Deepak Sarda
@antrix.net
CTO @ Endowus.com | Singapore | Software, Fintech, AI, Cloud.
Yeah, my emphasis on the former. It's suddenly worth media attention and a news story because who is affected now. It's more a comment on what western media cares about.. ie if it was purely a moral/legal position, nothing much has changed.
April 6, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Yeah, my emphasis on the former. It's suddenly worth media attention and a news story because who is affected now. It's more a comment on what western media cares about.. ie if it was purely a moral/legal position, nothing much has changed.
There is a certain level of western privilege on display here in that one thinks one can just work their way through a holiday without a work visa.
While what's happening is bad, I feel these aren't new rules.. just getting applied to westerners for the first time.
While what's happening is bad, I feel these aren't new rules.. just getting applied to westerners for the first time.
April 5, 2025 at 11:22 PM
There is a certain level of western privilege on display here in that one thinks one can just work their way through a holiday without a work visa.
While what's happening is bad, I feel these aren't new rules.. just getting applied to westerners for the first time.
While what's happening is bad, I feel these aren't new rules.. just getting applied to westerners for the first time.
Haha. Yeah, there's a timeline before kids and a timeline after kids!
March 31, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Haha. Yeah, there's a timeline before kids and a timeline after kids!
It used to feel obvious: if something isn’t core to your business, just outsource it. Buy a tool. Subscribe to a service.
But lately, I find myself second-guessing that instinct. Especially with the way most SaaS products evolve.
Let me explain … /1
But lately, I find myself second-guessing that instinct. Especially with the way most SaaS products evolve.
Let me explain … /1
March 28, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Have we swung too far toward “just buy SaaS for everything” ?
Between GenAI-assisted development and bloated SaaS pricing, maybe the smarter move now is to build simple internal tools that do one thing really well?
Curious if others are feeling this too!
Between GenAI-assisted development and bloated SaaS pricing, maybe the smarter move now is to build simple internal tools that do one thing really well?
Curious if others are feeling this too!
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Have we swung too far toward “just buy SaaS for everything” ?
Between GenAI-assisted development and bloated SaaS pricing, maybe the smarter move now is to build simple internal tools that do one thing really well?
Curious if others are feeling this too!
Between GenAI-assisted development and bloated SaaS pricing, maybe the smarter move now is to build simple internal tools that do one thing really well?
Curious if others are feeling this too!
The pressure to grow revenue year over year pulls SaaS products further away from their core. Meanwhile, the build-vs-buy equation is tilting back toward build.
The value gap is widening and I bet it’s making at least some buyers rethink the whole model. /9
The value gap is widening and I bet it’s making at least some buyers rethink the whole model. /9
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
The pressure to grow revenue year over year pulls SaaS products further away from their core. Meanwhile, the build-vs-buy equation is tilting back toward build.
The value gap is widening and I bet it’s making at least some buyers rethink the whole model. /9
The value gap is widening and I bet it’s making at least some buyers rethink the whole model. /9
When paired with dead-simple hosting options, the cost of building - and maintaining - simple internal tools is dropping. Fast. /8
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
When paired with dead-simple hosting options, the cost of building - and maintaining - simple internal tools is dropping. Fast. /8
Until recently, the answer to that was usually no, because building in-house meant ongoing maintenance, distraction, and lost time.
But with GenAI-assisted coding, that calculus might be shifting. /7
But with GenAI-assisted coding, that calculus might be shifting. /7
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Until recently, the answer to that was usually no, because building in-house meant ongoing maintenance, distraction, and lost time.
But with GenAI-assisted coding, that calculus might be shifting. /7
But with GenAI-assisted coding, that calculus might be shifting. /7
And then comes Renewal. You’ve barely used the new stuff, but the price goes up anyway, because “look at all the value we’ve added!”
You're stuck since switching costs are real.
And you start wondering, would it have been cheaper and simpler to build a basic internal tool for that _one_ job? /6
You're stuck since switching costs are real.
And you start wondering, would it have been cheaper and simpler to build a basic internal tool for that _one_ job? /6
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
And then comes Renewal. You’ve barely used the new stuff, but the price goes up anyway, because “look at all the value we’ve added!”
You're stuck since switching costs are real.
And you start wondering, would it have been cheaper and simpler to build a basic internal tool for that _one_ job? /6
You're stuck since switching costs are real.
And you start wondering, would it have been cheaper and simpler to build a basic internal tool for that _one_ job? /6
Now you’ve got a bloated tool that kinda-sorta does a dozen things, but doesn’t really do the thing you hired it for.
But instead of fixing that, they add more features. Because hey, more features = more “value,” right? /5
But instead of fixing that, they add more features. Because hey, more features = more “value,” right? /5
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Now you’ve got a bloated tool that kinda-sorta does a dozen things, but doesn’t really do the thing you hired it for.
But instead of fixing that, they add more features. Because hey, more features = more “value,” right? /5
But instead of fixing that, they add more features. Because hey, more features = more “value,” right? /5
And the SaaS vendors know it is steep too! They know the value doesn’t match the price. So they start piling on adjacent features to “justify” the pricing.
The focus shifts away from the one thing the product was supposed to do well into “value add”. /4
The focus shifts away from the one thing the product was supposed to do well into “value add”. /4
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
And the SaaS vendors know it is steep too! They know the value doesn’t match the price. So they start piling on adjacent features to “justify” the pricing.
The focus shifts away from the one thing the product was supposed to do well into “value add”. /4
The focus shifts away from the one thing the product was supposed to do well into “value add”. /4
Here’s where it starts to go sideways: a product that solves one simple need-say org charts-often launches at $10–$20/user.
They _all_ start at this price point. Why? I assume because that’s what some “SaaS pricing best practices” say.
But let’s be real: for just org charts, 10$/user is steep. /3
They _all_ start at this price point. Why? I assume because that’s what some “SaaS pricing best practices” say.
But let’s be real: for just org charts, 10$/user is steep. /3
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Here’s where it starts to go sideways: a product that solves one simple need-say org charts-often launches at $10–$20/user.
They _all_ start at this price point. Why? I assume because that’s what some “SaaS pricing best practices” say.
But let’s be real: for just org charts, 10$/user is steep. /3
They _all_ start at this price point. Why? I assume because that’s what some “SaaS pricing best practices” say.
But let’s be real: for just org charts, 10$/user is steep. /3
As a startup, we use SaaS for a bunch of non-core workflows. I’ve evaluated SaaS for all kinds of things—from big ones like SDLC tools to a long tail of smaller tools like status pages, org charts, polls, feature flags, and so on..
And we’re not unique—every company does this now. /2
And we’re not unique—every company does this now. /2
March 28, 2025 at 12:32 AM
As a startup, we use SaaS for a bunch of non-core workflows. I’ve evaluated SaaS for all kinds of things—from big ones like SDLC tools to a long tail of smaller tools like status pages, org charts, polls, feature flags, and so on..
And we’re not unique—every company does this now. /2
And we’re not unique—every company does this now. /2
OpenAI's report is like something you would get from a consultant (without the fancy slides) whereas Google's report is like a high school paper.
March 26, 2025 at 4:23 AM
OpenAI's report is like something you would get from a consultant (without the fancy slides) whereas Google's report is like a high school paper.
Reposted by Deepak Sarda
The truth is these systems are good enough that things are going to change in work, society & education. Things are already changing. And even if AI models don’t get better (and that seems to be a bad bet) we have a couple decades of absorbing what we have. That is a starting point for conversation.
March 20, 2025 at 7:15 PM
The truth is these systems are good enough that things are going to change in work, society & education. Things are already changing. And even if AI models don’t get better (and that seems to be a bad bet) we have a couple decades of absorbing what we have. That is a starting point for conversation.