😱 The end of SaaS? Behavior automation, click-up economics and why I cancelled Netflix

Once in a while, I get frustrated with every app out there following a monthly subscription model. "Not another one!" I want to be able to buy something and know that it will be there in 2 months when I get to it. But that's the world we live in now - long gone are the days of buying a software and keeping it forever on a CD. At least for now... Now, you are paying for life. You can still get perpetual licenses for some software, but those are usually expensive and don't include updates. We are paying monthly subscriptions for health, for fitness, for food, for entertainment, for safety, for car features, heck even for faxing/scanning! And you don't get to keep any of it.

The Big Forces need the subscription model. To stay as big as they are, they require mass subscription. Subscriptions are no longer a fun way to get Jamba Juice points. They are now [...] a cornerstone of modern commerce, a way to keep incredibly large numbers of consumers relentlessly consuming. (Excerpt from "Please Unsubscribe, Thanks!" by Julio Vincent Gambuto)

Before I dive into my deepest thoughts about SaaS, as an end user I might hate subscriptions, but as a TPM working with startups, I (mostly) love them - they can be a great way to drive in recurring revenue, prove value to your customers and it's an easy enough way to implement. It greatly increases accessibility for anyone willing to try it. But even startups have completely crossed the line thinking they can mindlessly charge people for every single thing, for life. SaaS makes sense in some cases (I will share when below), but few realise just how hard it is to sell it.

Sooner or later, I hope users like me, businesses and startups will catch up to the lie we are being sold: we are paying without owning. Renting for life, our whole life.

And to make it even sillier? SaaS businesses end up using our data to train their AI algorithms. 🤡 Just how stupid are we?

We enter into a contract with them, [...], so they can measure and predict our behavior, swap and sell our information. They can update the terms of that agreement [...] by simply emailing us from a noreply@ email address. (Excerpt from "Please Unsubscribe, Thanks!" by Julio Vincent Gambuto)

No wonder startups go out of business, just look at what Slack costs PER MONTH for a team of 285 - $2,493.75, every month, for life. You cancel, you lose everything.

Even those examples are from larger scale businesses, the same principles apply to your own personal life. If you are not awake and aware of where your money is going, you will inevitably fall into the black hole of subscriptions.

Why did I cancel the most popular subscriptions out there?

A fundamental truth of click-up economics: automated subscriptions allow brands to lock you into agreements that do not always serve you, nor allow you as the customer to be responsive to the actual moment you are living in. They believe that they are "automating customer happiness," but in fact many are automating restrictive business practices. Their massive scale has allowed Big Brands to grow and grow, returning more and more to shareholders, but getting further and further away from delivering an honorable customer experience. (Excerpt from "Please Unsubscribe, Thanks!" by Julio Vincent Gambuto)

Last year, I cancelled all of my streaming subscriptions: Netflix, Hulu, Prime, HBO Max, Disney+. In a world of never-ending entertainment, and natural need for *immediate* service, I realized that I wasn't paying for something that was contributing to my life positively or improving it by any means anymore - they were severely harming my productivity, messing up my sleep etc. Moreover, I never used all of them at the same time. I would spend a month watching Netflix, a month watching Hulu etc. - the rest of the time I was paying for air.

Ever since, I have been slowly cancelling everything I possibly can, and keeping the applications/memberships that truly improved my life for the better.

What are the driving factors for users to purchase a subscription?

I thought about the subscriptions I have and why I have them. When building your product, go through the list below and make sure your application checks off:

• Necessity: there are very few digital services I can think of that are completely "necessary", but they exist. Some examples include apps to track an important health condition, apps that monitor baby's sleep for safety etc.
• Value: how will the application improve your life? What is the ROI? Is the user paying for air, or are you actually over-delivering value.
• Price: Sometimes a user would like to have the service and the price is the only limiting factor. It's hilarious when a new fitness app comes out trying to charge $25/month without having any proven value yet.
• Convenience: does your app make a user's life easier? If an app lets me scan a document and fax it (I know, government agencies still fax lol), that saves me a trip to the local print shop.
• Ease of Purchase: let's not forget the apps that are so well marketed, and so well-built that making a purchase is a result of an impulse buy powered by 2 clicks.
• Substitutes: Microeconomics 101 - we should not forget the power of substitutes. What other alternatives do users have? If there is an alternative service that checks off more of the above boxes, the user is more likely to purchase the alternative.

So many startups adopt the SaaS model not because it makes sense, but because they believe it will fix their revenue issues and will lead them to millionaire status overnight. SaaS is very hard to sell if your product does not cover the basics above.

What's the future of subscriptions?

I believe that subscriptions have their place, and the value they provide is the driving factor for converting and keeping users. It looks like our whole life will revolve around recurring payments with nothing physical to keep in return: whether that's rent or subscriptions, unless we make a change in our personal and business choices. I mean, people are already catching up, and drawing a line.

People will become pickier and pickier about what they spend their money on. If I add up all the subscriptions I would love to have across many domains, they would go well beyond $500/month... none of which I get to keep, and almost all of which are not used efficiently. At some point, I had HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, ESPN, Disney+ and Prime Video all at the same time. Who needs that much entertainment? There were months when I only opened one of those, while the rest were just charging me for nothing.

It's time to reclaim our freedom, take control of our bank accounts and stop falling for the "I need more and more" agenda.

I am ready to be more mindful about my subscriptions, where do I start?

• Rocket Money is one of my favorite applications - the most important features are free to use, and they help you identify any subscriptions you have signed up for through your credit cards. You can cancel them right then and there.
• Make a list of the applications that provide the best value to your personal life, and be honest with yourself just how often you truly use them. For me personally, I would much rather allocate subscriptions to apps that help me stay healthier, like Crossrope or Natural Cycles.
• Watch out for subscription deals - around Black Friday and Christmas, many big companies reduce their subscription fees for the whole year. Some of them are so low, that you might end up paying less for the whole year compared to paying for 1 full-priced month. (Hulu has a $0.99/month Black Friday deal for 1 full year 🤫) There is no need to pay more than you need to.
• Highly recommend you grab a copy of Julio Vincent Gambuto's book "Please Unsubscribe, Thanks!" - I recently came across this book and it's incredibly insightful and full of information on how to live a better and more fulfilling life.
• If you are business, I highly encourage you to look into your most efficient and affordable options when it comes to subscribing to products you want to use. For example, Slack charges an exorbitant amount for their Pro features - which only gets higher as you scale your team. I would recommend you look into Campfire by Once.com - an organization determined to end the subscription madness once and for all.