Mostly Growth on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MostlyGrowth

Mostly Growth on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-growth/id1842238102

Mostly Growth on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3KDtaLaXx1obFp5PUhZ6V3

In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson, Kyle Poyar, and Ben Hillman unpack a wide-ranging set of predictions and observations about where go-to-market strategy, AI, and pricing models are headed next. They discuss why what ChatGPT says about your product may become a core marketing KPI, the resurgence of direct mail and physical touchpoints in an AI-saturated world, and why “almost as good as a human” is a dangerous positioning for AI-driven products. The conversation also explores AI monetization paths through advertising, the risk of an AI infrastructure timing mismatch leading to a broader financial pullback, and what historical parallels like railroads and the Sears catalog can teach us about today’s buildout. The episode closes with real-world pricing lessons, from energy-as-a-service solar subscriptions to the surprisingly massive standalone economics of Apple’s AirPods, tying together how distribution, perception, and monetization shape durable growth.

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SPONSORS:

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Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com

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LINKS:

Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/

Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/

Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/

Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/

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RELATED EPISODES:

996 Culture, Exploding AI Bills & SaaS Chaos

https://youtu.be/qhrxDL0gsRo

The Layer-Cake Playbook for Vertical SaaS Growth | with Roland Ligtenberg

https://youtu.be/yPxWvhPISKo

OpenAI’s Impossible Math: $500B or Bust?

https://youtu.be/L6PLnvjcnpk

From Birding Apps to Billion-Dollar Bundles: The Future of SaaS Growth

https://youtu.be/mzITrIP70Ok

Where Did All the Middle Managers Go?

https://youtu.be/LvN7RzmApPU

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Preview and Intro

00:01:40 Sponsors — Pulley, Metronome

00:04:00 Welcome Back And Consumer Friction

00:05:29 Insurance Middlemen Frustrations

00:07:07 Explaining Newsletter Businesses

00:07:58 Family Perceptions Of Work

00:09:05 GTM And Growth Predictions

00:10:19 Trust And Objectivity In ChatGPT

00:12:01 ChatGPT As Marketing KPI

00:14:14 Direct Mail Marketing Comeback

00:15:56 Tech Buying Media Assets

00:17:52 Fake Subscribers And Email Lore

00:19:03 AI Quality Over Automation

00:22:11 AI Healthcare And Ad Models

00:24:40 Advertising Fuels AI Economics

00:25:40 AI Boom Versus Bust Timing

00:27:49 Infrastructure Before Killer Apps

00:30:21 Railroad Economics And Real Estate

00:30:46 Solar Subscriptions And Pricing

00:32:50 AirPods As Recurring Revenue

00:34:57 Show Outro And Credits

#MostlyGrowthPodcast #GrowthMarketing #AITrends #GoToMarket #StartupStrategy

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com