S1E6: Agent Talk #6: Wade Foster (Zapier) - Why Zapier Sacrificed Millions to Earn Millions

Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier, shares how they completely revamped their pricing model - and actually REDUCED revenue in the short term - to drive explosive long-term growth.

Since launching in 2011, Zapier has grown to help millions connect their apps without code, reaching a valuation over $5B with minimal VC funding. Their recent pricing change offers fascinating insights for SaaS founders.

Key takeaways:

* Zapier eliminated their dual-metric pricing (Zaps + Tasks) to simplify the customer experience

* They made unlimited Zaps available on all plans - removing a major friction point

* Every plan now includes pay-as-you-go options beyond the base subscription

* They stopped counting utility features as billable tasks - providing more value

The result? Short-term revenue dropped significantly, but task consumption and customer happiness soared. This bet on long-term growth would have been impossible for most VC-backed companies.

More insights:

* Being profitable and bootstrap-focused gave them freedom to make radical customer-first decisions that sacrificed short-term revenue

* Pricing "debt" accumulates over time when you experiment with different models - eventually requiring a reset to first principles

* The best pricing aims for customer "love" - Wade literally used this word - not just reluctant payment

* Competition constantly forces pricing innovation - especially with direct competitors who counter-position against market leaders

* AI is rapidly democratizing entrepreneurship - Wade sees teams of 10-20 people reaching millions in revenue with minimal engineering, driven by domain expertise paired with no-code tools

What pricing changes have transformed your business? Share your experience below 👇

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