SaaS: Teardown Pack

Load this pack when the target sells software by subscription or usage: product-led tools, sales-led platforms, developer tools, and AI apps. Growth here compounds through the product itself, so the free plan, the integrations, and the sales motion matter as much as the marketing site.

Contents

• How to recognize it
• What drives growth here
• Signals to collect
• Going inside
• Rules that limit copying
• Plays that usually transfer
• Metrics to ask about

How to Recognize It

• app., dashboard., console., or api. subdomains in teardown.mjs subdomains <domain>, and a /login or /signup path in the sitemap.
• A /pricing page with plans per seat, per usage, or per credit, and a free plan or trial.
• Page families like /integrations, /templates, /changelog, /docs, /vs, /alternatives.
• Product analytics and lifecycle scripts in teardown.mjs stack <domain> (Segment, PostHog, Amplitude, Intercom, Customer.io).
• teardown.mjs detect <domain> returns SaaS hints from these patterns.
• Sub-type: a "Book a demo" CTA ahead of "Start free" means sales-led. Docs, an API reference, and an npm or GitHub link mean a dev tool. Credit-based pricing and model names on the pricing page mean an AI app.

What Drives Growth Here

• Product-led: sign-ups come from search, templates, and sharing; revenue comes from free users hitting a limit or inviting a team. Look hard at the free plan's limits and what non-users see.
• Sales-led: pipeline comes from outbound, paid search on high-intent terms, events, partners, and analyst coverage. The sales process and who they target matter more than the homepage.
• Dev tools: adoption starts in docs, GitHub, package registries, and now AI coding assistants. Docs search traffic and package downloads lead revenue.
• AI apps: growth often comes in spikes from launches, founder posts, and creator demos, then depends on retention. Check whether the curve holds after each spike.
• Expansion: in mature SaaS, much of the growth comes from existing accounts (seats, usage, upgrades) rather than new logos. Look for team and enterprise plans, usage add-ons, and "Contact sales" thresholds added over time.

Signals to Collect

Going Inside

With approval, under the user's real identity:

• Free plan or trial: time to first result, the onboarding questions (they reveal segmentation), and the first upgrade prompt. Note whether the product asks you to invite teammates and when.
• Limits: hit the free limit and screenshot the upgrade wall and the plan it pushes.
• Seat and usage prompts: add a second workspace or project if free, and see how expansion is triggered.
• Sales-led: book a demo only under the user's name. Record routing (instant calendar or "we'll be in touch"), speed to response, and the follow-up sequence.
• Lifecycle emails: log the trial sequence, especially the day before and after the trial ends.
• Don't create extra accounts to stretch a free trial, and don't use the API in ways the terms forbid.

Rules That Limit Copying

• Terms of service often bar competitors from signing up or benchmarking. Read them first (see go-inside).
• Review platforms: G2 and Capterra have rules on incentivized reviews. Copy the program structure, not any incentive that breaks their policy.
• Comparison pages: claims about a named competitor must be accurate and current. False comparative claims create legal risk under advertising law (the FTC in the US, and equivalents elsewhere); check with counsel for aggressive comparisons.
• Email outreach: CAN-SPAM sets US rules for commercial email (accurate headers, a physical address, a working opt-out). GDPR and PECR restrict unsolicited email in the EU and UK more tightly. Copy the sequence design, not a list.
• Trademarks: under Google Ads' trademark policy, bidding on a competitor's brand name as a keyword is allowed, but the owner can file a complaint that restricts use of the mark in ad text. Trademark law still applies on top of platform policy; check with counsel.

Plays That Usually Transfer

Metrics to Ask About

• Sign-up to activation rate: share of sign-ups that reach the first meaningful result.
• Free to paid conversion: share of free or trial users who pay, and how long it takes.
• Net revenue retention: revenue from a cohort a year later, including expansion and churn.
• CAC payback: months of gross margin to recover the cost of acquiring a customer.
• Pipeline by source: for sales-led, the share of qualified pipeline from each channel.
• Time to value: minutes or days from sign-up to first result.
• Seat or usage expansion: growth in seats or usage within paying accounts.