Jon Saddow, co-founder of Scoop, shares his journey from being a product manager at Google to building a successful carpooling and commuting platform. However, when COVID hit, their business took a major hit. They pivoted to focus on productivity and helping companies manage hybrid work. They built a data product called the Flex Index, which provides benchmarks and insights for companies to make informed decisions about their office spaces. They monetize the product through subscriptions and plan to offer additional tools and functionality in the future.

Companies often struggle to evolve their pricing and packaging flexibly due to a combination of factors. One reason is the perception that pricing is static and doesn't need to change as much as other aspects of the business. Another challenge is the technical infrastructure behind pricing, particularly billing systems, which are complex and often under-resourced. Complexity in pricing leads to complexity in the system, making it harder to adapt and change. To overcome these challenges, it's important to align the product roadmap with pricing and packaging initiatives, prioritize simplicity in pricing, and build a flexible architecture that allows for future changes.

Takeaways

• Jon Saddow's journey from product manager at Google to co-founder of Scoop

• The impact of COVID on Scoop and their pivot to productivity and hybrid work

• The development of the Flex Index as a data product for office benchmarks

• Monetization through subscriptions and plans for additional tools and functionality

• The challenges and importance of pricing and packaging in a marketplace product

• Pricing should not be treated as a static element of the business, but rather should evolve along with the product and go-to-market strategies.

• Complexity in pricing leads to complexity in the technical infrastructure, particularly billing systems, making it harder to adapt and change.

• To overcome these challenges, it's important to align the product roadmap with pricing and packaging initiatives, prioritize simplicity in pricing, and build a flexible architecture that allows for future changes.

• The relationship between product and go-to-market teams is crucial in determining the success of pricing and packaging strategies, and both teams should work in harmony to communicate value and understand customer perceptions.

Sound Bites

"The idea that pricing is static while your product is changing is pretty illogical when you think about it."

Chapters

00:00 Jon Sadow's Journey as a Founder

02:39 Pivoting to Productivity and Hybrid Work

05:33 Introducing the Flex Index

09:25 Understanding What Other Companies Are Doing

17:08 Monetizing the Flex Index

23:01 The Challenges of Pricing and Packaging

25:05 The Challenge of Evolving Pricing and Packaging

29:50 Aligning Product Roadmap with Pricing and Packaging

34:12 The Complexity of Billing Systems and Technical Infrastructure

37:28 Building a Flexible Architecture for Pricing and Packaging

41:23 The Relationship Between Product and Monetization

44:18 The Importance of Simplicity in Pricing

45:45 The Future of Pricing and Billing Systems

48:36 The Formative Experience of Navigating Pricing Challenges