Mostly Growth

Mostly Media
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Mostly Growth is a podcast from Mostly Media where go-to-market strategist Kyle Poyar and CFO CJ Gustafson break down how modern companies make money. Each episode focuses on pricing, monetization, and benchmarks—translated into clear tactics and playbooks you can actually use. Built for finance, product, and sales operators who want to think like owners and be the CEO of their role.

  1. The Economics of Free: When Zero Breaks the Pricing Curve

    6 HR AGO

    The Economics of Free: When Zero Breaks the Pricing Curve

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar, CJ Gustafson, and Ben Hillman break down the economics and psychology of “free,” explaining why the jump from free to even $0.01 fundamentally changes behavior. They unpack freemium, free trials, reverse trials, ungated products, and credit-card trials, sharing real conversion benchmarks and CFO-level tradeoffs between acquisition and revenue. The takeaway: “free” isn’t one strategy—it’s a set of levers that must match what you’re optimizing for. — 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://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mksc.1060.0254 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517722002059 https://x.com/samwhoo/status/2007590903448514921?s=20 https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/guys-i-dont-think-tim-cook-knows-how-to-monetize-ai/ — RELATED EPISODES: From Credit Karma to Notion: CFO Rama Katkar on Leading Finance Through Every Growth Stage https://youtu.be/NWgn9ryTP38 — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Personal Stories About Free 00:02:38 Mostly Growth Introduction 00:03:01 Why “Free” Changes Consumer Behavior 00:04:30 The Psychology of Free Pricing and Promotions 00:06:10 Why “Free” Works Differently in B2B vs B2C 00:08:12 Free Trials vs Freemium: Key Monetization Differences 00:09:04 Credit Cards, Free Trials, and CFO Anxiety 00:09:21 Sponsors — HockeyStack | RightRev | Tropic 00:13:02 Reverse Trials and the Calendly Playbook 00:15:39 Ungated Free Products and Zero-Friction Adoption 00:18:17 The Math Behind Free Funnels and Conversion Leakage 00:20:31 Why Small Conversion Gains Matter in Freemium Models 00:21:25 Newsletter Paywalls, Email Gates, and Monetization Tradeoffs 00:23:50 How the Freemium Conversion Data Was Collected 00:24:49 Why Free Trials Are Still More Popular Than Freemium 00:27:36 When Freemium Works: Network Effects and Compounding Value 00:29:14 Choosing Trial Lengths and What to Gate in Freemium 00:31:11 Designing Freemium Around User Needs and Conversion Extremes 00:33:25 Credit Card Trials: Higher Conversion vs Lower Quality Users 00:35:08 Comparing Freemium, Free Trials, and CC-Gated Trials 00:36:22 Choosing the Right Free Motion for Your Company Stage 00:37:43 StackOverflow’s Decline in the Age of AI 00:38:35 Apple’s AI Monetization Problem and Industry Uncertainty 00:40:29 Credits #MostlyGrowthPodcast #PricingStrategy #Freemium #ProductLedGrowth #SaaSMonetization

    41 min
  2. Pricing Strategy Guide: 7 Pricing Models Every Operator Should Know

    5 DAYS AGO

    Pricing Strategy Guide: 7 Pricing Models Every Operator Should Know

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson unpack the pricing models hiding in plain sight. They break down razor-and-blade economics, hardware plus software, waitlists, free samples, luxury and Veblen goods, decoy pricing, two-part tariffs, and price anchoring. Using examples from Costco to SaaS and AI, they show how pricing psychology drives acquisition, retention, and willingness to pay. — 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.growthunhinged.com/p/plg-vs-microsoft — RELATED EPISODES: Pricing in the Real World: Babies, Bots, and Billing https://youtu.be/T1cjFSZR0k0 The CFO Case for Probabilistic Forecasting With AI | Bruno Annicq https://youtu.be/dfjSjPAXEEk — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Snowstorm banter 00:03:28 Setting up the episode: real-world pricing models 00:04:09 Razor–razor blade pricing explained 00:07:45 Applying razor–blade pricing to SaaS and hardware 00:08:59 Hardware + software razor–blade tradeoffs 00:09:51 Sponsors — Tropic | HockeyStack | RightRev 00:13:31 Waitlists as a growth and pricing lever 00:19:39 Free samples and freemium models 00:23:23 Luxury pricing, exclusivity, and Veblen goods 00:27:29 Luxury tiers in tech and professional services 00:29:52 Decoy pricing and the Economist example 00:32:54 Two-part tariffs and membership economics 00:37:05 Price anchoring and steering buyers to the middle 00:38:46 Event-driven price increases tied to new value 00:41:26 Outro #MostlyGrowthPodcast #PricingStrategy #PricingModels #SaaSPricing #Monetization

    42 min
  3. The Psychology Behind Why Buyers Don’t Change | DemandJen

    28 JAN

    The Psychology Behind Why Buyers Don’t Change | DemandJen

    In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson sit down with Jen Allen-Knuth to break down why “status quo” is the most dangerous competitor in B2B sales. They unpack the psychology of change, why buyers care more about confidence than features, and how sales principles show up in leadership, forecasting, and finance. The conversation covers qualifying real pipeline, running better discovery, smarter outbound, and how execs—from CROs to CFOs—can sell change inside their own companies. — 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:  DemandJen: https://demandjen.com/ Jen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demandjen1/ 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/watch?v=B9OCYOD-e9s — RELATED EPISODES: Can You Measure the ROI of a Super Bowl Ad? https://youtu.be/YgWm4HqDlbw — TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Meeting Jen Allen-Knuth 00:01:12 Walkup Music, Conferences, and Setting the Vibe 00:03:34 Mostly Growth Show Intro 00:03:57 Meta Sales Lessons 00:06:20 Why Every Executive Needs Sales Skills 00:08:35 Sales Psychology, Loss Aversion, and the Cost of Inaction 00:11:09 Sponsors — RightRev | Tropic | HockeyStack 00:14:50 Why Great Sales Reps Assume Deals Will Fail 00:16:58 The Art of the Anti-Sell 00:19:03 Giving Buyers an Explicit Out on Price 00:21:00 The Three Strongest Signals a Deal Will Close 00:23:10 Asking How Buyers Reached Their Conclusion 00:25:34 Status Quo as the Biggest Competitor 00:27:24 How Much Pipeline You Actually Need to Hit Target 00:28:30 Shifting to What Actually Works in Outbound Messaging 00:31:52 Leading with Insight Instead of Pitching the Product 00:32:42 Why Every AE Needs to Generate Their Own Outbound 00:33:22 Business Blunders and the Problem with Breakup Emails 00:35:07 The Providence Place Mall Squatter Blunder 00:35:42 Reacting to the Providence Mall Squatter Story 00:36:40 Outbound Messaging as a Business Blunder 00:38:05 Solopreneur S-Corp and Payroll Pain 00:40:13 Using ChatGPT for Admin and Operations 00:42:33 Credits #MostlyGrowthPodcast #B2BSales #OutboundSales #SalesPsychology #RevenueGrowth

    43 min
  4. Can You Measure the ROI of a Super Bowl Ad?

    23 JAN

    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
  5. How Much Do Marketplaces Really Take?

    21 JAN

    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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
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About

Mostly Growth is a podcast from Mostly Media where go-to-market strategist Kyle Poyar and CFO CJ Gustafson break down how modern companies make money. Each episode focuses on pricing, monetization, and benchmarks—translated into clear tactics and playbooks you can actually use. Built for finance, product, and sales operators who want to think like owners and be the CEO of their role.

Information

  • Creator
    Mostly Media
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mostly Media
  • Show Website
    Mostly Growth

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