Crisis / Stall

Conversion is broken. Revenue is flat or declining. Something in the monetisation model is wrong and you need to diagnose it — fast.

Nobody is converting from free to paid — is it pricing, paywall, or product?

Free users love it. Paid users don't exist. The three most likely culprits: price is too high, the paywall is in the wrong place, or the free tier gives away too much. Diagnosing which one is the difference between a tweak and a rebuild.

Up to 3 people saas Crisis — now

326

decisions

72% positive

I raised prices and churn spiked — do I roll back or hold?

You increased prices. Cancellations shot up. Every instinct says roll back. But early churn after a price increase is normal — you're losing price-sensitive customers you were undercharging. The question is whether it stabilises.

Up to 3 people saas Crisis — now

322

decisions

72% positive

Revenue has been flat for 3 months — what do I try?

Growth stopped. New signups equal churn. You've tried the obvious levers: content, outreach, feature launches. Nothing moves the number. Is this a pricing problem, a market problem, or a ceiling?

500-10000 MRR Up to 3 people saas High — days

330

decisions

72% positive

A competitor launched free and my paid users are asking for discounts

Someone just made your product category free. Your paid customers see it. They're asking 'why am I paying?' You can't compete on free — you need revenue. But you can't ignore the market shift.

Up to 3 people saas Crisis — now

323

decisions

72% positive

My trial-to-paid rate dropped from 5% to 1% — what changed?

Something broke in your conversion funnel. Same product, same price, but conversion fell off a cliff. Could be traffic quality, could be a competitor, could be a product change you didn't realise affected activation.

Up to 3 people saas Crisis — now

327

decisions

72% positive

I'm giving too much away free but I'm scared to paywall it

Your free tier is generous — maybe too generous. Users get full value without paying. But every feature you paywall risks losing users, negative reviews, and the growth that free drives.

Up to 5000 MRR Up to 2 people saas High — days

322

decisions

72% positive

Customers keep asking for discounts — should I negotiate or hold firm?

Every other sales call includes 'can you do something on the price?' Negotiating wins deals but erodes your pricing power. Holding firm loses some deals but sets the expectation that your price is your price.

Up to 3 people saas service Medium — weeks

323

decisions

72% positive

My payment processor is eating 5-8% of revenue — do I switch at this stage?

Between platform fees, processing fees, and currency conversion, you're losing 5-8% on every transaction. At £2k MRR that's £100-160/mo. Switching saves money but means migrating customers, breaking billing flows, and a week of engineering.

500-5000 MRR Solo founder saas Medium — weeks

325

decisions

72% positive

People sign up, use it once, and never come back — activation or value problem?

Your signup numbers look fine. Retention is a disaster. Users aren't getting to the 'aha moment' — either because the onboarding is broken or the value isn't what they expected. This kills monetisation before it starts.

Up to 2000 MRR Up to 2 people saas Crisis — now

327

decisions

72% positive

I launched a price increase and got zero complaints — did I not go high enough?

You raised prices expecting pushback. Nothing. Silence. That either means your customers are happy with the new price (great) or you're still significantly underpriced (less great). The absence of complaints is data.

1000-10000 MRR Up to 3 people saas Low — can wait months

322

decisions

72% positive

All situations