Mark Pekel

If you’re always the “smartest person in the room,” you’re not in a Solvay room; you're sitting in the outhouse. So if you're serious about the product you're building, surround yourself with people who can stress‑test your best ideas, and you might just get a chance at greatness

If you're building a product, get a version of that room. 1. People who are deep on the topic. 2. People who are willing to say “this doesn’t hold up” and then help fix it. 3. People who care more about the problem than their own status.

Trying to solve a problem your ICP is having? Do you think you're taking it seriously? Are you ready to find out? In 1927, 29 scientists walked into a room in Brussels. Seventeen of them were Nobel Prize winners or would become one. ​ The photo is from the 5th Solvay Conference.

Do you constantly feel like you’re behind on AI and marketing stuff? Take a deeeeeep breath. Tech and tools change rapidly. People don’t. Yes, AI can help you do work faster. But it takes time to figure out what works with your buyers in the first place. Focus on that first.

Pricing Shifts: Seat-based contracts are driving churn as customers demand more flexible, usage-based, or outcome-based pricing. Great, you read until here. What do you think is going to happen? 🧙‍♂️

App Consolidation: Large enterprises are actively "vendor consolidating" to reduce "app sprawl," favoring all-in-one platforms like Microsoft 365 over niche subscriptions.

Churn is going to misbehave in 2026. Right now, the SaaS industry is going through a "software massacre". Some of the biggest SaaS companies are facing the most significant churn-related pressure in recent years. It's nothing official, but: