Grow Your B2B SaaS S7E9 - The B2B SaaS Nightmare? Growing Without Recurring Revenue with Ricardo Ghekiere
In the world of artificial intelligence and software as a service, companies are no longer just competing on features. In this episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast, Joran Hofman sits down with BetterPic founder Ricardo Ghekiere to discuss The B2B SaaS Nightmare and how SaaS founders can grow without recurring revenue. Companies today are also competing on how they price their products and how they scale. This episode highlights how one company made millions without using monthly subscriptions. Instead, they leveraged one-time payments, smart marketing, and simple but powerful strategies. You'll learn how they managed costs, raised prices, and succeeded through alternative growth channels. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to build or grow an AI business without relying on monthly payments.
Key Timecodes
(00:00) – Cracking AI Pricing: LTV, AOV & Unlocking Paid Channels
(00:58) – $4M Without Subscriptions? BetterPic’s One-Time Revenue Model
(01:44) – “Wait, No MRR?” Reactions to Explosive Non-Recurring Growth
(02:18) – Revenue is Revenue: The SaaS Case for One-Off Cash Flow
(02:46) – Inside BetterPic: AI Headshots, B2B vs B2C, and Single-Purchase Strategy
(03:28) – Subscription Apps vs Specialized AI Headshots: Who Wins?
(03:51) – Why Headshots Don’t Need Recurring Revenue + 45-Day Sprint Strategy
(05:14) – Starting From Zero: The E-Commerce Mindset in SaaS
(06:07) – From 70% COGS to 90% Margins: The AI-Native Advantage
(06:44) – Building a Cost Moat: Raising Prices & Outspending Competitors
(07:47) – Cutting GPU/API Costs: Internal AI Infra & Multi-Provider Routing
(08:21) – The Recurring Revenue Goldmine in AI Infrastructure Optimization
(08:36) – AI-Native vs AI Features: Pricing Pains of OpenAI APIs
(09:36) – Why Buyers Choose AI-Native: QuickBooks vs Xero Example
(11:02) – Open Source vs Closed LLMs: Pricing, Quality & Competitive Moats
(11:52) – The Risk of No MRR: Surviving the Consumer AI Tsunami
(13:18) – Pivot to Better Studio: Turning AI Headshots Into Recurring B2B
(13:54) – Dual Engines: Scaling One-Time Sales While Building Recurring Revenue
(15:16) – Fundraising Without MRR: Convincing Investors to Bet on the Team
(17:10) – Startup Valuation: Group-Level Investment Across Two Brands
(17:42) – How Low AOV Shapes Channel Strategy
(18:57) – SEO & LinkedIn Hacks
(19:56) – The Affiliate Engine:
(20:42) – Stripe Upfront vs Net-30 Payments
(21:04) – Designing High-Converting Affiliate Programs With Real Incentives
(21:39) – Where the Affiliate Traffic Comes From: YouTube, Reddit, Display Ads
(22:30) – SEO Benefits of Affiliates: Backlinks, Listicles, and Rankings
(23:34) – LLM-Generated Listicles: Dominating Google & AI Discovery
(24:16) – How a $49 AOV Made Google Ads Profitable
(25:34) – Scaling Paid Channels: CAC, LTV, and AOV in Sync
(25:59) – Paid Channel Stacking: The Compounding Effect in Growth
(26:25) – No MRR? Fast Sales Cycles & Upfront Payments Explained
(28:17) – Speed to Value: AI Headshots Delivered in 30 Minutes
(28:58) – Pricing Agility: Changing Prices Without Legacy Contracts
(29:10) – Pushing to the Middle Tier: Packaging Strategy With Amplitude Data
(30:15) – Rapid Pricing Iteration: 7-Day Tests & Volume-Based Experiments
(31:32) – Fast Consumer Feedback vs Slow SaaS Trial Cycles
(32:07) – GTM Strategy: Make Two Big Bets a Year & Know CAC Limits
(33:04) – Pricing Drives Channel-Market Fit: SEO, Affiliates, YouTube
(33:45) – $12K Self-Serve Deals: Going Upmarket With Confidence
(34:25) – Automating Jobs-to-Be-Done: The AI-Native Future
(36:50) – How to Get to $10K MRR: Focus on One Channel First
(38:12) – Enterprise GTM Shift: Better Studio’s Move to Events & Partnerships
(39:14) – Scaling From $10K MRR to $10M ARR: Building Full-Funnel Teams
(40:37) – Recap: One-Off SaaS, AI Margins, SEO/Affiliate Flywheels
(42:54) – Reporting Rhythms: Monthly KPI Bingo & Health Metrics.