In this episode, James Wood, Head of Product at M3ter, walks us through his career – from Simon-Kucher to Segment and Insight Partners – and how those experiences shaped his approach to pricing strategy. We dive into why usage-based pricing is becoming essential for SaaS, the operational headaches it creates, and how to fix them.

🔑 Key Topics Covered:

• James' career journey: Simon-Kucher, Segment, Insight Partners, and M3ter

• The rise of usage-based pricing and its impact on SaaS growth

• Why manual billing systems leak revenue and how automation solves the problem

💡 Three Key Takeaways:

• Usage-Based Pricing Isn’t for Every SaaS Product – It can unlock growth, but misapplying it can cost more than it earns.

• Manual Billing Is a Silent Revenue Killer – Many companies lose 5-10% of revenue by not automating usage tracking and billing.

• Your Pricing Strategy Must Evolve with Your Product – Align pricing with your customer’s journey and willingness to pay, not just internal goals.This episode is packed with insights for SaaS founders and operators looking to refine their pricing models and eliminate revenue leakage.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Career Journey

07:38 The Maturing Nature of Usage-Based Pricing

15:48 The Growing Awareness of Pricing as a Growth Lever

26:15 Balancing Structural Changes with Iterative Changes

36:48 Success Stories: Segment and Atlassian