Benjamin Coleman / Chief Financial Officer
Perspectives from a life in leadership.
The latest essay
Software companies are bundling AI features free to win adoption, as if they cost nothing to serve. They do not, and a company that waits until the inference bill shows up in gross margin has already taught its customers the wrong price.
Read the essaySoftware companies are bundling AI features free to win adoption, as if they cost nothing to serve. They do not, and a company that waits until the inference bill shows up in gross margin has already taught its customers the wrong price.
Most software companies set equity awards in dollars and present stock compensation as an expense that adjusted earnings add back. Shareholders pay for it in ownership, and a board should approve a share budget as deliberately as it approves a salary budget.
When a large customer signs a multi-year agreement, software companies announce its total value and often pay commission on it. Termination rights, price ramps and credits usually make the enforceable commitment far smaller, and boards should insist on seeing that smaller number.