Kyle Poyar

Boston

#Pricing, #PLG & #Growth. Co-founder @Tremont. Previously @SimonKucher @OpenViewVenture. My newsletter: Growth Unhinged (https://t.co/DZjqPq4eLz)

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Articles

How to fight back against AI tourists

1 week ago | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

There’s a growing tourism threat — and, no, I’m not just talking about Barcelona in the summer. I’m talking about the rise of AI tourists. A flashy AI demo can go viral, and even translate into real revenue, then quickly turn into a churn nightmare. New AI products often coincide with greater volatility in both usage and spend. More project-based, non-recurring use cases. Experimental revenue that’s not in production. And even three month opt-out clauses where 70-80% opt-out.
The state of B2B monetization in 2025

3 weeks ago | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

The appetite for new, disruptive pricing models is higher than ever before. Software companies are realizing they can't solely rely on flat-rate or seat-based subscriptions in an age of AI, automation and APIs where value is disconnected with how many people are logging in. But interest in disruptive pricing models doesn't always translate into adoption. And interest doesn't mean folks will accept new ways of buying. That left me wondering: what’s really going on with software monetization?
Intercom's decisive bet on AI

1 month ago | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

👋 Hi, it’s Kyle and I’m back with a new Growth Unhinged, my newsletter that explores the unexpected behind the fastest-growing startups. Subscribe to join 71,685 readers who get Growth Unhinged delivered to their inbox every Wednesday morning. Intercom is one of those companies that’s become a household name within software. Founded in 2011, Intercom has raised nearly $250 million in funding. They’ve been named to the Forbes Cloud 100 for eight (!) consecutive years.
Inside Pylon's high velocity sales-assisted GTM motion

1 month ago | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

I got word that an emerging startup was closing as many as 30 deals per sales rep each month. It’s a purely inbound motion, leading reps to close upwards of $2 million in new business ARR per year – for what’s effectively an SMB or commercial sale. Even more impressive, the gross revenue retention (GRR) on these deals is 95% and net revenue retention (NRR) is 140%.
Steal these brilliant growth tactics (part 2)

2 months ago | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

👋 Hi, it’s Kyle and I’m back with a new Growth Unhinged, my newsletter that explores the unexpected behind the fastest-growing startups. Subscribe to join 69,913 readers who get Growth Unhinged delivered to their inbox every Wednesday morning. I love to get inspired by what others are doing.
Europe's fastest growing startup?

2 months ago | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

I’m probably not the first to tell you about Lovable. The Swedish AI coding startup grew from $0 to $10M ARR in only 60 days. Then they hit $17M ARR and 30,000 customers in 90 days – giving Lovable the reported distinction of being perhaps Europe’s fastest-growing startup. And now? $30M ARR in 120 days. The company told me they’ve burned a mere $2M to get there. They did it with a team of 18 people, which translates into more than $1M ARR per employee (🤯).
Replit's journey to making 2 million apps in 6 months

Mar 19, 2025 | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

I’m increasingly convinced that the ability to build applications is being democratized in front of our eyes. Factors like creativity, data or taste – not necessarily technical skills or a massive budget – will become the deciding forces behind the next hit products. And I’m not the only person who believes this. Replit founder and CEO Amjad Masad told me that their AI agent has made more than two million apps (!) in the past six months – all without requiring users to write a single line of code.
The best automated GTM plays you’re not running

Feb 12, 2025 | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

AI SDRs have been, well, controversial – to say the least. It seems nearly impossible to scroll LinkedIn without seeing the hate pile up. The chief complaint: AI tools will prioritize quantity over quality, thereby spamming accounts with generic messages, and ultimately burning through your prospect list. It’s a valid concern and we’ve seen this happen before with the rise of sales automation tools. But automation doesn't have to mean spray-and-pray.
Moving beyond founder-led sales

Jan 22, 2025 | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

👋 Hi, it’s Kyle and I’m back with a 🔥 edition of Growth Unhinged, my newsletter that explores the unexpected behind the fastest-growing startups. Up today: one company’s path from founder-led sales to repeatable GTM and 3x year-on-year growth. Warmly, the signal-based selling platform, went from zero to $700k ARR and 100+ paying customers in 2023. The plan for 2024: grow ARR by 3x+ and reach 250+ paying customers in a crowded product category (revenue tech).
The anatomy of a breakthrough “Service-as-a-Software” business

Jan 15, 2025 | growthunhinged.com | Kyle Poyar

If you’ve been following this newsletter, you’ve probably noticed my fascination with how AI products are increasingly rewriting the rules of SaaS pricing. Many of the next generation AI apps don’t simply provide a platform to make people more productive, they own a process from beginning to end. They autonomously resolve customer support tickets (Intercom), cull and edit photos (Aftershoot), run outbound campaigns (11x) or take on the role of a sales engineer (Vivun).