The consultants who get it don't lead with "here's our transformation methodology."

They lead with "here's how we'll de-risk this for you in the next 30 days."

If you're evaluating consultants and the process feels like it's taking forever, this is why.

You need someone to de-risk the urgent thing. 
They're selling you a six-month transformation.

The best projects start by de-risking the urgent thing first. Building the transformation second.

When's the last time you were brutally honest with a consultant about why you're really hiring them?

"We're paying for 20 seats but only 5 people use it."

You're charging per seat. 
But your customers don't get value from the number of seats, they get value from tasks automated, data processed, or outcomes achieved.

This is value metric misalignment. And it's killing your renewals.

Real example: 
AI-powered task automation company charging $50/user/month. 
Customer signs up with 20 seats at $1,000/month. 
But only 5 people actively use it.

They're paying $1,000/month but perceiving $250 worth of value.

At renewal: 
"Why are we paying for 20 seats when only 5 people use this?" 
They churn.

The fix isn't lowering the price. It's changing the value metric.

→ If value comes from tasks automated, charge for tasks, like Zapier does. 
→ If value comes from data processed, charge for data volume. 
→ If value comes from outcomes, charge for outcomes.

When your pricing metric aligns with how customers actually consume value, they can justify the cost.

Across 400+ B2B SaaS companies we've worked with at Pricing I/O, this is the #1 cause of pricing-driven churn.

What's your pricing metric? 
Does it match how your customers actually get value?

Your best customers are paying you 40% less than your worst customers.
And that's why you have a churn problem.

I see this pattern constantly at Pricing I/O.

A CEO comes to us: 
"We've invested millions in product development. Hired more CSMs. Improved onboarding. But our churn rate is still 15%."

So we pull their data.

Legacy customers, 5+ years with the company, love the product, paying 40% less than new customers.

New customers? Churning after 12 months. 
Primary reason: "Can't justify the ROI."

Most CEOs think their legacy customers are just more loyal.
But that's not it.

Your legacy customers are paying less, but they understand exactly what they’re getting for the money.

Your new customers? 
They're paying more, but they can't connect what they pay to what they get.

When we run pricing surveys with churned customers, here's what they tell us:
"We weren't using enough of the product to make it worth it."
"We couldn't justify the cost."
"The ROI wasn't there."

These aren't product complaints. These are pricing complaints.

Your product didn't fail them. Your pricing model did.

If your legacy customers love the product and your new customers churn, it's not the product. It's the pricing.

The product didn't change. 
The pricing did.

Across 400+ B2B SaaS companies, I see this constantly: 
High churn isn't always a product problem. It's often a pricing problem.

Are your best customers paying you the least?

"We're not using it enough to justify the cost."
When SaaS customers say this at renewal, it's not a usage problem. It's a pricing problem.

After analyzing hundreds of B2B SaaS churn calls, I've identified 3 customer churn red flags:

Red Flag #1: "We're not using it enough"
→ Your pricing metric doesn't align with usage patterns

Red Flag #2: "We can't justify the ROI"
→ Your pricing model doesn't account for value realization timeline

Red Flag #3: "It's too expensive for what we're getting"
→ Wrong customer segmentation driving churn

If you're hearing these in renewal calls, fix your SaaS pricing model, not your product.

Watch more insights here:
https://lnkd.in/g-7XkY9X

Why do SaaS companies keep copying Salesforce's pricing page?

Because copying feels safer than building from scratch.
But that pricing page you're copying was designed for a company with completely different unit economics, sales motion, and customer base.

You copy the 3-tier structure. 
You add a "Contact Sales" button on Enterprise. 
You pick "per user" pricing because that's what everyone does.

Then 6 months later, the same pattern shows up: sales is discounting 40% on every deal, customers cluster in the cheapest tier, and the board starts asking why NRR is flat.

The problem isn't that Salesforce's pricing is bad, it's that it was designed for Salesforce's business. 
Their unit economics, their sales motion, their customer base.

When you copy a pricing page, you're copying the output without understanding the input.
You don't see the months of customer research, the margin analysis, the sales capacity constraints, or the positioning strategy that shaped those decisions.

Per-user pricing made sense when humans were the primary way software delivered value. 

But with AI reducing headcount and automation replacing manual work, charging per user can actually punish the efficiency you're selling.

Based on 400+ companies we've worked with, the pattern is clear: teams that build pricing around their own economics and growth stage outperform teams that borrow models from companies playing a different game.

A client who's known me for years just evaluated five other consultants before hiring me.
That should terrify you.

This week, a billion-dollar SaaS company closed with us on a pricing transformation. 
Their Chief Product Officer and I go way back, we worked together at Vista Equity Partners. 
He knows my work. Trusts me. We literally survived the trenches together.

But when his company needed to hire a pricing consultant, he still looked at six different options.
During our debrief, I asked what made the difference.
He said: "When I did the reference calls, I asked each vendor's clients a specific question: Would you use this consultant for any type of pricing problem, or just this specific one?"
For the other five consultants, clients said: "Actually, they're great at this thing, but not so much at that. For that other problem, I'd probably use a different vendor."
For us: "I'd use them for anything. And have, multiple times."
Here's the uncomfortable truth nobody's talking about:
Your relationship doesn't protect you anymore.
Your client can love you. Trust you. Have worked with you before. And they'll still compare you with five others.
Why?
Because they've been burned by consultants who solved one problem and disappeared. Who dropped 200-page decks and never showed up again. Who created dependency instead of capability.
So now they do real diligence. Doesn't matter who you are.
What decides the deal isn't your pitch. It's what your clients say about you when you're not in the room.
"Would you hire this consultant again? For a completely different problem? Or just this one?"
If the answer is "just this one," you're a disposable solution. An expensive band-aid.
If the answer is "for anything," you're a partner.
What's the difference?
Disposable consultants solve problems. Partners build capability.
Disposable consultants deliver a model. Partners teach the team to execute it independently.
Disposable consultants create dependency. Partners make themselves less necessary over time.
The executive said something else that stuck with me:
"We wanted to make sure we didn't bias our process by our relationship. So we did the diligence even though we already knew you from the Vista days."
Your relationship gets you on the shortlist.
What your former clients say about you is what closes the deal.
In 2025, everyone's making those reference calls. Everyone's comparing. And the question they're asking is:
"Do you make me better after you leave?"
If the answer isn't "yes," you're losing deals you thought were already yours.
When's the last time you asked your clients: "Would you hire me again for a completely different problem?"
If you're not sure of the answer, you already know.

This is how discounting destroys margins and what to do about it
The discount death spiral: one deal at 30% off, another at 35%, your average hits 25%. 

Across 400+ SaaS companies, we see this pattern destroy margins and valuation multiples. 

Here's how PE-backed companies fix it with a 3-tier approval process. 

Full breakdown here 👆

I saw 400+ Private Equity backed companies go through pricing transformations, and most of them made the same mistakes in the first 90 days.

They wait too long to fix pricing, perfecting the product while leaving 20-40% of potential revenue on the table.

What separates companies that nail pricing from those that stall?

The focus areas in the first 90 days, and one factor that determines success more than anything else.

Here's the playbook I wish I had from day one ↓

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The Battle

Alexander Estner

Marcos Rivera

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