Startups For the Rest of UsRob WallingAll episodes
Episode 857 | Finding Hidden Multipliers in Your Business (with Jason Cohen)
What if raising your prices could actually bring in more customers?
In this episode, Rob Walling welcomes back Jason Cohen, founder of WP Engine and SmartBear, to dig into his book, Hidden Multipliers. They talk about finding your profit whales, why raising prices can actually increase sales, and how pitching more value instead of savings can 8x what you charge. Jason also shares the free AI skills he built to grill founders like a rude journalist, and why the best strategy starts with building a company in the shape of you.
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Topics we cover:
- (3:23) – Why Jason finally wrote his first book
- (5:38) – What makes a multiplier "hidden"
- (8:06) – Profit whales and your unprofitable customers
- (14:40) – Raising prices from $35 to $1,300 a seat
- (18:44) – Why WP Engine lowered its entry price
- (23:08) – Selling more value instead of savings
- (28:35) – Charging for implementation and price testing on calls
- (31:32) – Free AI skills and finding your Carol
- (38:37) – Inside the Smart Bear Live podcast
- (41:41) – Building a company in the shape of you
Links from the show:
- MicroConf US 2027┃Austin, April 18–20, 2027 | Promo Code: ROB50 for $50 off
- TinySeed SaaS Institute
- Hidden Multipliers by Jason Cohen
- Skills from A Smart Bear
- Smart Bear Live
- A Smart Bear Blog
- How repositioning a product allows you to 8x its price
- Rude Q&A: The constructive devil’s advocate
- WP Engine
- SmartBear
- SpareFoot
- Capital Factory
- Gallup CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder)
- Jason Cohen | LinkedIn
- Jason Cohen (@asmartbear) | X
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!
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