Pricing Strategy

How you decide what to charge, based on costs, competitors, and above all the value customers get. It covers the model, the tiers, and the actual numbers.

Why it matters

Pricing is one of the highest-leverage and most under-tested decisions a startup makes: a small change can transform the business. Most founders price too low out of fear, leaving growth and profit on the table.

For example

A B2B tool moves from a flat 5,000-a-month price to tiered plans, and revenue jumps as larger customers self-select into higher tiers.

Go deeper

Pricing Determines Your Business Model A Smart Bear · article Why price is not a number you tweak later but a decision that shapes the entire business, from who you sell to, to how you grow. Open longform.asmartbear.com →

The Price is Right: Essential Tips for Nailing Your Pricing Strategy First Round Review · article Practical, tactical advice on setting and testing price, the part most founders avoid until it costs them. Open review.firstround.com →

Startup Pricing 101 Y Combinator · video The clearest short lecture on pricing, and how it ties straight back to acquisition cost and lifetime value. Watch on YouTube youtube.com →

Related terms

Also in Starting Up

See how founders actually handle this on Growing and marketing, part of the Starting Up hub.

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