From my experiences, free services have an advantage in terms of scalability and outreach. But one problem I've encountered is that companies starting free without forecasting eventual revenue streams get into trouble when they're required to generate revenue. Such a change is tricky and many find themselves unable to be successful at doing it.

Every business must be profitable to continue existing and so I think there should always be attention toward revenue generation....even at the onset when it's not needed. But sooner or not, it will be needed.