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You're Shipping Constantly - So Why Aren't You Growing? With Daniel Layfield

You're Shipping Constantly - So Why Aren't You Growing? With Daniel Layfield

Most SaaS companies don’t stall because they stop building. They stall because they keep building the wrong things. Daniel Layfield has seen that pattern up close across product, growth, and monetization, from scaling at Codecademy to leading product teams at Uber and Diligent. He joins Aaron Marchbanks and Justin Edwards on SaaS That App to break down why more features rarely solve growth problems, where pricing and packaging decisions go wrong, and what product leaders need to understand about retention, monetization, and velocity if they want to build software businesses that actually scale.

SaaS That App - Building Tech-Enabled Businesses · Delta Systems

March 24, 202640m 21s

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Show Notes

Most SaaS companies don’t stall because they stop building. They stall because they keep building the wrong things. Daniel Layfield has seen that pattern up close across product, growth, and monetization, from scaling at Codecademy to leading product teams at Uber and Diligent. He joins Aaron Marchbanks and Justin Edwards on SaaS That App to break down why more features rarely solve growth problems, where pricing and packaging decisions go wrong, and what product leaders need to understand about retention, monetization, and velocity if they want to build software businesses that actually scale.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How to diagnose the growth ceiling strangling your business
  • Why building more features won't fix a broken monetization system
  • When to A/B test and when to move fast
  • How to navigate the "complexity tax" in pricing and product design
  • Why metrics reviews must happen daily or weekly

Daniel Layfield is a seasoned product management leader with experience at SaaS companies like Codecademy, Uber, and currently Diligent. He has progressed from early operational roles to directing product teams, focusing on growth, scaling, and relevant features. Before transitioning to the tech industry, Daniel gained valuable experience in finance and technology, working at J.P. Morgan, Booz Allen Hamilton, and ALaS Consulting LLC in various capacities.

This podcast is brought to you by Delta Systems, your one-stop shop for front-end, back-end, and full-stack software development. At Delta, Justin and Aaron share the same philosophy when it comes to clients: they treat people like colleagues, not just customers. Maybe that’s why Delta typically spends years working with the same companies: how many software engineering firms can you say that about? So, if you’ve got a big SaaS project in mind but have no idea where to start, come and get a free scope and estimate from Delta Systems on their website.

Got a burning idea for an episode, or a SaaS question you absolutely must know the answer to? Leave us a voice memo at SaasThatApp

Highlights:
  • [00:00] Introduction
  • [02:00] Daniel’s Path Into Product Management
  • [04:12] What Product Management Actually Is
  • [05:22] Why Pricing Is the Bridge Between Value and Revenue
  • [06:33] Subscription vs. Usage-Based Pricing
  • [08:20] The Complexity Tax in Product Decisions
  • [12:33] How Codecademy Used Pricing Structure to Improve Retention and Cash Flow
  • [15:33] When A/B Testing Is Useful and When It Slows You Down
  • [19:31] The Three Systems Every Product Business Needs
  • [21:41] Why Companies Plateau Between $2M and $15M ARR
  • [24:01] Why Busy Roadmaps Can Hide Weak Product Strategy
  • [26:38] Feature Bloat and Staying in Our Lane
  • [30:59] AI’s Impact on Product Management
  • [37:04] The Best Advice: Review Your Metrics Constantly
  • [38:26] Five Overlooked Levers in Subscription Growth

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