John Kotowski, founder of PricingSaaS, shares his career journey and insights on pricing and monetization in B2B SaaS. He emphasizes the importance of mindset for founders and the impact of AI on pricing strategies. John discusses the complexity of monetization in B2B companies, highlighting the lack of ownership and the need for better infrastructure and tools. He advises product and engineering leaders to align their product roadmap with pricing and packaging changes to drive growth. John also shares the influence of CEOs on his career, emphasizing the importance of conviction and grit.

Takeaways

- Mindset is crucial for founders to navigate the challenges of starting a business.

- AI has a significant impact on pricing strategies and can automate manual tasks.

- Monetization in B2B companies is complex due to the lack of ownership and the need for better infrastructure and tools.

- Aligning the product roadmap with pricing and packaging changes can drive growth.

- CEOs inspire resilience, conviction, and grit in navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship. Sound Bites

"Those skills are good and useful, but it's really about the mindset."

"The more complexity you introduce, the harder it gets on both operational and customer side."

"Monetization is converting value into dollars."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Career Journey

03:06 PricingSaaS and Its Mission

05:41 Lessons Learned and Benchmark Report

08:46 Changes in the B2B SaaS Market

11:38 Pricing vs. Packaging and Changes in Q1

18:43 Complexity and Challenges in Monetization

20:21 Architectural Complexity and Lack of Standards

24:54 The Role of Entitlements

26:48 Building a Standard for Monetization

29:23 Mistakes to Avoid in Scaling a Business

31:21 Formative Moments in John's Career

33:26 Closing and Contact Information

Keywords

John Kotowski, PricingSaaS, career journey, pricing, monetization, B2B SaaS, mindset, AI, complexity, ownership, infrastructure, tools, product roadmap, growth, CEOs, conviction, grit