Mar 03 2025 76 mins
In this podcast Dave Erickson and his esteemed co-host Botond Seres are going to determine the value of a SasS Product with Dan Balcauski, Founder and Principal Consultant of Product Tranquility.
In 2019, Dan founded Product Tranquility, where he helps high-volume B2B SaaS CEOs refine pricing and packaging strategies for new products. A TopTal - certified Top 3% Product Management Professional, he also contributes to the Kellogg Executive Education course on Product Strategy.
For over 15 years, Dan has managed products across their life cycles, from concept to end-of-life, in industries including consumer internet, mobile, IT software, and hardware, serving companies from startups to multinational enterprises.
Before founding Product Tranquility, Dan completed a solo round-the-world expedition to 21 countries, where he engaged in life-changing volunteer work. Previously, he was Head of Product at LawnStarter, a two-sided marketplace for lawn care, and he was also a Principal Product Strategist at SolarWinds, where he helped shape growth strategies after its $4B acquisition.
Timeline Summary:
0:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest
2:26 Dan's Transition from Engineering to Product Management
5:21 The Concept of Product Tranquility
7:09 Current Trends in SaaS Software
9:01 The Role of AI in SaaS Development
13:59 Pricing Strategies for SaaS Products
20:57 When does the Freemium Model Actually Work?
31:50 Determining Value in SaaS Products
34:01 Customer Segmentation and Value Communication
41:02 Price setting based on competitor pricing versus finding a real value
51:47 Pricing Discovery Methodologies
53:43 Willingness to Pay
1:00:49 Evaluating and Adjusting Pricing
1:10:55 The Future of SaaS and AI
1:15:35 Outro
If you have questions for our Podcast Hosts or Guest, you can reach them here:
Dave Erickson = https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveerickson1/
Botond Seres = https://www.linkedin.com/in/botondseres/
GUEST: Dan Balcauski = https://www.linkedin.com/in/balcauski/
Website = https://www.producttranquility.com/#home