GTM Strategies in the SaaSpocalypse: Implications for B2B Sellers and Pricing Models

·May 01, 2026 02:08 PM·

I'm curious @channel, all I hear about is the SaaSpocalypse being here ... SaaS stocks are down 21%+ YTD. What's the real GTM implication for B2B sellers? The per-seat model is dead — usage/outcome-based pricing is the only future ✅ It's a market correction, not a death sentence — strong GTM still wins 🤖 AI agents replacing buyers AND sellers means GTM as we know it is over 📈 It's a massive opportunity — less competition as weak companies get shaken out 🧵 your POVs and the most engaged responses will be featured in tomorrow's newsletter.

📈3

🤖2

✅19

21 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

Jared R.
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thread your POV here
Patrick A.
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Great question. Strong GTM wins out no matter what's going on out there - with that said, agility is the key driver of a strong GTM. I know that sounds a bit too metaphysical, but, you can only control what you can control.
Pablo G.
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Not a death sentence, but unsure I'd refer to it merely as a market correction either: we are seeing companies that made their quarterly numbers lose valuation, Outcome (not even usage) based pricing is definitely becoming more prevalent
➕3
Patrick A.
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Agreed - I am seeing everything is just circling back to old school, Constanza style hustling. Pablo G.
Aima A.
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I lead growth at a startup called Founding Dev. Most of our clients come to us because, their SaaS spend increases with increasing workforce and they spend over 30k on bloated software. They've mostly tried building complex SaaS with tools like lovable and figured out they couldn't so with our pre built templates, they are able to customize what they need adapted to their workflow. They save as much as 70%. Is savings a priority for businesses? I would say it depends. They would never want to save and get into liability or a maintenance mess. This is the challenge with our outbound currently, but once we are able to start from an appreciable low point of entry and they see how we can collapse many tools into one suite of software for a lower cost while we take the liability of maintenance. It get's easier Hard to say the direction things will go, but I one thing is for sure. The current model is changing.
Ben M.
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Did you see the Atlassian results and stock bump?
👀1
Ben S.
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I don't think SaaS is going anywhere. I don't think the correction is just because "AI agents will replace everything", it might be because AI allows new entrants to build quality software more quickly. More software = more opportunity to disrupt incumbents -> more FUD. No serious company is internally vibe coding mission critical software. It isn't "we'll vibe code our CRM", it is "there are 10 new kids on the block and Salesforce might not be as safe because the companies being built today can move extremely fast with a lot less". I think there will be more SaaS than ever, but the Salesforce/Workday/SAP's of the world have to do more to maintain their dominance.
Deepak D.
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Aaron of box had a good post on it https://x.com/levie/status/2050051426446152159?s=46&t=BD-R1-HNa50PXlLFsDVgIg
Ankita A.
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SaaS will change as we know it right now - the interface plus the way the problem is getting solved i.e. CRMs, project management etc etc. for example, if earlier there were startups like Storylane or Navattic doing interactive demos for self serve, it will change to AI assisted more personalised demos like Quarterzip. AI has and will continue to make GTM faster to execute but also means more competition so taste will stand out even more now. Plus people who have learnt how to use AI to make GTM systems. Strong GTM and strong product still wins but both are evolving rapidly.
Begench S.
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Really interesting topic, Jared! Tbh, Saaspocalypse is just a massive alignment issue in the GTM game. Pricing is definitely one of the important strings of go to market. Yet, there are so many other factors too. If you flip the switch to usage/outcome-based pricing but don't overhaul your messaging or sales motion, the whole thing grinds to a halt. You can’t sell outcomes to a persona that’s used to buying seats. It’s only a death sentence for startups that change the price tag but forget to pivot the rest of their GTM stack.
Gururaj P.
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(edited)·
Really interesting topic Jared R.. We did a full research report and partnered with few Series A+ VCs, reviewed their portfolio(over 150+ private saas companies) for this impact. Report covers
What's happening and why
Impact across the entire Bow-Tie revenue architecture, from discovery to expansion
A free assessment
https://www.thrivestack.ai/research/SaaSapocalypse
Chris H.
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·
I'm not convinced about usage based pricing - finance hates unpredictable costs, which means caps/limits, which forces prioritization and leaves opportunity on the table. It disincentivizes maximum output. The new breed of vendors will figure out how to make usage predictable and therefore offer predictable pricing. Per seat used to be where all the margin was, but with ai cogs scale per seat and margin is therefore lower. On vendors - single feature vendors and prescriptive workflow tools are likely dead, especially internal workflow automations. Connectors are no longer the moat. Hot take: image/video editors are dead. AI is getting better at svgs and creating react components is often faster
Garrick v.
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Too many SaaS companies tied their revenue forecasts to their customers hiring plans. Companies are getting smaller, this is a rejection of seat based revenue models. https://garrickvanburen.com/seat-pocalypse-not-saaspocalypse/
💥1
Gururaj P.
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·
Here's a take on what's changing across the spectrum. Do you see the same? Garrick v.
Garrick v.
·
(edited)·
Gururaj P. the only one I strongly agree with is Activation being compressed to days and hours. The remaining may be accurate for very technology-forward small- & mid-market companies, but larger firms require the predictability of annual contracts and don't want to be nickel and dimed. It's good to remember that no one wants to use your software - even today. https://pricingfromthestart.com/nobody-wants-to-use-your-software/

Jared R.
·
·
thread your POV here
Patrick A.
·
·
Great question. Strong GTM wins out no matter what's going on out there - with that said, agility is the key driver of a strong GTM. I know that sounds a bit too metaphysical, but, you can only control what you can control.
Pablo G.
·
·
Not a death sentence, but unsure I'd refer to it merely as a market correction either: we are seeing companies that made their quarterly numbers lose valuation, Outcome (not even usage) based pricing is definitely becoming more prevalent
➕3
Patrick A.
·
·
Agreed - I am seeing everything is just circling back to old school, Constanza style hustling. Pablo G.
Aima A.
·
·
I lead growth at a startup called Founding Dev. Most of our clients come to us because, their SaaS spend increases with increasing workforce and they spend over 30k on bloated software. They've mostly tried building complex SaaS with tools like lovable and figured out they couldn't so with our pre built templates, they are able to customize what they need adapted to their workflow. They save as much as 70%. Is savings a priority for businesses? I would say it depends. They would never want to save and get into liability or a maintenance mess. This is the challenge with our outbound currently, but once we are able to start from an appreciable low point of entry and they see how we can collapse many tools into one suite of software for a lower cost while we take the liability of maintenance. It get's easier Hard to say the direction things will go, but I one thing is for sure. The current model is changing.
Ben M.
·
·
Did you see the Atlassian results and stock bump?
👀1
Ben S.
·
·
I don't think SaaS is going anywhere. I don't think the correction is just because "AI agents will replace everything", it might be because AI allows new entrants to build quality software more quickly. More software = more opportunity to disrupt incumbents -> more FUD. No serious company is internally vibe coding mission critical software. It isn't "we'll vibe code our CRM", it is "there are 10 new kids on the block and Salesforce might not be as safe because the companies being built today can move extremely fast with a lot less". I think there will be more SaaS than ever, but the Salesforce/Workday/SAP's of the world have to do more to maintain their dominance.
Deepak D.
·
·
Aaron of box had a good post on it https://x.com/levie/status/2050051426446152159?s=46&t=BD-R1-HNa50PXlLFsDVgIg
Ankita A.
·
·
SaaS will change as we know it right now - the interface plus the way the problem is getting solved i.e. CRMs, project management etc etc. for example, if earlier there were startups like Storylane or Navattic doing interactive demos for self serve, it will change to AI assisted more personalised demos like Quarterzip. AI has and will continue to make GTM faster to execute but also means more competition so taste will stand out even more now. Plus people who have learnt how to use AI to make GTM systems. Strong GTM and strong product still wins but both are evolving rapidly.
Begench S.
·
·
Really interesting topic, Jared! Tbh, Saaspocalypse is just a massive alignment issue in the GTM game. Pricing is definitely one of the important strings of go to market. Yet, there are so many other factors too. If you flip the switch to usage/outcome-based pricing but don't overhaul your messaging or sales motion, the whole thing grinds to a halt. You can’t sell outcomes to a persona that’s used to buying seats. It’s only a death sentence for startups that change the price tag but forget to pivot the rest of their GTM stack.
Gururaj P.
·
(edited)·
Really interesting topic Jared R.. We did a full research report and partnered with few Series A+ VCs, reviewed their portfolio(over 150+ private saas companies) for this impact. Report covers
What's happening and why
Impact across the entire Bow-Tie revenue architecture, from discovery to expansion
A free assessment
https://www.thrivestack.ai/research/SaaSapocalypse
Chris H.
·
·
I'm not convinced about usage based pricing - finance hates unpredictable costs, which means caps/limits, which forces prioritization and leaves opportunity on the table. It disincentivizes maximum output. The new breed of vendors will figure out how to make usage predictable and therefore offer predictable pricing. Per seat used to be where all the margin was, but with ai cogs scale per seat and margin is therefore lower. On vendors - single feature vendors and prescriptive workflow tools are likely dead, especially internal workflow automations. Connectors are no longer the moat. Hot take: image/video editors are dead. AI is getting better at svgs and creating react components is often faster
Garrick v.
·
·
Too many SaaS companies tied their revenue forecasts to their customers hiring plans. Companies are getting smaller, this is a rejection of seat based revenue models. https://garrickvanburen.com/seat-pocalypse-not-saaspocalypse/
💥1
Gururaj P.
·
·
Here's a take on what's changing across the spectrum. Do you see the same? Garrick v.
Garrick v.
·
(edited)·
Gururaj P. the only one I strongly agree with is Activation being compressed to days and hours. The remaining may be accurate for very technology-forward small- & mid-market companies, but larger firms require the predictability of annual contracts and don't want to be nickel and dimed. It's good to remember that no one wants to use your software - even today. https://pricingfromthestart.com/nobody-wants-to-use-your-software/