The Cost Problem That Broke the Pricing Model

Inferential — April 2, 2026 Last week’s post laid out the theoretical framing: sell the work, not the tool. Sequoia’s autopilot thesis, a16z’s moats argument. Both are correct about the direction. Neither tells you what the transition mechanism actually is. There’s a more mechanical explanation for why outcome-based pricing is arriving now, not five years ago. And it has less to do with philosophy and more to do with a number that SaaS companies have never had to worry about: cost of goods sold.