{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Factory Floor","title":"Ep #17: AI usage costs are destroying SaaS business models","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/fe8a4fa4\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3014,"description":"Over the last 30 years, software pricing has evolved from on-prem licenses (Software 1.0) → cloud subscriptions (Software 2.0) → and now the era of AI-powered, compute-dependent pricing (Software 3.0). What does that mean for founders, product leaders, and anyone building SaaS today? A LOT.\nIn this episode, we cover:\n-Why freemium is dying in the age of AI\n-How compute-heavy AI workloads change your unit economics\n-Why SaaS companies may need two pricing models (software access + AI usage)\n-The messy world of credits, API calls, and tokens\n-How PLG and SLG are merging into a hybrid growth model\n-The real risks & opportunities in usage-based and outcome-based pricing\n-Whether AI features make SaaS more or less profitable\n-How “brand taste” in AI models (GPT vs Claude vs Grok) affects perception and pricing\n-Why AI might force even enterprise SaaS to offer playgrounds, demos, and hands-on trials\n-A spicy segment on token arbitrage 👀 (Nick’s Dumb Idea of the Week)\nCorey breaks down the economics.\nZach unpacks how this impacts product + growth.\nNick asks the questions everyone’s thinking.\n...\nThe Factory Floor is hosted by the three co-founders of Conversion Factory, the marketing agency at the forefront of SaaS growth, marketing, and tech trends. Episodes are released on Twitter one day early, @coreyhainesco \nEvery other week Corey, Zach, and Nick break down what’s working right now in SaaS marketing, share real-world lessons from the field, and give you the strategies you need to outpace the competition.\nDon't fall behind. Subscribe. Like. Drop a comment. Or not. The ball is in your court.\nYou can also listen to the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/A0dDYYvIyWj6HEFO0rpBQock4Jx52_nW6sjo2YRsKWw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9jNmZl/ZDYwZmI2MjdlOGQ5/MTc5NTk4MjU1ODk5/NDU0ZC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}