Working on a product with a team can easily be frustrating. The product manager has his own vision, but the designer rather go in a different direction - and it ends up getting to the developer who just doesn't understand why they think this UI fits the code. This separation between each profession along the process creates misunderstandings, frustration, and often limits every single person to his own field without understanding the whole picture. Luckily, there's a model that helps deal with these issues - but obviously it has downsides as well.

***

If you want to get updates on related articles, events, and more insightful surprises - subscribe to our newsletter. We never spam! https://www.startupforstartup.com/ww/newsletter_ww/

Working on a product with a team can easily be frustrating. The product manager has his own vision, but the designer rather go in a different direction - and it ends up getting to the developer who just doesn't understand why they think this UI fits the code. This separation between each profession along the process creates misunderstandings, frustration, and often limits every single person to his own field without understanding the whole picture. Luckily, there's a model that helps deal with these issues - but obviously it has downsides as well.
***
If you want to get updates on related articles, events, and more insightful surprises - subscribe to our newsletter. We never spam! <a href="https://www.startupforstartup.com/ww/newsletter_ww/">https://www.startupforstartup.com/ww/newsletter_ww/</a>

Startup for Startup is a podcast in which we at monday.com openly share knowledge, experience, and actionable insights among startups. Each episode of the podcast highlights a different challenge we faced on our journey as a growing startup.

Startup for Startup is a podcast in which we at monday.com openly share knowledge, experience, and actionable insights among startups. Each episode of the podcast highlights a different challenge we faced on our journey as a growing startup.

Startup for Startup - Global ⚡ by monday.com

Creating the Teamwork that Builds the Product

Note to listeners: The English version of this episode was generated using AI translation from the original Hebrew recording. Minor inaccuracies may occur.

For years, the subscription model was the standard for most SaaS companies, relying on relatively low technology costs per user and high profitability. The massive entry of AI technologies into software products has changed this equation, with every LLM call generating a significant, variable cost. This reality forces the industry to redefine pricing and business models, adapting them to an era of consumption.

In this week’s episode, Darya Wertheim speaks with Roy Mann, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of monday.com, about this fundamental shift and how product companies must rethink their pricing and business models. We explore how to build a business model that aligns the value the user receives with the price they pay, addressing the conflict of interest between company and customer when pricing a product as a percentage markup over AI provider costs—where optimization that lowers usage costs simultaneously cuts company revenue, creating a negative incentive for product efficiency.

Roy and Darya discuss a spectrum of business models, ranging from a markup over provider costs to Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE) working directly with users, as well as the middle-ground options that provide stability for the customer while still capturing the value delivered by application software.

Note to listeners: The English version of this episode was generated using AI translation from the original Hebrew recording. Minor inaccuracies may occur.
For years, the subscription model was the standard for most SaaS companies, relying on relatively low technology costs per user and high profitability. The massive entry of AI technologies into software products has changed this equation, with every LLM call generating a significant, variable cost. This reality forces the industry to redefine pricing and business models, adapting them to an era of consumption.
In this week&rsquo;s episode, Darya Wertheim speaks with Roy Mann, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of monday.com, about this fundamental shift and how product companies must rethink their pricing and business models. We explore how to build a business model that aligns the value the user receives with the price they pay, addressing the conflict of interest between company and customer when pricing a product as a percentage markup over AI provider costs&mdash;where optimization that lowers usage costs simultaneously cuts company revenue, creating a negative incentive for product efficiency.
Roy and Darya discuss a spectrum of business models, ranging from a markup over provider costs to Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE) working directly with users, as well as the middle-ground options that provide stability for the customer while still capturing the value delivered by application software.

How AI Is Reshaping Business Models and Pricing for Product Companies

Deals with enterprise organizations and public sector entities almost always come wrapped in a formal package: the Request for Proposal (RFP). While early-stage startups often view RFPs as a daunting, bureaucratic hurdle, for growing B2B companies, they represent one of the most stable and lucrative revenue engines available. In this episode, Shaked Hershkovitz, Director of Solution Engineering at monday.com, sits down with Darya Wertheim to share how the company built its RFP muscle from 2019 to today, highlighting the core best practices and lessons learned along the way.

Shaked breaks down the strategic trade-offs inherent in RFP management, starting with the dilemma of whether to apply a high-volume approach or focus strictly on high-probability opportunities. He reflects on early missteps—specifically how prioritizing quantity over quality consumed heavy legal and technical bandwidth while yielding low win rates—and discusses navigating strict regulatory and security requirements. He also addresses the hard truth that missing even a single product capability can cost a six-figure deal, even when the client actively wants to partner with you.

The episode provides actionable frameworks for managing tenders effectively, from identifying opportunities at the RFI stage and influencing requirements early to tailoring solutions and accelerating the path to live demos. Shaked details how embedding AI tools and autonomous agents into their workflow allows teams to scan complex tender documents in seconds, score win probabilities, and save hundreds of engineering hours. Finally, he outlines the specific formula that drove monday.com's RFP win rate up to 35%.

Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in July 2026.

Deals with enterprise organizations and public sector entities almost always come wrapped in a formal package: the Request for Proposal (RFP). While early-stage startups often view RFPs as a daunting, bureaucratic hurdle, for growing B2B companies, they represent one of the most stable and lucrative revenue engines available. In this episode, Shaked Hershkovitz, Director of Solution Engineering at monday.com, sits down with Darya Wertheim to share how the company built its RFP muscle from 2019 to today, highlighting the core best practices and lessons learned along the way.
Shaked breaks down the strategic trade-offs inherent in RFP management, starting with the dilemma of whether to apply a high-volume approach or focus strictly on high-probability opportunities. He reflects on early missteps&mdash;specifically how prioritizing quantity over quality consumed heavy legal and technical bandwidth while yielding low win rates&mdash;and discusses navigating strict regulatory and security requirements. He also addresses the hard truth that missing even a single product capability can cost a six-figure deal, even when the client actively wants to partner with you.
The episode provides actionable frameworks for managing tenders effectively, from identifying opportunities at the RFI stage and influencing requirements early to tailoring solutions and accelerating the path to live demos. Shaked details how embedding AI tools and autonomous agents into their workflow allows teams to scan complex tender documents in seconds, score win probabilities, and save hundreds of engineering hours. Finally, he outlines the specific formula that drove monday.com's RFP win rate up to 35%.
Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in July 2026.

Enterprise Sales – Turning Tenders into a Primary Growth Engine

Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in February 2026.

At monday.com's 2025 kickoff event, we were sure we had hit on the next big product innovation to match the AI revolution. Looking back, Co-CEO Eran Zinman and CPTO Daniel Lereya realize that features like neat text summarization buttons or resume screeners were essentially just "AI Dust" sprinkled over the product, cool features that don't fundamentally change how users work.

In this week's episode, Darya Wertheim sits down with them to discuss the gap between recognizing that the world is changing and translating that into what it means for a product built over many years. Eran and Daniel share the product evolutions currently happening at monday.com, from new AI products to shifts in core offerings—along with the insights, challenges, and mistakes that shaped the path forward.

Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in February 2026.
At monday.com's 2025 kickoff event, we were sure we had hit on the next big product innovation to match the AI revolution. Looking back, Co-CEO Eran Zinman and CPTO Daniel Lereya realize that features like neat text summarization buttons or resume screeners were essentially just "AI Dust" sprinkled over the product, cool features that don't fundamentally change how users work.
In this week's episode, Darya Wertheim sits down with them to discuss the gap between recognizing that the world is changing and translating that into what it means for a product built over many years. Eran and Daniel share the product evolutions currently happening at monday.com, from new AI products to shifts in core offerings&mdash;along with the insights, challenges, and mistakes that shaped the path forward.

Creating the Teamwork that Builds the Product

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Startup for Startup - Global ⚡ by monday.com

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