Rachel Woods

The state of AI monetization 👀 The interest in next generation pricing models has been wild. But interest doesn't always translate into adoption. Here's new data from 800+ SaaS companies via the 2024 benchmarks report: - 56% of SaaS companies have launched AI features in their product; another 25% have AI features on their roadmap - Of these, 41% are directly monetizing AI features & another 28% are testing monetization (the remaining 31% are likely including it 'for free' with existing packages) How AI products are making $$: 1️⃣ Traditional subscriptions: 46% - Subscriptions (think: flat fees, per seat) are still the most common form of monetization - This number is actually down compared to how folks monetize SaaS products -- 59% of SaaS products have traditional subscription pricing - Maintaining the status quo often makes sense for now considering (a) the time / expense / change mgmt of pivoting & (b) it makes it easier to upsell an existing customer who's already buying on subscription 2️⃣ Usage: 25% - Usage (think: per AI call, per token, per credit, per conversation) is the second most common - These help cover costs / protect margin and tend to enable "land-and-expand" with customers - Be mindful of ops challenges around forecasting, sales comp, customer comms and metering/billing 3️⃣ Hybrid: 22% - Hybrid pricing (think: platform fee + usage) mixes subscriptions and usage-based pricing - This tends to be the 'Goldilocks' compromise in pricing conversations - The downside: added complexity (for you & customers) 4️⃣ Outcome-based pricing: 7% - Outcome or results-based pricing (think: per successful AI resolution, % of chargeback revenue recovered) starts to orient toward the work delivered by a combo of software & AI agents - I'm seeing more & more interest here, especially if AI can own a workflow from beginning to end; this becomes equivalent to competing against a full-time hire, contractor, or agency/vendor -- There are some big shifts happening, but progress is still gradual. I'll be very curious how this evolves in the next 6-12 months 🍿 🎁 For more AI pricing insights, check out Growth Unhinged — my free weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/exTbjKaM #ai #monetization

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Sending a competitive intel newsletter is the easiest way to share competitive intel across your organization. But writing an impactful competitive newsletter folks actually read…not so easy. 👩🏻‍🔬So we created a guide with the help of Klue experts, customers and industry all-stars. Check out Klue's Competitive Intel Newsletter Guide & Template 🔥 The Ultimate Klue Competitive Intel Digest Template  🪜 Best practices on how to write a killer subject line, intro, and ‘why it matters’ 🧠 Real-life advice from 10 Klue customers and experts who write the best intel newsletters in the business 🪄 Bring competitive intel to life 👷🏾‍♂️How to structure your newsletter ? What intel you should include for different audience 👨🏻‍🏫 How to clearly and concisely explain why it all matters (hint: win rates) PS - You'll find some pro-tips and quick wins from CI folks like Andy McCotter-Bicknell and a our very own Brandon Bedford inside too #competitiveintelligence #productmarketing #productmarketingmanager #winloss #techsales

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Recast was born out of a deep frustration with the state of media mix modeling: Legacy vendors were using outdated statistical models, producing inaccurate results without proper validation. Worse, their insights were often outdated before they even reached marketers' hands. We saw a glaring need for something better: a tool that was transparent and honest about its limitations, but actually actionable and verifiable. But our vision has evolved. We now see Recast as a central command center for marketers, aggregating diverse data points: - Experimental results (conversion lift studies, geo-holdouts) - Observed trends (channel performance shifts, sales fluctuations) - And more Our goal is to combine all this information in a holistic, statistically sound way. This allows marketers to plan effectively and make data-driven decisions for the future. It's about moving beyond static reports to a dynamic tool that evolves with your business and the market.

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What if I told you that utilizing interactive tables isn't just for data experts? In today's data-driven world, the ability to dynamically update and reference tables in ChatGPT can set you apart in any industry. #openai #llms #generativeai

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What if I told you that utilizing interactive tables isn't just for data experts? In today's data-driven world, the ability to dynamically update and reference tables in ChatGPT can set you apart in any industry. #openai #llms #generativeai

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What if I told you that utilizing interactive tables isn't just for data experts? In today's data-driven world, the ability to dynamically update and reference tables in ChatGPT can set you apart in any industry. #openai #llms #generativeai

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Can you imagine getting 30 new paying clients in just a few months. Yes, that sounds impossible in this crazy, bot-saturated marketplace we're in today. Here's how I did it... and all without lead gen tools, sales automation or any marketing spends too. It just works, and it only needs a few minutes a day. Here's the story of how I did it, and you too can leave the noise behind and get the results you're wanting. It's all here in this free e-book: https://lnkd.in/gp_aPnaZ #referrals #relationships #sales #trust #growth

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If you haven't already heard, Meta released their latest LLM, Llama 3! In this video, I go over how to get it going within Clay using an awesome LPU hardware company Groq (and this is not Elon's Grok!). The best part is that currently GroqCloud is free to use with a rate limit of 30 requests per min. So get yourself an API key, and get it going within Clay! From my experiments, it is a great contender to the latest models such as Claude 3 Opus and GPT-4. Llama 3 is also open source which means if you really want to get nerdy, host it yourself! Like and Comment "It's all about the Llama!" and I'll send you the Clay template (must be connected!) PS - link below to get yourself 3000 free credits. https://lnkd.in/gdwdwAQP

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Tons of new business owners are missing out. You can get up to $100,000 in AWS credit (as in, no-payback) to build a proof-of-concept if you have an idea and a website. AWS Activate is the program. If you're a founder and you're looking to build cost-effectively before you have paying clients, check it out.

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I despise writing webinar titles and descriptions because of this one thing... I'm horrible at it wanna help? -- Context: In a few months, I'm leading a GTM webinar for a private community of Chicago-based startups I'm planning on covering (1) defining GTM strategy, (2) key elements of a GTM strategy, and (3) how to get started at your startup Any creative ideas on title + description? (🫣I'm too embarrassed to share my versions 🫣)

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Can you commit to solving a niche problem for your customers, and do it with such an amazing amount of empathy for the way they work, that nothing compares? We can at Creative Force and dreem.ai 🤗 As Juliana Vail says, we can’t break the workflow and jump out to other tools. It needs to be smooth. We also need to take into account what the customers need, and not just how to give them more content, but also enable them to deliver it at a higher quality and velocity. In this day and age we also dont want to lock customers into specific models and vendors, as things are moving so quickly. So we decided to be LLM agnostic, which means that our features can leverage all the major players. Even while still using templates and structures, reference language and custom glossaries and more. Personally, I feel great pride in one of the first projects I got involved in going live! But also, the fact that we as a company allow ourselves to go so deep, solving such specific problems, instead of just throwing a few prompts together in a playground and adding an api and calling it a day. That’s just not how we do things 🙂 Watch out for much more to come in the near future!

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I asked ChatGPT the pros and cons of Nashville's startup ecosystem so you don't have to: ✅ Healthcare and entertainment are booming. Opportunities are in health tech and music/creative industries. (I'd add fintech and supply chain to this as sectors with increased startup activity). ✅ Lower costs of living and operating a business compared to hubs like Silicon Valley. (Yes, making that comparison. However, we are more expensive compared to other cities our size) ✅ Resources like LaunchTN, Nashville Entrepreneur Center, StartupNash, Gust, Wefunder, BrainTrust, plus events like 3686 Festival, fuel growth. (I agree!) ✅ A growing workforce, great culture, and livability attract both talent and entrepreneurs. (I really think there's opportunity in making our city the best it can be.) Now for the challenges: ⚠️ Smaller tech talent pool compared to Austin or Boston. (but rapidly growing thanks to continued efforts from resources like the ones above). ⚠️ Limited early-stage funding options (but we have more options than 5 years ago) ⚠️ Infrastructure and transit struggles amidst rapid growth. (oof!) The Opportunity? According to ChatGPT: Double down on diversity, emerging sectors like AI and fintech, and government support to push the ecosystem to the next level. (I'd add: Leverage community in a customer acquisition plan). #Entrepreneurship #Startups #NashvilleTech #nashvillefounders #founders

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Founders from YC, A16z, TS backed startups I work with typically leverage one of these three strategies when hiring remotely Here's the breakdown: 👉 Direct Full-Time Hire: ↳Execution: Bring on board a full-time engineer with a direct contract. ↳Compensation: Pay through an Employer of Record (EOR) or directly via platforms like Payoneer or Wise. ↳Best for: Seamlessly integrating engineers into your core team who are poised for long-term growth with your startup. Ideal for roles that are central to your tech strategy. 👉 Full-Time via Employer of Record (EOR) ↳Execution: Employ a full-time engineer via an EOR, which takes care of all legal and administrative duties. ↳Compensation: The EOR manages payroll, taxes, and compliance concerns local to the engineer. ↳Best for: Startups aiming for quick scale without the hassle of navigating local labor laws and tax complexities. Perfect when expanding into new markets without establishing a local corporate presence. 👉 Staff Augmentation ↳Execution: Partner with a staffing agency that provides engineers on a contract basis. ↳Compensation: Pay the agency a rate that covers the engineer’s salary and a markup fee. ↳Best for: Startups needing to dynamically adjust their engineering teams to tackle project-specific demands or fill particular expertise gaps on a temporary basis. Ideal for short-duration projects requiring niche skills.

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A lot of start-ups fail because they don’t understand product market fit. If you too are on the prenatal stage of figuring your business out, don’t miss this PMF concept. Sarah Jenkins recently interviewed Alex Burke, a product expert from Amazon, Airbnb, and Shopify, who shared insights on PMF’s three pillars: demand, satisfaction, and scalability. Many companies excel at demand and satisfaction—customers love and use their product—but struggle with scalability, ultimately leading to failure. Brands like Juicero and Fab had demand but couldn’t scale and didn’t survive. PMF evolves through four stages: → Stage 1 Your early customers are often personal connections. Red flags here include customers not missing your product if it disappeared or inconsistent core features. The focus is on truly understanding your target market. → Stage 2 At this point, the product should drive growth, not your sales team. A churn rate above 20% or stagnant growth signals trouble. → Stage 3 (solid PMF)  If you have a significant number of customers, strong net revenue retention, and low churn rates, it indicates that your growth is on track. However, if your net revenue retention declines significantly, it may suggest retention issues that could hinder your ability to scale effectively. → Stage 4  If you have a substantial customer base, a strong sales conversion rate, and your earnings exceed your expenses, you’ve likely discovered a solid product-market fit. At every stage, remember the "4P" framework: Persona, Problem, Promise, Product. The key is continuous evolution—PMF is not static, and you need to keep fine-tuning as you scale. Anything you’d add? #ProductMarketFit #StartupSuccess #BusinessGrowth

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We turned a $$$$ N8N workflow into a 3-click set-up. Here's how: We used to build complex N8N workflows for clients. Expensive, hard to maintain, not scalable. Now? We've simplified it down to 3-5 clicks. This new job portal robot: 👉 Scans LinkedIn Jobs daily 👉 Converts hiring companies into leads 👉 Finds relevant contact info 👉 Uses AI to personalize outreach 👉 Checks for relevancy 👉 Launches multi-channel campaigns same-day It's not just for recruiters. These job portals reveal company strategies and buying signals. Signals like planning an expansion? New product launch? It's all there if you know how to look. The best part? No coding required. Just point, click, and let the robot do its thing. We will be running a webinar next week to show you how to make this work for you. Want to try it out? Comment "JOB PORTAL" below and I'll send you access to the robot and webinar invitation.

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GenAI has made it so easy to create content...so the only path forward to differentiate your content is to focus on quality. Winware makes it easy to capture feedback on your content from your target persona. DM me if you want to try it for free.

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Remember when you could target people on Facebook with pinpoint accuracy? Yeah, those days are gone! Aligning strategy with tactics means staying up to date on what is possible on each platform. Check out this video to see some of the monumental changes to Facebook/Meta ads over the last decade. https://lnkd.in/gmG-VGpP

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The Difficulty of using the Rule of 40 in Evaluating Startups The Rule of 40, which states that a Startups rate of growth + EBITDA margin should total atleast 40. Brad Feld popularized it in 2015. And if you read his original blog, he "heard it mentioned" in a Board meeting may seem simple and elegant—but it’s fundamentally flawed. First, it creates a false tradeoff between growth and profitability. Startups in high-growth phases often sacrifice margins to scale, while mature companies focus on growth with profitability. Comparing them with the same metric is misleading. Second, the rule ignores industry nuances. SaaS startups, for instance, have long payback periods due to upfront customer acquisition costs, making the Rule of 40 unhelpful during critical growth stages. Third, it incentivizes short-term optimization at the expense of long-term success. Startups may cut investments in R&D or talent to boost margins, undermining their ability to scale sustainably. Lastly, it overlooks cash flow, a critical measure of a startup’s health. (Bessemer dissed the Rule of 40 and introduced their own Rule of X, incorporating free cash flow margin instead of EBITDA) A company could meet the Rule of 40 but still face cash shortages if growth doesn’t translate to liquidity. 40% growth and breakeven meets rule of 40 40% margins and 0% growth meets rule of 40 Instead, metrics like CAC payback, LTV/CAC, and gross margin efficiency offer better insights into startup performance. In reality, McKinsey research finds that barely one-third of software companies achieve the Rule of 40. Fewer still manage to sustain it. Analysis of more than 200 software companies of various sizes between 2011 and 2021 found that businesses exceeded Rule of 40 performance only 16 percent of the time. The Rule of 40 oversimplifies a complex reality

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