I think this advice works well for established markets where users know what to expect with a product ("Netflix but X", "JIRA for Y", etc)
For people building Thiel-esque "zero to one" SaaS products, I've found free plans absolutely invaluable in educating users on what your product can do and why they might want it. In my experience, offering a free plan lowered an otherwise-high barrier of entry and helps those users then build a habit (incorporating your product into their workflow/dailies) that converts comparably to hiring salespeople.
There are indeed a lot of unintended/hidden costs to having a free plan, but there are a lot of costs to selling a paid-only product, too. Seems like every product should gauge what's best for their use/market. :)
For people building Thiel-esque "zero to one" SaaS products, I've found free plans absolutely invaluable in educating users on what your product can do and why they might want it. In my experience, offering a free plan lowered an otherwise-high barrier of entry and helps those users then build a habit (incorporating your product into their workflow/dailies) that converts comparably to hiring salespeople.
There are indeed a lot of unintended/hidden costs to having a free plan, but there are a lot of costs to selling a paid-only product, too. Seems like every product should gauge what's best for their use/market. :)