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5 Common SaaS Growth Myths Debunked | SaaS Academy

Written by Matt Verlaque | Sep 11, 2024 4:00:00 PM

Growing your SaaS company isn't about luck. It's not about doing more things, or implementing new tools.

It's a methodical, mathematical process - driven by understanding your numbers and fixing problems, week after week after week.

If this sounds different than what you believe, that's a good thing - because there's a ton of misinformation out there about growth. And in this article, I'm going to rip apart the top five "growth myths" that I've seen mislead founders time and time again.

Some of them will feel obvious. Others might be living in your subconscious, undermining your decisions without you even realizing it. But like John Maxwell said in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, the growth of your business will never outpace YOUR growth as a leader.

And the first step to that growth is getting your mind right - making sure that you're not chasing a bunch of bad advice, and that you actually know how to grow the business.

Myth 1: “If You Build It, They Will Come”

Believing that a great product alone will attract customers is one of the most dangerous myths founders often assume to be true.

Simply creating a product and waiting for customers to arrive is unrealistic. In a crowded market, visibility and engagement are essential. Without an active outreach strategy, your product might go unnoticed.

Building a great product is just the beginning. You need a solid plan to reach and engage your target audience. This involves investing in marketing, forming relationships, and adapting based on feedback.

“Building a product is only the start. Without a solid distribution strategy, you might not have a business,” says @MattVerlaque      CLICK TO TWEET

The long-term winners are those who understand that building is only half the battle; the other half is ensuring your product finds its way into the hands of those who need it most.

 

Myth 2: “More Features = More Customers”

Chasing feature bloat in the hopes of attracting more customers is a quick path to undermining your product’s true value.

Adding more features doesn’t always attract more customers. In fact, it can complicate the user experience and dilute your product’s core value. 

Instead, focus on addressing key problems rather than piling on features. 

There’s often an inverse relationship between the amount of features and customer satisfaction. Overloading your product with more bells and whistles is likely to overwhelm users and distract from the real benefits, deteriorating usability and adoption.

Each feature should serve a specific purpose and solve a problem for your users. That’s why when founders ask us, “what’s the ideal amount of features,” we say, “I don’t know, you tell us.” We want them to look at feature adoption rates. 

“Adding features doesn’t always add value. Build the least amount of features that it takes to solve your customer's problem”      CLICK TO TWEET

Adding more features just for the sake of it doesn’t necessarily bring more value. It might spawn less if they’re not what your users actually want. 

Focus on problems, not features.

 

 

Myth 3: “Churn Is Inevitable”

Accepting churn as an unavoidable cost of doing business is a mindset that leaves revenue on the table.

Seeing churn as inevitable overlooks potential improvements. While some churn is normal, a strong customer success strategy can reduce it significantly. The goal is to make your product indispensable to users.

By understanding why customers leave and addressing their concerns, you can improve retention rates. Invest in building strong relationships with your customers and continuously provide value to keep them engaged.

“Don’t accept high churn. Your customers vote with their wallets - it’s up to you to get curious and fix the problems.”      CLICK TO TWEET

Churn is just a signal that there’s an unmet opportunity to deepen utility and loyalty. Do that by delivering unmatched value and alleviating concerns before they turn into turnover.

 

Myth 4: “Pricing Is Set in Stone”

Treating your pricing as untouchable is a surefire way to miss out on growth. In a fluid market, rigidity is your enemy. Pricing is the most powerful—and quickest—lever to affect revenue. 

Pricing is never set-in-stone. The market shifts; so should how you price. Regularly testing and adjusting your pricing strategy just reflects the value your product provides as you adapt to what the market is willing to exchange.

If you never optimize it, if you’re just running blind and making assumptions, then the only variable responsible for growth jumps is new sales volume via acquisition. 

Whatever you’re pricing now probably isn’t the perfect price point. 

We’ve very rarely seen testing prices backfire the way most entrepreneurs are afraid it will.

“Your pricing isn’t chiseled in stone - and companies that test new pricing quarterly grow 4x faster than those who don’t (we’ve seen the data),” says @MattVerlaque      CLICK TO TWEET

Facts: the fastest path to sustained revenue growth is a pricing strategy that’s as agile and adaptive as the market it serves.

 

Myth 5: “Growth Ceilings Are Unbreakable”

Growth ceilings are not some immutable force of nature—they’re self-imposed limits that exist because of overlooked problems and outdated strategies.

Every business has a growth ceiling, but it’s not set in stone, and certainly not a sentence you have to succumb to.

The vast majority of founders assume that their growth ceiling is a sales problem. Let’s be clear: not all growth barriers are sales-related. Many stem from customer churn or operational inefficiencies. 

It’s crucial to assess every aspect of your business—from market saturation and product-market fit to resource allocation and pipeline health.

To break through your growth ceiling, pinpoint what's really stalling you—whether it's a product adoption problem, misaligned goals, or a clogged sales pipeline.

First things first: you need to get to the root of what’s really holding you back. Don’t just guess—dig in and figure it out. Once you’ve nailed down the cause, tackle it head-on. This isn’t a quick fix; give it time to show results.

Let’s say your sales velocity is slowing while your monthly expenses hold steady. You’re still growing, but the pace is dragging, and before long, you’re stuck at a plateau. That’s the danger zone. If costs rise or growth dips further, you’re dipping into cash reserves just to stay afloat—never a good place to be. The goal is to anticipate when this could happen, then start pulling the right levers to keep things moving forward.

And remember, not all growth constraints are about sales. For many, it’s high churn that’s the real culprit.

Other common constraints that lead to growth ceilings include:

  • Market Saturation - When you've captured most of the available market, and new customer acquisition starts to slow down.
  • Operational Inefficiencies - Bottlenecks in your systems or team structures that make scaling difficult.
  • Product-Market Fit - Your product no longer fully aligns with the evolving needs of your target market.
  • Resource Limitations - Running out of runway, facing talent shortages, or lacking the technology needed to support further growth.
  • Sales & Marketing Stagnation - When your pipeline dries up, or existing leads aren’t converting.

The truth is, most growth ceilings are self-imposed. By identifying and tackling the root causes—whether it’s a pricing issue, product misalignment, or team dynamics—you can break through these barriers and keep moving forward.

Final Thoughts

The more founders we coach, the more we see these myths rearing their ugly head. More than a feature disparity or skill deficiency, a belief in these five things is often the biggest hidden barrier to your growth.

The best founders challenge the limits they’ve accepted and always refine their approach.

Our upcoming book dispels even more myths. It’s built around our belief—nay, our truth—that acquisition, retention, and customer expansion are the literal keys to scaling to your Perfect Exit. 

We just opened the book waitlist. Join now as a VIP to get special bonuses before launch.