SaaS Economics
Usage-Based Pricing vs Seat-Based Pricing
Usage-based pricing vs seat-based pricing: one lifts net revenue retention through expansion, the other buys forecast predictability. A strategy call, not billing.
All writing
Archive
45 articles and counting.
SaaS Economics
LTV Models: Where Founders Lie to Themselves
The LTV lifetime value formula founders use in SaaS inflates the number with blended churn, revenue instead of gross profit, and an infinite horizon. Fix all three.
SaaS Economics
CAC Payback Period: The SaaS Metric That Matters
CAC payback period is the SaaS metric that matters most: months of gross profit to earn back a customer. Benchmarks, the gross-margin lever, and a payback ladder.
IPO & M&A
Strategic Acquisitions vs Product Tuck-Ins
Strategic acquisitions vs product tuck-ins: a deal buys a market or a feature, and pricing them the same is how acquirers overpay. A fit matrix and real deals.
IPO & M&A
AI Startup Valuation: Cost Structure Matters
AI startup valuation turns on cost structure: gross margin, inference compute, and who controls the cost floor. Why software multiples meet utility economics.
IPO & M&A
How to Analyze a SaaS IPO
How to analyze a SaaS IPO: score growth quality, retention, the path to profit, and valuation with a 5-test scorecard built from real S-1 filings.
SaaS Economics
Rule of 40: What It Actually Tells You
The Rule of 40 SaaS metric forces growth and profit into one number. Read what a 42 actually tells you (and what it hides) through real 10-K filings.
IPO & M&A
Customer Concentration Risk in SaaS Filings
Customer concentration risk in SaaS hides in two quiet places in every filing. Here's how to size it, where it detonates, and the checklist to read it.
IPO & M&A
Stock-Based Compensation in Tech IPOs
Stock-based compensation in tech IPOs is the largest non-GAAP add-back. Read it as dilution, not a freebie, with cited S-1 and 10-K figures.
SaaS Economics
Gross Retention vs Net Retention in SaaS IPOs
Gross retention vs net retention in SaaS IPOs: NRR sells the growth story, GRR shows the foundation. Read both, and watch which one a filing hides.
IPO & M&A
How to Read a Tech S-1 Like an Operator
How to read a tech S-1 like an operator: skip the narrative, go straight to revenue mix, retention, SBC, and customer concentration. A read-order scorecard.
Tech Business
Netflix vs YouTube: The Real Competition
Netflix vs YouTube competition in television advertising streaming: who wins the living-room screen and the ad dollar, read through both companies' filings.