Podcast Summary: The SaaS Revolution Show

Episode: How AI is reshaping SaaS product and pricing, with Nue CEO Mark Walker
Date: January 29, 2026
Host: Alex Theuma (Alex Diemer in transcript)
Guest: Mark Walker, CEO of Nue

Episode Overview

This episode explores how artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming SaaS product development and pricing. Alex Theuma and Mark Walker delve into the accelerating pace of change in SaaS, evolving customer needs, the challenges (and excitement) of scaling in the AI era, and practical advice for founders navigating these shifts. Walker shares frontline insights from Nue's rapid growth and unique vantage point serving some of the world’s fastest-scaling AI companies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Nue Story & Operating Model

• Remote & Global Team Structure
  • Nue operates as a hybrid company with hubs in Toronto and San Mateo, plus teams across North America (Chicago, New York, Calgary).
  • “We work really hard to get people together. And so there's a lot of travel, but also a lot of socializing and good teamwork time.” (Mark Walker, 02:48)

2. The Addiction of Founding and Startups

• Why Do Serial Entrepreneurs Keep Going?
  • Founding is about passion, people, and challenge, not just financial success.
  • “You have to be completely, passionately committed to the customer in order to win. And so the money part is just the output... you get to work with these crazy people who are self-selected for high risk tolerance, high energy, creativity...” (Mark Walker, 04:29)
  • "Startup people and not startup people." (Mark Walker, 05:36)

3. Managing Stress as a SaaS CEO

• Stress as Inherent to the Role
  • “Complaining about the stress of running a startup is like complaining about the snow at the top of Mount Everest. Like you knew it was there...And then you're like, oh, it's cold and snowy up here. Well, it is, Right.” (Mark Walker, 07:35)
  • Eustress (good stress) is necessary for peak engagement: “You were hyper engaged...do you think being a Premier league or NFL...football player is not stressful? Of course, it's stressful... are those people super happy when they're no longer a Premier league or NFL football player? No, mostly.” (Mark Walker, 07:35-08:13)

4. Nue’s Product-Market Fit in the AI Era

• What Nue Does

  • End-to-end quote-to-cash, self-service-to-cash, agentic-to-cash, order-to-cash: “Known for, you know, two major things... almost everybody [in AI], say 80% of them, some part of their business process runs through Nue...” (Mark Walker, 10:01)
  • Serves both cutting-edge AI startups and large-scale companies (including OpenAI, Anthropic, Glean, Jasper).

• On Hyper-Growth

  • “This quarter will be bigger than the entire history of the company in terms of new business, like that kind of acceleration, which is frankly, if we go back to our conversation about stress, pretty bonkers, right?” (Mark Walker, 11:48)

5. SaaS and CPQ Evolution for the AI Era

• Legacy vs. Modern CPQ
  • Nue provides not just CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) but a unified, end-to-end system for billing, self-service, and experimentation.
  • “Even the companies that buy us for just CPQ... they know that all the billing constructs are built into that CPQ and in fact there's a billing engine so there's literally nothing they can bill...Nue’s billing system can.” (Mark Walker, 15:26)
  • Companies can experiment with new offers and pivot billing models without disrupting legacy systems.

6. How AI is Changing SaaS Revenue & Pricing

• Shifts in Product and Contract Structure

  • The REAL disruption is not just pricing; it’s the pace of product change, which then forces new pricing models.

  • “The fundamental problem...is not a pace of change of pricing... The problem is the fundamental pace of change of product.” (Mark Walker, 17:13)

  • Faster software development (thanks to AI) means easier, faster rollout of new offerings. This feeds into new pricing experiments, committed spend contracts, and creative revenue models.

  • Example: AI companies roll out new product versions every 2–3 months—contracts and pricing must adapt just as fast.

• Experimental Mindset Required

  • Companies must run “experiments really, really quickly without cannibalizing their entire existing customer base” (Mark Walker, 20:32).

• AI Increases Pressure on Price & Feature Value

  • AI features drive higher efficiency, lowering costs and incenting value- and outcome-based pricing.
  • Legacy companies must keep up with both “defensive” new products/features (to retain customers) and experimental pricing models.

7. The “Hidden Infrastructure” of AI SaaS

• Salesforce’s Underrated Role
  • Salesforce remains the backbone for almost all scaling AI SaaS companies—critical for complex, high-growth use-cases, but “nobody” mentions it.
  • “Standing up high-scale configurable data models securely is hard. It's really, really hard...it's like 95% Salesforce, maybe 5% something else, which is something that people aren't talking about.” (Mark Walker, 23:54)

8. Tactical Advice for Founders in the AI SaaS Era

• Plan for Scale

  • “Plan your systems for the company you want to be, not the company you are. Because if you are going to become the company you want to be, you won't have time to fix your systems while you're going there.” (Mark Walker, 24:40)

• Speed Wins

  • “Speed is the ultimate feature now, right? Think about it in your products, think about it in your integrators...The fact, you know, OpenAI went live with us in eight weeks. Multi billion, multiple jurisdictions, multiple currencies, multiple product lines, multiple teams. Eight weeks, right.” (Mark Walker, 24:40)

• Embrace Relentless Change

  • “Your fundamental operating cycle has to be to embrace the pace of change...Don’t think, ‘oh, the big companies have a real problem because they won’t be able to adapt quickly.’ Everybody has a problem...” (Mark Walker, 25:18)
  • “Now the pace of innovation is going to drive hyper focus on customer value. And...that’s a good thing...There’s another hot new thing right behind you now.” (Mark Walker, 25:48)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Complaining about the stress of running a startup is like complaining about the snow at the top of Mount Everest.”
  — Mark Walker (07:35)

• “You have to be completely, passionately committed to the customer in order to win. And so the money part is just the output.”
  — Mark Walker (04:29)

• “The fundamental problem...is the fundamental pace of change of product.”
  — Mark Walker (17:13)

• “Plan your systems for the company you want to be, not the company you are.”
  — Mark Walker (24:40)

• “Speed is the ultimate feature now.”
  — Mark Walker (24:40)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:48] Nue’s remote/hybrid structure and team culture
• [04:29] Why serial entrepreneurs keep returning to startups
• [07:35] Discussion on the inherent stress of being a CEO/founder
• [10:01] Where Nue is today, marquee customers, and rapid growth
• [13:34] Nue’s origin story and end-to-end platform advantage
• [17:13] How AI is changing product, pricing, and pace in SaaS
• [22:19] The critical but underrated role of Salesforce in scaling SaaS companies
• [24:40] Mark’s tactical advice—plan for scale, move fast, and embrace constant change

Episode Tone

Conversational, candid, and insightful. Mark balances big-picture, irreverent founder wisdom with tactical, actionable advice, all with a clear, “get real about what’s happening in AI SaaS” vibe.

For SaaS founders and execs, this episode is a must-listen if you want to understand (and keep up with) the shifting ground of software business models in the AI era.