Money, Pricing & Model

How do I raise prices without losing my existing customers?

A starting point

Grandfather existing customers for a while, announce increases early and honestly, and tie the raise to added value. Most founders massively overestimate churn from price hikes, customers who get real value stay. Test the new price on new signups first, watch conversion, then roll it out with confidence.

Go deeper

Watch

▶️ Video
Free Beginner

Startup Pricing 101

On ycombinator.com by Kevin Hale (Y Combinator) ~35 min video + transcript

Why we picked it

Kevin Hale's YC lecture is the clearest introduction to pricing first principles and the mistakes founders repeat. The pricing-thermometer framework (cost, price, value) is worth the watch alone.

  • The most common pricing mistake is charging far too little
  • Price sits between your cost and the value delivered, anchor to value
  • Small price increases often have an outsized impact on your ability to grow
Open ycombinator.com →

Read

📄 Article
Free Intermediate

Pricing Your SaaS Product

From lennysnewsletter.com by Patrick Campbell (ProfitWell), via Lenny's Newsletter long-form guide

Why we picked it

Patrick Campbell built ProfitWell on pricing data from thousands of companies, and this is the single best free deep-dive on SaaS pricing strategy. It's the canonical starting point for value metrics, segments, and packaging.

  • Get your value metric right and you can afford to get other things wrong
  • Pricing is built on quantified buyer personas and willingness to pay
  • Optimize pricing quarterly, it's an ongoing process, not a one-time decision
Open lennysnewsletter.com →
📄 Article
Freemium Intermediate

The Ultimate Guide to Willingness to Pay

From lennysnewsletter.com by Lenny Rachitsky & Patrick Campbell long-form guide

Why we picked it

The most concrete guide to actually measuring what customers will pay, including survey methods and tier design. It turns pricing from guesswork into a research-driven process.

  • Measure willingness to pay directly through structured customer research
  • Design tiers around distinct customer segments, not arbitrary feature bundles
  • Localize pricing by market and currency to capture willingness to pay everywhere
Open lennysnewsletter.com →

People also ask

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