S7E15 – SaaS Monetization in 2026: Tiering, Usage, AI Add-Ons & Pricing Experiments with Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

SaaS monetization in 2026 is being reshaped by smarter tiering strategies, flexible usage-based models, AI-powered add-ons, and bold pricing experiments that help companies grow revenue while meeting evolving customer expectations. In this episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast, host Joran speaks with Krzysztof “Chris” Szyszkiewicz, the co-founder of ValueShips, a boutique pricing consultancy that works primarily with technology companies, particularly within SaaS and AI. The conversation, recorded live at the SaaS Summit in Benelux, explores where SaaS pricing is heading in 2026 and how companies can gain an advantage by rethinking monetization, packaging, and expansion strategy.

Chris offers practical insights on output and success-based pricing, the rise of AI add-ons, the importance of structuring tiers based on willingness to pay, and the need to view pricing as a continuous process. He also explains how to run pricing experiments, avoid common traps, and use straightforward frameworks to protect margins, especially in AI-driven products where usage costs can escalate quickly. For any SaaS company preparing for growth in 2026, this discussion provides a grounded and actionable blueprint for building a pricing system that supports scale.

Expansion Revenue Will Become a Primary Growth Driver in 2026

Although output-based and success-based pricing models continue to gain popularity, Chris emphasizes that the real engine of SaaS growth in 2026 will be expansion revenue. With competition increasing across most segments, companies will need to rely more heavily on how pricing and packaging support their ability to grow existing accounts. This includes designing stronger tier structures, setting limits that naturally create upgrade paths, and identifying the add-ons or usage-based elements that encourage customers to expand.

While success-based frameworks will remain important, Chris explains that the most reliable growth will come from intentional, systemized expansion mechanics built directly into the monetization strategy.

Horizontal and Vertical Scaling as the Foundations of Expansion

Chris describes two essential dimensions of expansion revenue. The first is horizontal scaling, which depends on the core value metric. Whether pricing is based on users or usage, it should grow proportionally to the value customers receive. When the metric is tied directly to outcomes, expansion becomes natural. For instance, intent software that reveals buying signals aligns well with output or intent-based pricing. The more value customers get, the more they use the product, and the more they pay.

The second dimension is vertical scaling, which depends on functionality. This is the familiar good, better, best structure in which higher tiers include more advanced capabilities. Although the concept is well established, Chris notes that companies can no longer rely on intuition when choosing how to distribute features. Differentiation must be planned carefully and based on customer preference and willingness to pay.

According to Chris, true expansion success requires both dimensions. Quantity of value consumption and depth of functionality must work together rather than as competing approaches.

Professionalizing Tiers Based on Willingness to Pay

Many SaaS businesses still assign features to plans using instinct or internal preference. Chris argues that professionalizing tier structure is becoming a competitive requirement. Features that customers highly value and show strong willingness to pay for should be used intentionally to separate plans. This means understanding customer preferences, validating willingness to pay, and avoiding guesswork when designing plan boundaries. The concept is not new, but the discipline required to implement it properly is increasingly essential in a crowded market.

Moving Toward Hybrid Pricing Models Step by Step

As AI reshapes cost structures and product experiences, many companies feel pressure to evolve their pricing model rapidly. Chris warns against sweeping changes. Instead, he recommends a gradual approach in which companies introduce shifts incrementally. AI add-ons provide a low-risk way to test usage-based pricing without replacing an entire model overnight. When launching a new AI feature, offering it as an add-on and charging based on usage can reveal adoption patterns. If a meaningful share of customers begins using it, the company can consider a broader evolution of its monetization strategy. Pricing, Chris explains, should be viewed as an iterative process rather than a one-time redesign.

Success-Based Pricing as the New Freemium

AI-native companies face an economic challenge in which unactivated users generate no revenue while still incurring usage costs. Chris compares this to a shift in the traditional freemium mindset. Success-based pricing allows customers to begin using a product with minimal friction and pay only when outcomes occur, essentially functioning as a modern version of freemium. However, he cautions that freemium models often lower perceived value. Companies that rely on freemium typically price lower than those who avoid it, a trend confirmed by ValueShips’ benchmark data.

While Chris does not expect freemium to disappear in 2026, he believes success-based pricing will become a more common alternative. He notes that marketplaces have used commission-based models for years, citing Booking.com as an example where hotels pay only when a conversion occurs. SaaS companies can learn from this approach and apply similar logic to outcome-driven monetization.

Adopting a Process-Driven Mindset for Pricing

Several years ago, companies could review pricing once per year and remain competitive. This is no longer viable. With product development moving faster and competitive pressures increasing, pricing must be treated as a continuous business process. Chris advises teams to consider pricing implications with every product decision and every change in company operations. Not acting is still a decision, he notes, but it should be an intentional one rather than a passive outcome. The new standard for 2026 is to establish pricing as an ongoing practice integrated into product, finance, and go-to-market operations.

Testing Pricing: Distinguishing Between New and Existing Users

Chris recommends a differentiated approach to pricing experiments. For new users, A/B testing is possible if the company has sufficient traffic and conversion volume. Rather than testing price points alone, teams should test packaging, plan structure, and value communication. This approach is most effective for companies that can achieve statistical significance.

For existing users, a risk-managed framework is necessary. Chris suggests segmenting customers along two axes: the percentage of revenue they represent and the percentage of total customers they comprise. In many cases, a large portion of revenue comes from a relatively small share of customers. Meanwhile, a segment representing only a small fraction of total revenue but a sizable portion of the user base provides a low-risk environment for testing pricing changes. Before testing, companies should calculate the break-even churn threshold to understand how much churn the business can tolerate while remaining revenue neutral. Some experiments may lead to churn, but if they validate or disprove a hypothesis, the learning is valuable.

Understanding Break-Even Churn Before Making Changes

Before introducing any pricing adjustment, Chris and his team calculate the level of churn a business can absorb while still breaking even. This number is frequently higher than founders expect and often falls between twenty and thirty percent. If a company would be destabilized by a churn event at this level after a modest price increase, it may indicate a deeper issue unrelated to pricing. While context differs across commoditized and innovation-driven markets, knowing the break-even threshold is essential for safe experimentation.

Common Pricing Mistakes SaaS Companies Are Making

Chris points to several recurring mistakes that undermine effective monetization. One of the most common is unintentional grandfathering, where legacy customers remain locked into outdated pricing without a clear strategy. Another frequent issue is uncontrolled discounting. Many companies do not realize the extent of revenue leakage from accounts priced below list. When more than ten percent of revenue comes from discounted accounts, it is time to take action and begin normalizing prices.

Another mistake is attempting to overhaul an entire pricing model too quickly, often in response to AI trends. Chris advises companies to evolve gradually and validate changes through add-ons and small experiments. He also warns against using credit systems when they do not fit the product. Credits work well in complex systems with multiple use cases, but they can introduce unnecessary friction in point solutions.

These mistakes share a common root, which is a lack of intentionality. Pricing fails when it is driven by habit, trends, or guesswork rather than a structured strategy.

Managing AI Costs Without Compromising User Experience

AI-heavy products often experience rising internal costs as customers increase usage. Chris offers three practical mechanisms to protect margins without degrading the user experience. Credits can be a helpful tool for preventing negative margins caused by excessive usage, although they are not appropriate for every product. Fair usage policies can also be effective. Even plans marketed as unlimited typically have hidden thresholds, and SaaS companies can adopt similar models by clearly stating fair usage limits in contracts and notifying users as they approach them. True-up mechanisms present a third option, allowing companies to estimate usage and then reconcile based on actual consumption. This ensures alignment between cost and revenue as usage fluctuates.

Guidance for Early-Stage Founders Growing Toward 10K MRR

For founders working toward their first ten thousand dollars in monthly recurring revenue, Chris recommends prioritizing differentiation and learning. Launching with a single plan at a single price provides little insight into customer behavior. Creating a simple good and better structure aligned with target use cases helps founders observe where customers gravitate and how they perceive value. If the majority of customers choose the higher priced plan, pricing is too low. If nearly all choose the lowest plan, too much value may be offered at the entry level. Early-stage pricing is less about perfection and more about obtaining useful signals.

Scaling from 10K MRR Toward 10M ARR

As companies grow from early traction toward meaningful scale, Chris identifies three strategic priorities. The first is repairing discounting and grandfathering issues that erode revenue. Cleaning up accounts priced below list is often one of the fastest ways to increase revenue without changing the product. The second priority is building a robust expansion toolkit that includes clearly differentiated plans, relevant add-ons, and thoughtful usage components. This equips customer success teams with the levers they need to drive expansion. The third priority is investing in research to avoid persistent underpricing. In the vast majority of ValueShips’ projects, average prices increase because initial pricing was based primarily on intuition, competition, and cost rather than on validated willingness to pay.

How Often Pricing Should Change

Pricing is no longer tied to an annual schedule. Rather than changing pricing frequently for its own sake, companies should continuously evaluate whether new features, cost structures, or competitive dynamics require pricing adjustments. Pricing should be reviewed routinely as part of product development and operational planning, similar to marketing or sales.

Using Success-Based Pricing Responsibly

Success-based pricing offers customers a frictionless way to adopt a product and can function as a modern alternative to freemium. However, because companies only earn revenue when customers activate, it carries operational risk. AI-native companies are especially vulnerable, since usage may generate costs even when customers do not convert. Chris recommends combining success-based elements with usage-based AI add-ons, fair usage policies, and true-up systems that protect margins while preserving customer friendliness. The goal is to evolve gradually, test responsibly, and build pricing around measurable value.

A Practical Framework for Safe Pricing Experiments

Companies with limited traffic can still run meaningful pricing experiments by segmenting their customer base according to revenue concentration. A small segment of customers that contributes only a tiny portion of total revenue provides a safe environment for testing new structures. Before executing any change, companies should calculate their break-even churn threshold and prepare clear communication for affected customers. Transparent, proactive messaging reduces friction and helps ensure that lift-and-shift initiatives proceed smoothly.

When Credit Systems Work and When They Create Friction

Credits can be an effective tool for managing usage, controlling AI costs, and preventing negative margins. They offer flexibility and can align billing with consumption in complex products. However, in products built around a single use case, credits may add an unnecessary step that complicates the buying experience. In those cases, fair usage policies or true-ups may be more appropriate. The key is to use credits only when they genuinely support the product’s economics and customer experience.

The Core Principle: Intentionality Wins

Throughout the discussion, one theme consistently emerges. Effective pricing is intentional. Companies should avoid chasing trends, relying on gut feeling, or allowing outdated structures to persist unchecked. Instead, they should validate willingness to pay, design deliberate upsell paths, test through add-ons, protect margins with sound policies, and treat pricing as a continuous process. In a competitive 2026 SaaS landscape, consistent intentionality is a powerful advantage.

Key Timestamps

• (0:00) – SaaS Pricing in 2026 Is Gonna Get Wild
• (0:53) – Live From SaaS Summit Benelux
• (0:57) – Meet the Pricing Guy Behind ValueShips
• (1:11) – What Will SaaS Pricing Look Like in 2026?
• (1:19) – Expansion Revenue Is the New Growth Hack
• (2:32) – Scale Smarter With Usage Metrics
• (3:45) – Stop Guessing: Do Real WTP Research
• (4:10) – Switching to Hybrid Pricing Without Chaos
• (4:23) – Test AI Add-Ons Before Going All-In
• (5:43) – The New AI-Native SaaS Models
• (5:58) – Freemium Isn’t Free
• (7:08) – Booking.com-Style Pricing Comes to SaaS
• (8:04) – Pricing Is a Process
• (9:44) – Ad Break: Reditus
• (9:57) – A/B Test Your Pricing Like a Pro
• (10:30) – How to Test Pricing on Existing Customers
• (11:38) – The Churn Math You Must Know
• (12:41) – The Most Expensive Pricing Mistakes
• (13:45) – Don’t Blow Up Your Pricing Model for AI
• (14:47) – When Credits Pricing Works
• (15:01) – Keep AI Costs From Killing Margins
• (16:10) – Utility-Style Billing 101
• (16:48) – Early-Stage Pricing to Hit 10K MRR
• (18:15) – Scale to $10M ARR Without Revenue Leaks
• (19:24) – Final Takeaways
• (19:27) – Connect With Chris
• (19:40) – Outro & Subscribe

Transcription

[00:00:00.000] – Joran

Welcome back to the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast. Today, I’m joined by Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz, also known as Chris, co founder of ValueShips, a consultancy specializing in SaaS pricing, monetization, and revenue expansion. In this episode, we’ll dive into the future of SaaS pricing in 2026, including the rise of hybrid pricing models, AI-driven cost structures, output-based pricing, and advanced strategies to increase your NRR. Chris explains how to structure tiers, usage metrics, AI add-ons, and value-based pricing in a way that aligns with willingness to pay, but also expansion revenue. We will cover how often SaaS companies should update pricing, how to run pricing experiments the right way, and why freemium models are shifting, and the most common mistakes founders make when pricing a product in 2026. There’s a lot in there. Let’s go to Amsterdam as this episode is also recorded live at the SaaS Summit in Benelux.

[00:00:53.110] – Joran

Welcome to the Growth & B2B SaaS podcast. Hello. Could you quickly introduce yourself? Who are you and what do you do?

[00:00:57.410] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

My name is Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz, but I go by Chris. I’m co founder of ValueShips. We’re a boutique pricing consultancy working mostly with technology sector. Most of our clients are products, and right now, SaaS plus AI.

[00:01:11.140] – Joran

Nice. Well, we’re going to talk a lot about SaaS and AI and SaaS pricing? First question, how do you see SaaS pricing evolving in 2026?

[00:01:19.380] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

A couple of things at first. Of course, there are many discussions about output-based and success-based models. I think we will see that even more, more and more companies implementing that. But also if competition becoming more and more fierce, I think that more and more companies, and I’m saying more and more for the fifth time, but nevertheless, I think more and more companies will focus also on expansion revenue. They will think how to package their product in a way that it supports expansion revenue use case, which means that you really need to have good tiers, you need to have good limits, yada, yada, yada. Because I see NRR being more and more important for the companies, and of course, pricing needs to support NRR growth. I don’t want to go into like, Trivia. Yes, success will be there, yes, output will be there. Yes, we will see first big success with output or next success with output and success with output and end success-based pricing, of course. But beyond the Trivia, I think that the real growth will come from expansion revenue in 2026.

[00:02:25.980] – Joran

Yeah. Then expansion, any pricing or any expansion expansion. So not just, I guess, output-based, but it could be anything.

[00:02:32.920] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

When you think about this in order to support the expansion of revenues, in this case, you need to have two things. The first thing is like horizontal scaling, which is scaling through the core value metrics. No matter if it’s usage-based pricing, it’s normal-based pricing, you need to somehow scale with your core value metric. Of course, the closer you are to the success of your customer, the more tangible is the value, the more you contribute to the value, the easier it is for the expansion revenues. Imagine that you are an intent software. If you are providing good value, if you are uncovering the intent, if you are supporting the sales of your customers, of course, naturally, they want to buy more and more intents for you. It makes a lot of sense to have an output intent-based model, crystal clear. Horizontal scaling is scaling through value metric. The other thing that has been in SaaS for quite a while is also vertical scaling. Vertical scaling is scaling by the functionalities. The more advanced advanced as the software, the more you pay. This is clear. More features, good, better, best, yada, yada, yada, yada. But I think that since competition is getting more fierce, you need to put a bit more research into differentiating through the advancement of your software.

[00:03:45.790] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

In order to differentiate and to understand the preference and the willingness to pay. Just to make it crystal clear, if you have features that are highly preferred and there is willingness to pay behind this, they should separate your pricing tiers. Of course, it has been here for a while, but I think most of the companies were structuring their plans by the gut feeling. Right now, we need to professionalize a bit.

[00:04:10.020] – Joran

Then when you professionalize a bit, you mean figuring out where is the willingness to pay for a certain feature? But is it also, I guess, professionalize as in making it a bit more hybrid, putting a usage-based component to it or value-based component to it?

[00:04:23.950] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

Yes, that’s for sure. Definitely what I don’t recommend, and I don’t think it works very well, is just to change your pricing model 180 degrees. You are classic user-based and nothing usage, zero add-ons, and now you want to be on the high trade of AI, we’re going to do success-based. On top of it, there will be a usage and the platform will be modular. So only a platform, 100 add-ons. Most likely you might be successful. There is low chance that you will be successful with that. I think that when you develop your pricing model, you should do step by step. You mentioned usage. What I think is that we will see more and more companies adding an AI add-on and then trying to experiment with that. Pricing should be a process. If you want to test the waters, if usage-based pricing is for you and you are working on your cool new AI feature, what you can do? Hey, let’s add it as an add-on and let’s try to monetize it with usage. Crystal clear, see, test the waters, understand if there is a use case for you, if the adoption is high, If the adoption is high, you see, I don’t know, 15, 20% of your clients using this software, then you might think if you should change the whole monetization model more towards the user-based pricing, for example.

[00:05:43.780] – Joran

I’m curious with AI native companies coming more and more right, and especially in 2026, AI has a lot more cost, I guess, to run a SaaS company. Do you foresee that premium will change or will be different?

[00:05:58.580] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

Here is the thing. I think that, first of all, when you think about usage for AI native companies, if they are using output-based pricing with the usage component, usage is a new term. If companies are actually not using your software, I mean, they are not active in your software, you are not getting paid. Problem, right? That is the first challenge that I see. The second one, when it comes to the freemium, then you might think that if you’re a success-based, this is already freemium with a commission-based component, right? I mean, this is one nature of the freemium. What we can see in the freemium is definitely, and this is like very old concept, that freemium is deteriorating your perceived value. What does it mean that if you have a freemium, on average, you will be cheaper than your competitor who doesn’t have freemium? We have tons of benchmarks supporting this use case. This is a bit bittersweet. I think that there will be companies who will experiment more with freemium, but to be very honest, I’m not sure if it’s going to change much in 2026. I think usage and being freemium via Saxas-based, this will be a new freemium.

[00:07:08.680] – Joran

Yeah, because it is a good way to get new users in and then actually get them to the value you want them to.

[00:07:14.470] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

Man, It’s a commission-based model. We’re in products, we’re in SaaS. This is a great conference where we are talking about Saxas, blah, blah, blah, stuff like this. We think like, Yeah, Saxas-based, such a new great model. How innovative it is. I’m like, Hey, guys, have you seen booking. Com? I mean, This company has been around for a couple of years already, and they are Saxas-based. This is a commission model. If you think about this, you can subscribe as a hotel to booking. Com, and they are only charging you when the conversion happens on the booking. Com. It’s really a Saxas-based model. I think that product ecosystem has a lot to catch up with from marketplaces where they can learn from when it comes to Saxas commissions. But yeah, this will be exciting for sure.

[00:07:57.020] – Joran

I don’t think I have to ask, should you change pricing or how Then you should change pricing because you’re going to say you have to change pricing probably a lot.

[00:08:04.470] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

No, here’s the thing. Two, three years ago, most likely I will have said, Yeah, just think about this once a year. But right now, with the speed of development, new features, with the competition getting more and more exciting, so to say, I think that the time now is to treat pricing as a process. You should think no matter what product decision you are taking, no matter what people decision you are I think always take into consideration pricing plans. We’re adding a bit of value. Shell, does it require to change pricing, adjust pricing? Is there a monetisation use case in that? I think that as we are treating marketing sales as a process, right now is the time to treat pricing as a process and actually constantly work on it. It doesn’t require always a change. Not acting is always a decision that you can take. But yeah, I think now it’s the time pricing as a process. Let’s make this hashtag popular.

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[00:09:44.740] – Joran

 on. Well, pricing is a process. It’s almost like running pricing experiments. You’re changing something, running experiment. Does it actually work? How would you test it? Because probably you’re not going to test on the entire user base, right?

[00:09:57.040] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

Definitely a couple of things. First, we to separate the new users and the existing users. If you’re present in the couple of markets, you’re a big SaaS solution with tons of hundreds of thousands of views on your website, you might think of A/B testing, different plans, price tax, not really, but different plans, different packaging, three plans versus four plans, how does it work, blah, blah, blah, stuff like this. But this is only reserved from the biggest companies that can have, that can make their A/B test statistically significant. If you’re a bit smaller company, I would say the first thing that you need to do when it comes to pricing tests, I mean, current users do a simple matrix. So think in terms of a revenue concentration. On one axis, you need to have the percentage of revenue. On the other axis, you should have percentage of clients. You typically see the 20% of your clients, depending on the use case, are responsible for 60, 80% of your revenue, give or take. But then you have this 10, 20% of the companies who are only responsible for 1% of their revenue. This is your, we shouldn’t call it a playground, but this is your testing ground.

[00:11:04.560] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

If you want to test the water, see something, how does it influence your revenue, stuff like this, this is where you can experiment a bit. Number one. Number two, if you think about experimentation, also think what is your break-even point in terms of a churn. You have a bit of a risk in testing. You want to introduce something, you don’t know if it works, if it doesn’t work. See what churn you can actually afford if the test fails, because some of the will fail. That’s fine. If they proof or disprove the hypothesis, it should push your business forward. Nevertheless, you should also be aware of the risks.

[00:11:38.420] – Joran

I think that’s it. You’re definitely going to have some churn, I guess, with some experiments you’re going to run. But in the end, if the revenue you get extra from it is actually positive, then it’s not a bad experiment. It’s not a bad change thing to do. Probably they won’t be the best clients to have anyway.

[00:11:52.860] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

Break-even point. This is the break-even point when you think about this. Frequently, before we are launching pricing experiment or pricing uplift for our clients. We see that we are increasing the prices by 10, 20, 30% whatsoever. The first task things that we are doing, we are seeing how much churn we can afford to break even, and sometimes 20, 30%. Can you imagine that 20% of your clients are leaving because you increase prices by 20%? If yes, most likely pricing is not your problem. But of course, I don’t want to generalize. If you are more in the commoditized business, it’s a bit more tricky. If you’re more on the innovation side, it shouldn’t be that tricky. Neety-gritty details, but in general, taking or understanding your break-even point is a very important thing in pricing.

[00:12:41.010] – Joran

I think these are probably already some common mistakes or I guess I Perhaps to avoid, but what do you typically see happening, mistakes happening right now within pricing within SaaS companies?

[00:12:51.700] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

There are a couple. There are two mistakes that I will mention that has been here for a while. First one, discounting Grandfather Inc. If you’re changing the prices, always take the decision if you should do that for currently existing clients. Number one, Grandfather Inc. Number two, discounting. Understand how many of your customers are charging below your current list price in case this is 10 100% of revenue leaking, try to seal them, try to bring them back to the current plan. They are your happy users, frequently ambassadors. That shouldn’t be that hard. If you’re not doing that, not monitoring it, actually it’s a mistake. If you are facing some challenge, it’s not a priority, not acting on that, it’s not a mistake, but not reviewing it, it’s a mistake. Second one that I see, no matter how big is your company, is actually being too furious when it comes to changing the pricing model. I mentioned this already. We are in the tornado now with AI, that’s for sure, especially in pricing. I see many companies who just want to be on the hype train and they want to change their monetisation method fully from day one to the other.

[00:14:01.690] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

Typically, it takes, or you should do it step by step, number two. Number three, credits. Credits, amazing model. You can have great success, play, stuff like that. They amazing things with credits. But if there is a point solution. If you’re just solving one use case and then you just randomly have credits, which means that you basically exchange dollar to credits and then this one credit to one thing that you’re buying, this is just an intermediary every step that could have been neglected. Being too hyped with credits, if you’re a very… You can be great doing amazing things, but we’re just a point solution solving one thing. Most likely credits is not the thing that should work for you. If you’re more complex, that’s for sure it can work.

[00:14:47.500] – Joran

We’re working on it ourselves right now. Credits is also a way to make sure that people don’t misbehave AI because there’s a lot of cost related to it. Often you put credits in place just to make sure that you’re not having a higher cost than actually income.

[00:15:01.200] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

Anti-fraud. Anti-fraud, right. Not anti-fraud, but actually negative margin. There are some… Credits can be one most likely leverage solution that you can use. Amazing. There are a couple of others. There is something that is called Fair Trade Usage Policy. I’m not sure if you know, but if you have unlimited data plan in your phone, or if you have unlimited calling plan in your phone, my friend, this is not unlimited. When you think about this, there is a limit in terms of conditions. Those things are called fair trade usage policies. Again, those things has been in the market for quite a while. We as a SaaS ecosystem, we need to catch up a bit and introduce fair trade usage policy into our contract. If you’re thinking about having unlimited AI plan in your solution, if for some reason this is the best use case for you, great. Make yourself a favor and make sure that you have a fair trade policy behind that in your contract. Then what does it mean? Time when you are receiving a negative margin from this AI, most likely this is the block time. Before your customers are reaching 10, 20% of the thresholds, there should be a pop-up saying, Hey, look, this is the situation, fair trade usage policy.

[00:16:10.440] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

That’s it. Credits, one option, the fair trade usage policy. Other option, there is a third one as well. The third one is a true-up. If you see that month to month companies are using too much, you can true them up. Your taxes are working, how your energy prices are working. You predefine some usage on the electricity, and then government or like an electricity company, true you up every year or every month. We can do the same.

[00:16:35.660] – Joran

Interesting. We’re going to dive into the final two questions, which are more revenue-related questions. What advice would you give a SaaS founder who is just starting out and growing to 10K monthly with current revenue right now?

[00:16:48.240] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

It’s pretty simple. Differentiate, right? At the very beginning, I think that your one and only goal with pricing, it needs to be okay pricing, but it shouldn’t It can be that hard, but I think you should make yourself a favor and learn as much as possible, which means that if you have all in one solution and only one price for one plan, after a year, you are just in the same spot where you started with regards to pricing-related knowledge. I would say that if you’re starting, think how you can differentiate your solution, how to make it at least good, better, how to respond to the use case, ICPs that you are targeting. Try to think one price that is X, the other price is 120% X. After a year, you will see which plan your customers are choosing, why they are choosing this plan. Maybe if 95% of your customers are choosing the for an expensive plan, maybe you are too cheap. If 95% of your customers are using the cheapest plan, you are giving too much value in this cheapest plan. I would say that if your solution is rich enough, where in most of the cases the solutions are rich enough, would to differentiate and experiment a bit.

[00:18:02.230] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

Treat pricing as a process.

[00:18:04.020] – Joran

Nice. Let’s assume now we passed 10K MR. We’re going to make a huge step towards 10 million ALR. For people who are on that journey from 10K to 10 million, what advice would you give here?

[00:18:15.150] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

I would guess there are three things. First of all, if you want immediate impact, I mean, look at your discounting policies and grandfathering policies. This is the easiest revenue to unlock. If you’re leaking more than 10% of your revenue, kill it, act on it, number one. Number two, look into your expansion revenue toolkit. How you can actually expand your clients. Do you have pricing plans differentiated enough? Do you have add-ons in place? Do you have some usage component in your solution? I mean, look what your toolkit, your CSM has in order to allow for the expansion. Third one, if you decided to take your price tax less packaging by gut feeling, by competition a bit, by cost, stuff like this, I mean, then Millionaire R, it’s worth to invest a bit in the research, especially primary research, to understand if you are not underpricing. Because from my experience, 95% of our projects, we increased the average price for our customers. If it’s gut feeling plus competition plus cost, there’s 95% of the chance that you are too cheap.

[00:19:23.060] – Joran

I think that’s a great ending.

[00:19:24.400] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

Thank you very much. Thanks for having me and this is my best.

[00:19:27.660] – Joran

Perfect. If you want to get in contact with Chris, how can you do so?

[00:19:30.690] – Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz

So LinkedIn, Krzysztof Szyczkiewicz just looked for value ships and there will be this guy with a very strange name and surname. That’s me, right? And with a mustache on the photo.

[00:19:40.620] – Joran

Nice. We’ll add the link so people can just click it. Yeah, that’s easier, right? Thanks, Chris. Thank you very much. Thank you for watching this show of the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast. You made it till the end, so I think we can assume you like this content. If you did, give us a thumbs up, subscribe to the channel. If you like this content, feel free to reach out if you want to sponsor the show, if you have a specific guest in mind, if you have a specific topic you want us to cover, reach out to me on LinkedIn. More than happy to take a look at it. If you want to know more about Reditus, feel free to reach out as well. But for now, have a great day and good luck growing your B2B SaaS.