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Is Big SaaS Dying? | Meta's CPLV Issue | David Herrmann Joins (1.14.26)
Live from Austin on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 — we dig into the “SaaS is dying” discourse and why the real story is pricing power collapsing (AI + lower technical barriers = the middle tier gets smoked). We react to Cody Schneider’s “we cloned the vendor in 3 weeks” tweet, talk why security + SOC2 is the real line in the sand, and use Apple’s new $12.99/mo Creator Studio as the loudest signal yet that incumbents (looking at you, Adobe) are about to feel pain.
Then we pivot to DTC survival mode: Popsmith’s Dave Stickland says the quiet part out loud — you can’t win cheap, so make “bougie” products people want to show off (Delta’s premium revenue proves the economy is bifurcating). We hit the counterpoint too (Costco + Arizona Tea = emotional trust via stubborn pricing), then David Herrman joins to break down the Meta delivery/LPV chaos, what to do when your CPA jumps 40–60% overnight, and where real scale is showing up beyond Meta (AppLovin, Pinterest-as-awareness, and YouTube Shorts). We close with the “human is luxury” thesis (Miller Lite vs. AI slop), Van Man’s restaurant-as-marketing weapon, and Canva’s 2026 design trends: imperfect by design.
- 0:03:20 Is SaaS dying… or just getting cheaper? (Cody Schneider + “build it in 3 weeks” thesis)
- 0:10:57 Apple Creator Studio $12.99/mo — price pressure on Adobe + “SaaS moat” debate
- 0:15:12 “Sell bougie sh*t” — Popsmith lesson + Delta’s premium profit math
- 0:22:59 Counterpoint: Arizona Tea + Costco — consistency, trust, and loss leaders
- 0:28:31 E.l.f on Roblox — brand planting vs PR bait (and why it might still work)
- 0:31:22 David Herman joins — Meta outage fallout
- 0:54:42 Brand stance wars: Equinox vs Miller Lite — “human is the new luxury”
- 0:58:30 Being small is a superpower: VanMan’s “tribe” strategy
- 1:02:44 2026 design trends (Canva): “Imperfect by design” + what it signals
- 1:05:50 Wrap — key takeaways + tomorrow’s guest lineup
Welcome to DTC’s daily show — what’s now/next in ecommerce so marketers can survive and thrive. Weekly newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommcowboy.com/
Made possible by:
Postscript - https://postscript.io
AMP - https://useamp.com
Follow Ecomm Cowboy:
https://x.com/ecommcowboy
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecommcowboy
https://www.instagram.com/ecommcowboy/
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View all episodes
By Chris Hall x Colin DoughertyLive from Austin on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 — we dig into the “SaaS is dying” discourse and why the real story is pricing power collapsing (AI + lower technical barriers = the middle tier gets smoked). We react to Cody Schneider’s “we cloned the vendor in 3 weeks” tweet, talk why security + SOC2 is the real line in the sand, and use Apple’s new $12.99/mo Creator Studio as the loudest signal yet that incumbents (looking at you, Adobe) are about to feel pain.
Then we pivot to DTC survival mode: Popsmith’s Dave Stickland says the quiet part out loud — you can’t win cheap, so make “bougie” products people want to show off (Delta’s premium revenue proves the economy is bifurcating). We hit the counterpoint too (Costco + Arizona Tea = emotional trust via stubborn pricing), then David Herrman joins to break down the Meta delivery/LPV chaos, what to do when your CPA jumps 40–60% overnight, and where real scale is showing up beyond Meta (AppLovin, Pinterest-as-awareness, and YouTube Shorts). We close with the “human is luxury” thesis (Miller Lite vs. AI slop), Van Man’s restaurant-as-marketing weapon, and Canva’s 2026 design trends: imperfect by design.
- 0:03:20 Is SaaS dying… or just getting cheaper? (Cody Schneider + “build it in 3 weeks” thesis)
- 0:10:57 Apple Creator Studio $12.99/mo — price pressure on Adobe + “SaaS moat” debate
- 0:15:12 “Sell bougie sh*t” — Popsmith lesson + Delta’s premium profit math
- 0:22:59 Counterpoint: Arizona Tea + Costco — consistency, trust, and loss leaders
- 0:28:31 E.l.f on Roblox — brand planting vs PR bait (and why it might still work)
- 0:31:22 David Herman joins — Meta outage fallout
- 0:54:42 Brand stance wars: Equinox vs Miller Lite — “human is the new luxury”
- 0:58:30 Being small is a superpower: VanMan’s “tribe” strategy
- 1:02:44 2026 design trends (Canva): “Imperfect by design” + what it signals
- 1:05:50 Wrap — key takeaways + tomorrow’s guest lineup
Welcome to DTC’s daily show — what’s now/next in ecommerce so marketers can survive and thrive. Weekly newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommcowboy.com/
Made possible by:
Postscript - https://postscript.io
AMP - https://useamp.com
Follow Ecomm Cowboy:
https://x.com/ecommcowboy
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecommcowboy
https://www.instagram.com/ecommcowboy/
https://www.tiktok.com/@ecommcowboy