Mostly Growth

Mostly Media

Mostly growth brings together go-to-market strategist Kyle Poyar and CFO CJ Gustafson who swap smart takes on growing revenue and running a company. From pricing and packaging to unit economics, AI trends, and the day-to-day realities of leadership, they share candid insights for CEOs, CFOs, and CROs who want to grow and operate at a high level. Serious topics tackled with a light touch for leaders who keep the trains on time.

  1. Can You Measure the ROI of a Super Bowl Ad?

    2 DAYS AGO

    Can You Measure the ROI of a Super Bowl Ad?

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson unpack the real economics of brand marketing—from Super Bowl ads and CPM math to attribution, incrementality, and PLG arbitrage. They debate when brand spend actually drives growth, why CFOs struggle to measure it, and how B2B companies justify big bets. The episode wraps with Pricing in the Real World, breaking down Rivian’s lower-priced R2 launch, EV subsidies, and pricing strategy under uncertainty. — SPONSORS: HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how. — LINKS:  Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ https://skift.com/2019/01/31/what-is-expensify-thinking-with-its-pricey-super-bowl-ad/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Tgsy7D0Jg https://adage.com/article/special-report-super-bowl/super-bowl-commercial-prices-hit-8-million-first-time/2600146/ https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/guide-to-marketing-attribution https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/brand-vs-growth https://www.themotherhood.com/super-bowl-advertising-guidelines/ https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/gw30je/til_that_the_nfl_sent_a_cease_and_desist_order_to/ https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/teslas-full-self-driving-is-switching-to-a-subscription-only-service-120053137.html https://www.caranddriver.com/rivian/r3 — RELATED EPISODES: Scaling to $1B+ Revenue: From ServiceNow to Samsara | Dominic Phillips https://youtu.be/vBY6WZBMljw The Layer-Cake Playbook for Vertical SaaS Growth | with Roland Ligtenberg https://youtu.be/yPxWvhPISKo — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:01:11 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic 00:05:15 Super Bowl Ads, QR Codes, and CFO Risk Assessment 00:08:37 Super Bowl Ads as Ego vs. Economic Signal 00:11:21 Bottom-Up PLG and the Expensify Playbook 00:12:56 Which B2B Companies Can Justify a Super Bowl Ad 00:14:44 CPM Math and Why the Numbers Sometimes Work 00:16:28 Brand vs. Demand and Measuring Brand as Growth 00:18:49 Brand as a Moat and Trust Over Time 00:21:10 Measuring Brand Through Branded Search and Conversion 00:23:22 Attribution Limits and Incrementality Testing 00:26:12 Geo-Based Brand Experiments and Targeted Events 00:28:13 Marketing Arbitrage and Analytics Discipline 00:29:06 Unconventional B2B Marketing That Actually Worked 00:30:33 Predicting Which Tech Companies Will Run Super Bowl Ads 00:32:31 Subscription Pricing Comes to Cars 00:34:18 EV Pricing, Subsidies, and Forecasting Demand 00:34:48 Credits #MostlyGrowthPodcast #brandmarketing #b2bmarketing #pricingstrategy #superbowl

    36 min
  2. How Much Do Marketplaces Really Take?

    4 DAYS AGO

    How Much Do Marketplaces Really Take?

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar unpack how marketplaces really make money by dissecting take rates across companies like Uber, Airbnb, DoorDash, Etsy, and Amazon. They explore what drives take rates—power dynamics, frequency, ticket size, and value delivered—plus why pushing a “rake too far” can backfire. The episode blends real examples, a take-rate guessing game, and practical frameworks for pricing, monetization, and long-term marketplace health. — SPONSORS: Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how. HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com — LINKS:  Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/comparing-marketplace-take-rates https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/a-viral-reddit-post-alleging-fraud-from-a-food-delivery-app-turned-out-to-be-ai-generated/ https://abovethecrowd.com/2013/04/18/a-rake-too-far-optimal-platformpricing-strategy/ https://www.boatsetter.com/boating-resources/boatsetter-and-getmyboat-announce-merger-forming-a-powerhouse-marketplace-for-boat-rentals-on-the-water-adventure — RELATED EPISODES: The Layer-Cake Playbook for Vertical SaaS Growth | with Roland Ligtenberg https://youtu.be/yPxWvhPISKo The End of LTV to CAC: Rethinking SaaS Metrics for AI https://youtu.be/vh3AGdqlSxU Sloponomics: Surviving the AI Content Flood with Rudeness https://youtu.be/kOK8oJ-lhZM — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:01:14 Inside the DoorDash Priority Delivery Controversy 00:04:16 Why Marketplaces Monetize the Way They Do 00:05:26 The Take Rate Formula: Frequency, Size, and Effort 00:07:20 Take Rates as a Power Dynamic 00:08:21 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev 00:12:25 Marketplace Take Rate Game 00:18:26 Take Rates Beyond Marketplaces: Recruiting, Sales, and Art 00:20:50 A Rake Too Far and the Risks of Over-Monetization 00:23:29 Optimizing Lifetime Value Versus One-Time Gouging 00:25:15 Amazon’s Layered Marketplace Monetization Model 00:27:23 Brainstorming Add-On Revenue Streams for Marketplaces 00:31:21 Boat Rental Marketplace Merger and Antitrust 00:33:28 Credits #MostlyGrowthPodcast #Marketplaces #Monetization #TakeRate #PricingStrategy

    34 min
  3. The Anatomy of a Great Sales Comp Plan

    16 JAN

    The Anatomy of a Great Sales Comp Plan

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast for product monetization, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar dig into what actually makes a sales comp plan effective—and why so many go wrong. They break down OTE, quotas, accelerators, spiffs, ramps, and usage-based models, plus how incentives shape behavior across sales and customer success. The conversation covers margin-based comp, AI’s impact on forecasting, common gaming pitfalls, and practical rules for building simple, aligned plans that drive growth without breaking trust. — SPONSORS: RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how. HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com — LINKS:  Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ https://www.youtube.com/c/Vinwiki https://www.lookingforleverage.com/p/the-characteristics-of-a-great-sales-comp-plan — RELATED EPISODES: Pricing in the Real World: Babies, Bots, and Billing https://youtu.be/T1cjFSZR0k0 The End of LTV to CAC: Rethinking SaaS Metrics for AI https://youtu.be/vh3AGdqlSxU Cowboy Forecasting: The Power of Fast Informed Estimates on the Back of an Envelope https://youtu.be/BgO3oDiE8wE Driving revenue without selling | Greg Henry of 1Password https://youtu.be/f5FsNoG8A3E — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:01:07 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack 00:05:11 Commission Economics and Why Incentives Matter 00:06:13 How Exotic Car Salespeople Get Paid 00:07:36 Comping Sales Teams on Margin vs Revenue 00:09:43 Rapid-Fire Breakdown of Sales Comp Terms 00:12:49 Presidents Club Stories and Sales Motivation 00:13:38 What Makes a Great (or Terrible) Sales Comp Plan 00:14:46 How Sales Reps Game Overcomplicated Plans 00:16:41 Accelerators, Timing Deals, and Quarter Misalignment 00:17:42 Ramp Periods and Realistic Expectations for New Reps 00:19:22 How AI Improves Forecasting More Than Sales Velocity 00:20:11 Quotas, Deal Volume, and the Physics of Sales Math 00:22:21 Cash Timing, Signed Comp Plans, and Avoiding Clawbacks 00:25:04 How AI Could Reshape Quotas and Sales Efficiency Assumptions 00:26:46 Improving Sales Performance by Moving the Middle of the Pack 00:28:16 Rethinking Compensation for Customer Success Teams 00:32:07 Usage-Based Pricing and Comping for Product Adoption 00:35:25 Business Blunders: Managing Slack, Boundaries, and Energy Vampires 00:38:06 Managing Slack Etiquette, Boundaries, and Closing Thoughts #MostlyGrowthPodcast #SalesComp #GoToMarket #RevenueGrowth #B2BSaaS

    40 min
  4. Multi-Year Deals and the Illusion of Better Pricing | Russell Lester

    14 JAN

    Multi-Year Deals and the Illusion of Better Pricing | Russell Lester

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle and CJ are joined by Russell Lester, President and CFO of Tropic, for a deep dive into what real procurement data reveals about SaaS pricing. They break down multiyear discounts, why volume matters more than contract length, how AI is reshaping pricing models, and when longer commitments actually hurt buyers. Plus, lessons on negotiation leverage, price increases, and navigating today’s increasingly complex SaaS market. — SPONSORS: HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how. — LINKS:  Tropic: https://www.tropicapp.io/ Russell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-lester-aa98463/ Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/your-guide-to-negotiating-multi-year-deals — RELATED EPISODES: Where Did All the Middle Managers Go? https://youtu.be/LvN7RzmApPU — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:01:12 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic 00:05:11 Welcome Russell Lester, Pricing and Discounting 00:06:41 Meeting Punctuality, Culture, and Waiting Rules 00:08:19 Transition to Multi-Year Discounts and Pricing Strategy 00:09:12 Procurement Data Insights: Volume Beats Term 00:10:00 AI Products, Risk, and Multi-Year Contract Tradeoffs 00:11:05 Multi-Year Discounting vs Negotiation Leverage 00:13:18 Lock-In Value and Avoiding Annual Price Uplifts 00:14:43 The “AI Tax” and Emerging AI Pricing Models 00:17:19 Why SaaS Pricing Data Is Messy and Context-Dependent 00:18:42 How Companies Actually Save Money on SaaS 00:20:40 Tropic as a Case Study in Pricing Model Evolution 00:22:28 Measuring ROI, Value Pricing, and Bundled AI Services 00:23:16 Cost Avoidance Pricing and Proving Real Savings 00:26:34 Buyer-First Marketplaces and Negotiating Objectivity 00:27:31 AI Pricing Complexity and Too Many Choices 00:29:47 Everyday Low Pricing vs Discount Theater 00:31:20 Pricing in the Real World: Credits and Audible 00:33:12 Expansion Revenue Through Gamified Consumption 00:34:15 Gartner’s “OaaS” Term and AI Category Confusion 00:35:07 CES Worst-in-Show and Gimmicky AI Products 00:36:23 LinkedIn Experts, AI Noise, and the Illusion of Insight 00:37:50 AI, Real Expertise, and Extracting Signal from People 00:38:48 Credits #MostlyGrowthPodcast #PricingStrategy #SaaSEconomics #AIPricing #GoToMarket

    39 min
  5. Why AI Hasn’t Hit Main Street Yet, According to Mangomint’s CEO | Daniel Lang

    9 JAN

    Why AI Hasn’t Hit Main Street Yet, According to Mangomint’s CEO | Daniel Lang

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson sit down with Daniel Lang, CEO and co-founder of Mangomint, the vertical SaaS platform powering thousands of salons and spas across North America. Daniel shares how Mangomint scaled past $25M ARR in a crowded market by obsessing over product quality, sequencing, and customer trust. The conversation dives into why AI has not meaningfully arrived in Main Street businesses, what it actually takes to build agentic products for SMBs, and why systems of record, communication layers, and context matter more than hype. — SPONSORS: Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how. HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com — LINKS:  Mangomint: https://www.mangomint.com/ Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellangnet/ Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ — RELATED EPISODES: The End of LTV to CAC: Rethinking SaaS Metrics for AI https://youtu.be/vh3AGdqlSxU — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:00:58 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev 00:05:01 Mangomint Hits $25M ARR 00:06:08 AI-Washing vs Real Value 00:08:05 Is AI Used by Small Businesses? 00:09:52 System of Record Wins AI 00:11:00 AI Belongs in the Core System 00:12:24 Why Salesforce Lacks Context 00:14:36 Systems of Action Explained 00:16:05 AI Use Cases in Beauty & Wellness 00:17:39 Why “AI Growth” Claims Fail 00:19:06 Labor as Automation ROI 00:20:21 Beating Switching Costs 00:22:03 Market Consolidation Ahead 00:22:22 Starting with Scheduling 00:23:19 No Contracts, More Trust 00:24:28 Narrow ICP Strategy 00:26:11 Shipping Less, Better 00:27:06 Communication as the Unlock 00:28:10 Product-Led Growth Motion 00:29:49 Why Field Sales Fails 00:32:02 Payback Beyond CAC 00:33:03 When Non-Scalable Breaks 00:34:23 Buying a Media Company 00:36:16 Audience as a Moat 00:38:21 Business Blunders Segment 00:42:46 Tools and AI Commoditization 00:44:31 Closing Thoughts and Outro #MostlyGrowthPodcast #AI #SystemOfRecord #ProductLedGrowth #SmallBusiness

    45 min
  6. The End of LTV to CAC: Rethinking SaaS Metrics for AI

    7 JAN

    The End of LTV to CAC: Rethinking SaaS Metrics for AI

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar, CJ Gustafson, and Ben Hillman unpack what actually matters as AI reshapes how companies grow. They debate why legacy metrics like LTV to CAC are breaking down, explore emerging measures such as gross profit per token and outcome-based performance, and discuss how AI changes sales compensation, org design, and go-to-market economics. Along the way, they dig into Domino’s surprising stock performance, private equity’s quiet bet on pickleball, and real-world pricing oddities, tying everyday examples back to durable growth fundamentals. — SPONSORS: RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit https://www.tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how. HockeyStack is an AI platform for modern go-to-market teams that unifies sales, marketing, and customer data into a single system of action. With AI agents that prospect accounts, support reps, improve forecasting, and automate what’s already working, HockeyStack helps teams move faster without guessing. Trusted by companies like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 teams—learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com — LINKS:  Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ — RELATED EPISODES: Escaping the AI Thirst Trap: Building Products That Actually Last | Des Traynor https://youtu.be/LLtMIoppG3Y The Product-Market Fit Treadmill | Brian Balfour Explains https://youtu.be/I5UqGlBOdoA — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:01:10 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack 00:05:14 Back From the Break and New Year Catch-Up 00:06:06 How Different Generations Are Adopting and Using AI 00:09:24 Potentially Reliable Things We Read at 2am 00:10:08 Domino’s Turnaround and the Tech-Forward Franchise Playbook 00:11:36 Pickleball as a Private Equity Roll-Up Opportunity 00:14:30 The Next Generation of AI Metrics: Tokens, Gross Profit, and Outcomes 00:19:26 Rethinking Sales Compensation and Productivity in AI 00:24:11 Why LTV to CAC Breaks Down in the AI Era 00:25:21 Measuring AI Quality and Domain-Specific Outcomes 00:29:20 Forward Deployed Engineers and the New AI Org Model 00:33:13 Pre-Sales Prototyping, CAC, and “Building Before Buying” 00:35:32 Pricing in the Real World: Pet Fees, Tipping, and Toll Roads #MostlyGrowthPodcast #AIinBusiness #SaaSMetrics #StartupGrowth #PricingStrategy

    40 min
  7. The Economics of Being an Independent Creator | Year in Review

    26/12/2025

    The Economics of Being an Independent Creator | Year in Review

    In this year-end episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson, Kyle Poyar, and Ben Hillman reflect on what it actually takes to build a modern media business around newsletters and podcasts. They unpack CJ’s first year going full-time, comparing creative intuition versus metric-driven operating styles, and discuss what content truly drives growth. The conversation also covers distribution dynamics, the emotional reality of unsubscribes and burnout, and closes with a candid look at monetization, team building, and the tradeoffs between simplicity and scale. — SPONSORS: Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com — LINKS:  Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/deep-research-for-gtm https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/2025-state-of-b2b-gtm-report https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/presenting-the-state-of-the-agentic-financial-stack https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/the-great-ai-arr-illusion https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/presenting-the-2025-tech-stack-report https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/download-the-annual-planning-bible https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/how-to-sell-annual-plans https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/get-recommended-by-chatgpt https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/gtm-vibecoding-ideas https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/how-to-use-ai-agents-for-marketing — RELATED EPISODES: We get roasted for swag and drop some GTM gold https://youtu.be/uubf_8al95w Do vanity plates bring serious business? https://youtu.be/Cm1rubFb-kg Pricing in the Real World: Babies, Bots, and Billing https://youtu.be/T1cjFSZR0k0 — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:01:12 Sponsors — Pulley | Metronome 00:03:32 Action Figure Swag and Year-in-Review Setup 00:05:07 Going Full-Time and the First-Year Reality Check 00:06:44 Writing Schedules, Creative Work, and Time Optimization 00:08:36 Writing Speed, Craft, and the Myth That Time Equals Quality 00:10:11 Perfectionism vs. Throughput in Newsletter Writing 00:12:23 Creator Burnout, Motivation, and Engagement Anxiety 00:13:28 Playing the Long Game vs. Obsessing Over Metrics 00:15:02 Best Work of the Year and High-Leverage Content Bets 00:17:15 Big Research Reports as Career-Defining Projects 00:18:39 When Memes Outperform Deep Work 00:19:12 LinkedIn Algorithms vs. Content Quality 00:20:11 Writing for the Feed vs. Writing to Think 00:21:23 Optimizing LinkedIn Profiles for Credibility 00:23:07 Subscriber Growth, Audience Quality, and Churn Reality 00:26:40 Reports and Research as Growth Engines 00:27:57 Tactical “How-To” Content That Actually Converts 00:29:41 Tactical Value Beats Sounding Smart 00:30:00 Building a Team and Scaling Beyond a Solopreneur 00:31:25 Simplicity vs. Scale in Early Business Decisions 00:34:57 Avoiding Boredom and Shiny Object Syndrome 00:36:32 Balancing Writing, Consulting, and Energy 00:37:14 Making the Leap Financially as a Creator 00:38:21 Subscriptions vs. Advertising as the Real Business Model #MostlyGrowthPodcast #creatorEconomy #newsletterGrowth #solopreneurLife

    40 min
  8. Pricing in the Real World: Babies, Bots, and Billing

    24/12/2025

    Pricing in the Real World: Babies, Bots, and Billing

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson, Kyle Poyar, and Ben Hillman go deep on pricing—how it’s discovered, negotiated, and perceived in the real world. The conversation spans Salesforce’s rapid-fire evolution of AI pricing models, unpacking the tradeoffs between consumption-based pricing, flat-rate enterprise licenses, and bundling AI to drive expansion and simplify buying decisions. The hosts also examine what Salesforce’s acquisition of Qualified signals for the AI SDR market, competition, and private equity, before zooming out to practical lessons on multi-year contracts, renewal dynamics, and when longer commitments actually pay off for buyers and sellers. Throughout, everyday analogies—from daycare costs to grocery store loss leaders and Instacart price variation—ground abstract pricing strategy in lived experience, making the case that pricing is less about theory and more about psychology, cash flow timing, and incentives. — SPONSORS: Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics — LINKS:  Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/ Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/ Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/ Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/ https://www.forrester.com/blogs/ai-agents-become-economic-actors-salesforce-rewrites-the-rules-of-pricing/ https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/CRM/salesforce/revenue https://seekingalpha.com/news/4532724-salesforce-to-acquire-qualified https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/your-guide-to-negotiating-multi-year-deals https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whole-foods-ceo-says-he-is-slashing-prices-on-private-label-food-to-battle-supermarkets-120042642.html https://www.fastcompany.com/91458229/want-the-same-milk-and-eggs-instacart-might-charge-you-more-than-your-neighbor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad_higXixRA — RELATED EPISODES: 5,762 Job Applications. Zero Offers. https://youtu.be/VgzzsmgJxi0 Escaping the AI Thirst Trap: Building Products That Actually Last | Des Traynor https://youtu.be/LLtMIoppG3Y Sloponomics: Surviving the AI Content Flood with Rudeness https://youtu.be/kOK8oJ-lhZM From SMB to Enterprise: The CFO Scaling Playbook With Andrew Casey | Mostly Classics https://youtu.be/kMuJ6gAuEpg Is a weekly martini ARR? | with Dave Kellogg https://youtu.be/Yb1lUQLJ6qw — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Preview and Intro 00:01:12 Sponsors — Metronome | Pulley 00:03:33 Newsletter Discount Experiment 00:04:52 The Real Cost of Daycare 00:07:14 Childcare Pricing Mechanics 00:09:01 Salesforce’s New AI Pricing 00:10:14 Agility vs. Confusion in Pricing 00:13:31 CFO Budgeting and Flat-Rate AI 00:17:31 Margins, Performance, and AI Usage 00:19:24 Salesforce Margins and AI M&A 00:20:02 Salesforce Acquires Qualified 00:22:33 M&A Implications for Martech 00:24:24 Bundling AI in Vertical SaaS 00:25:29 AI Tools Move to Bundles 00:27:48 Multi-Year Deal Strategy 00:28:56 Single-Year vs. Multi-Year Discounts 00:31:50 Avoiding Price Increases 00:32:45 Multi-Year Deal Adoption 00:34:27 Best Vendors for Multi-Year Deals 00:37:40 Grocery Pricing and Loss Leaders 00:43:48 Wrap Up #MostlyGrowth #SaaSPricing #EnterpriseAI #GoToMarket #CFOInsights

    44 min
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About

Mostly growth brings together go-to-market strategist Kyle Poyar and CFO CJ Gustafson who swap smart takes on growing revenue and running a company. From pricing and packaging to unit economics, AI trends, and the day-to-day realities of leadership, they share candid insights for CEOs, CFOs, and CROs who want to grow and operate at a high level. Serious topics tackled with a light touch for leaders who keep the trains on time.

Information

  • Creator
    Mostly Media
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    33
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mostly Media
  • Show Website
    Mostly Growth

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