Startups For the Rest of Us Episode 811 | When to Delegate the "Core Four SaaS Skills," Freemium Retention Rates, and More Listener Questions (A Rob Solo Adventure)
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Dec 16, 2025 Ruben Gamez, founder of SignWell and a freemium expert, joins Rob Walling to explore the intricacies of SaaS growth. The duo discusses what a 'good' freemium retention rate looks like, revealing that mobile apps usually hover around 3-5%, while SaaS needs to exceed 20%. Ruben emphasizes that the shape of the retention curve is more important than raw numbers. They also delve into when founders should start delegating key roles, explaining the nuances of handing off responsibilities in sales, marketing, and product leadership.
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Target Retention And Focus On Curve Flattening
- Keep freemium retention above ~20% for SaaS and expect much lower rates for mobile apps.
- Focus on the retention curve flattening over time rather than a single percentage number.
Volume Lowers Free-User Retention
- Mobile freemium retention often sits around 3–5% and can be even lower at scale.
- High volume acquisition typically lowers retention because broader funnels attract less-targeted users.
Avoid A Decaying Retention Curve
- Ensure your retention curve flattens instead of decaying to zero for sustainable layering of cohorts.
- If retention never stabilizes, you effectively restart growth each cohort instead of compounding users.
