SaaS Economics
Product-Led vs Sales-Led Growth: The Economics
Product-led vs sales-led growth is a cost structure, not a philosophy. Salesforce spends 34.5% of revenue on sales, Atlassian 21.8%. The 10-Ks explain why.
Topic hub
SaaS Economics
Unit economics from the inside: payback periods, net revenue retention, gross margins, and the cost structures behind software businesses — grounded in real operator data.
15 articles
Growth and Go-To-Market
SaaS Economics
Free Trial Activation and SaaS Growth
Free trial activation, not signups, drives SaaS growth. Activated trials convert at 35-65%; unactivated at 2-8%. The funnel framework and benchmarks.
Pricing
SaaS Economics
SaaS Pricing Tiers: How to Design the Ladder
SaaS pricing tiers, decoded: 2026 price cards from Slack, Notion, Figma and Claude, computed step ratios, fencing rules and the anchor-tier evidence.
SaaS Economics
AI Is Breaking Per-Seat SaaS Pricing
AI is breaking per-seat SaaS pricing. See how consumption and outcome pricing re-rate SaaS revenue, with cited 2024-2026 vendor terms and a shift map.
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.
Margin and Cost Structure
SaaS Economics
Cloud Cost Economics: Why Your Bill Explodes
Cloud cost economics, decoded: why $0.09/GB egress, cross-AZ fees, and idle capacity inflate the bill, and which levers actually cut it. Filing-cited.
SaaS Economics
Apple Services Revenue Margin: The Engine Inside iPhone
Apple Services revenue margin is 75.4%, turning a quarter of sales into 42% of gross profit. Read the margin engine through Apple's own FY2025 10-K.
Business Models and Valuation
SaaS Economics
SaaS Valuation Multiples: What Drives the Number
SaaS valuation multiples price growth durability, not current revenue. See how growth, NRR, gross margin, Rule of 40, and rates move the multiple.
SaaS Economics
Vertical SaaS: Why Niche Software Wins
Vertical SaaS fintech revenue is the second engine that beats the TAM ceiling. See how Toast, Procore, and ServiceTitan turn niche software into payments scale.
Unit Economics
SaaS Economics
Burn Multiple: The Efficiency Metric That Matters
Burn Multiple: The Efficiency Metric That Matters. How much cash you burn per dollar of new ARR, the benchmark bands, and why it beat growth-at-all-costs.
SaaS Economics
Why SaaS Gross Margin Is Destiny
SaaS gross margin sets the ceiling on CAC payback, R&D budget, free cash flow, and valuation. See why 80% vs 55% margin builds two different companies.
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.
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.
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.