Chetan Puttagunta is a General Partner at Benchmark, specializing in AI and tech investments, while Modest Proposal is an anonymous investor with deep expertise in AI and public markets. They discuss the scaling challenges in AI development, particularly moving from pre-training to test-time compute. The duo explores how this shift could democratize AI, reshape public and private investments, and transform the competitive landscape for tech companies. They also delve into the future of AI, emphasizing the importance of reasoning capabilities and the need for innovative investment strategies.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss: David Skok: General Partner @ Matrix Partners: Why does David believe that all good products have at least one variable pricing axis? How can founders determine which variable they should choose for their product? What are the pros and cons? Chetan Puttagunta: General Partner @ Benchmark: Why does Chetan believe we have seen a strong decline in the per seat pricing model? What are the major drawbacks of it? What are we seeing replace it? What has Chetan seen work well amongst his portfolio?      Mark Suster: General Partner @ Upfront Ventures: What were Mark’s two biggest lessons on pricing from seeing the hyper-growth of Salesforce first hand? WHat does Mark advise founders when it comes to price anchoring and discounting? How does Mark view the sale of professional services with this in mind? Amanda Kleha: Chief Customer Officer @ Figma: What were Amanda’s biggest learnings from running the Zendesk pricing playbook? What does Amanda mean when she says that successful pricing is broke up into 3 separate product features?    Brad Birnbaum: Founder & CEO @ Kustomer:Why does Brad push back on the common suggestion of a “no man’s land in SaaS pricing”? Why is innovation in pricing actually detrimental to sales in most cases? Guy Podjarney, Founder & CEO @ Snyk: How does Guy think about having a large enough base to test pricing strategies? How does Guy think about the balance between freemium and paid? Does one have to come first? Read the full transcript on our blog. If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr

Chetan Puttagunta, a general partner at Benchmark Capital, sharing insights from his impressive background in early-stage software investing. He discusses the evolution of databases with MongoDB as a case study, emphasizing agility and innovation. Key topics include empathetic product design to foster customer trust and the crucial role of recruiting exceptional talent. Chetan also highlights collaborative investment strategies and the transformative impact of AWS on cloud business models, offering a wealth of knowledge for aspiring software entrepreneurs.

Jeremiah Lowin, founder of Prefect.io, and Chetan Puttagunta, partner at Benchmark Capital, delve deep into the fascinating open-source software business model. They explain how companies can give away valuable tools for free while monetizing additional features, fostering community trust, and reshaping development approaches. The discussion covers the shift to cloud-based models, community engagement, and the potential of API-first strategies that democratize innovation. Their insights reveal how these principles can transcend software, offering lessons for various industries.

Bill Gurley and Chetan Puttagunta, partners at Benchmark Capital, discuss the current landscape of venture capital in light of the coronavirus pandemic. They share insights on how early-stage companies can thrive amidst economic challenges. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to focus on adaptability and strategic cash management, while unique advantages for smaller firms come to light. The duo also reflects on lessons from past downturns and highlights the importance of remote work best practices in this evolving environment.