This makes me wonder, is it truly so? Every organization starts without managers and they are added later once the organization grows but if they are not really needed, why is every organization adding them?
Well, you might think it is a terrible solution but it is widely used. Recent examples that come to my mind: Things 3 and Affinity Photo (was not upgrade but it was still discounted on launch).
There is a way around it. When you release a new version you offer it for cheaper for limited time and you notify your existing customers. Of course, some new customers will buy it as well when it is discounted but it is acceptable loss.
Having a recurring revenue model does not mean you have a stable company. You might love it but many others don't and if they don't have enough customers on subscription it will be worse for you because you depend on their servers to operate and if they shut down your software stops working.
Companies managed to survive a few last decades without having subscriptions and suddenly they need it to survive? Upgrades exist on iOS, you just release a new app. It is not different from times before App Store.
Stop tolerating this subscription model or you will regret it one day once everyone switches to it and you will be paying 200 bucks each month to use your software and if you stop you will have nothing.
And I don't think the market is flooded because in our company we have difficulties to find good engineers and we pay over 60k.