In this episode, we explore what happens when pricing meets volatility — from SaaS boardrooms to EV factories and grocery aisles.

Join host Tracy Dent alongside Jeet Mukherjee, Pete Morelli, and new Holden Advisors Senior Director Richard Klein as they break down some of the most important business stories of the week through the lens of pricing, strategy, and value.

Topics covered:

• Why SaaS companies are abandoning the old unit economics playbook
• Slate’s electric truck as a low cost, low value option
• Albertsons’ warning on tariffs and ways to communicate price changes
• Uber + VW’s robotaxi bet and pricing innovation in transportation

Learn more about Holden Advisors: www.holdenadvisors.com

Connect with Jeet: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeet-mukherjee-58462a1/

Connect with Pete: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermorelli/

Connect with Richard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardfgklein/

Connect with Tracy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyleighdent/

Chapters

00:00 Introductions and welcome to Richard

02:23 How AI agents are rewriting the SaaS playbook https://news.crunchbase.com/ai/rethinking-unit-economics-saas-playbook-sagie/

07:56 TechCrunch: Windsurf slashes prices as competition with Cursor heats up

 https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/windsurf-slashes-prices-as-competition-with-cursor-heats-up/

The Verge: Why are companies lining up to buy Chrome? https://www.theverge.com/chrome/656613/google-chrome-buyers-openai-yahoo-perplexity

16:24 The Washington Post: Trump praises Bezos after Amazon denies plan to show tariffs’ costs https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/04/29/amazon-trump-tariffs-leavitt/

Fortune: Albertsons tells suppliers to eat the cost of tariffs: ‘We are not accepting cost increases’ https://fortune.com/2025/04/25/albertsons-suppliers-tariffs-price-cost/

25:48 Tariff impact on consumer confidence

26:52 The Verge: The $20,000 American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen https://www.theverge.com/electric-cars/655527/slate-electric-truck-price-paint-radio-bezos

30:44 TechCrunch: Uber, Volkswagen pair up to launch robotaxi service in US with self-driving, electric microbuses https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/24/uber-and-volkswagen-pair-up-to-launch-robotaxi-service-with-self-driving-electric-microbuses/

Futurism: Kawasaki Shows Off Concept for Rideable Horse Robot

https://futurism.com/the-byte/kawasaki-rideable-horse-robot 

36:12 Pricing flops