Medium — weeks Pre-Revenue

How do I set a price when nothing comparable exists?

Your product doesn't fit neatly into an existing category. There's no obvious competitor to anchor against. You're guessing — and the wrong number either leaves money on the table or scares people away.

1–1 people SaaS, Service Business Medium — weeks

The Pattern

Based on 326 decisions

72%

Positive outcome

7.0

Avg score

326

Decisions

63 positive 24 negative 239 pending

10 scale 305 optimise 11 experiment

What founders did

high confidence

Monetisation Case Studies

Curated library

SaaS Founder: Evaluate business model pivot from deployment fee to subscription GUI app (2026)

A SaaS founder is at a crossroads, considering whether to transition their business model from a GitHub repository with a deployment fee to a GUI application with a subscription. This …

SaaS £0–5k/month Experiment — Promising but unvalidated

5.9

Startup: Evaluate pivot to GUI App + subscription model (2024)

An early-stage SaaS startup is grappling with a fundamental business model decision: whether to continue with a 'GitHub repo + deployment fee' model, which might appeal to developers, or pivot …

SaaS Building — Pre-launch Experiment — Promising but unvalidated

5.9

SaaS Founder (Unnamed): Develop initial customer acquisition strategy post-launch (2026)

An early-stage SaaS founder, having just launched their first product, faces the crucial strategic decision of determining the most effective channels and strategies to acquire their initial customer base. This …

SaaS Launched — Pre-Revenue Optimise — Working but needs refinement

6.1

SaaS Founder (Unnamed): Choose between open-source with deployment fee or proprietary GUI with subscription (2026)

An early-stage SaaS founder is grappling with a fundamental business model decision for their software. The strategic choice is between offering the core product as an open-source GitHub repository with …

SaaS Building — Pre-launch Experiment — Promising but unvalidated

5.9

Salesforce: Per-seat subscription pricing model (1999)

Instead of large upfront licence fees (the Siebel/Oracle model), Salesforce charged $50/user/month. This was radically lower entry cost but required sustained retention. Enterprise buyers were unfamiliar with subscriptions for business …

Positive outcome Net revenue retention: 120%+; became industry standard

SaaS Launched — Pre-Revenue Optimise — Working but needs refinement

7.8

Stripe: Transparent, flat-rate pricing at 2.9% + 30c (2011)

Instead of complex tiered pricing with interchange-plus rates, Stripe offered simple flat-rate pricing. This was slightly more expensive for high-volume merchants but radically simpler. No contracts, no negotiation, no hidden …

Positive outcome Millions of businesses onboarded; simple pricing became industry …

SaaS Launched — Pre-Revenue Optimise — Working but needs refinement

7.8

Spotify: Launch freemium model with ad-supported free tier (2008)

Spotify launched with a free ad-supported tier alongside premium subscriptions. Labels were hostile — they feared free access would cannibalise sales. The bet was that free users would convert to …

Positive outcome 615M users; 36% free-to-paid conversion

SaaS Launched — Pre-Revenue Optimise — Working but needs refinement

6.6

Canva: Freemium design tool targeting non-designers (2013)

Canva launched a drag-and-drop design tool aimed at people who couldn't use Photoshop or Illustrator. The free tier was generous — thousands of templates and basic features. The bet was …

Positive outcome 170M+ MAU; $2.3B ARR; valued at $26B

SaaS Launched — Pre-Revenue Optimise — Working but needs refinement

7.3

As founders contribute their monetisation decisions, you'll see what people at your exact stage are doing too.