Stop Undercharging (A Real-World Guide to Value-Based Pricing for Founders)
Bonny Morlak- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
You can have a brilliant product, a high-performing team, and happy customers… and still be wildly undercharging.
Sound familiar?
Most founders pour hours into growth tactics, product loops, and pitch decks, but never test the one thing that could instantly transform their business: price.
In this post, we break down how to stop guessing, start charging based on real impact, and finally adopt a value-based pricing mindset that feels honest, and works.
What Is Value-Based Pricing For Founders?
Let’s start with the obvious: value-based pricing isn’t just about setting a higher price. It’s about anchoring that price in what your product or service actually creates, in money, time, and emotional wins.
Founders often rely on:
What competitors charge
Cost-plus margin
Investor suggestions
Gut instinct
That’s not strategy. That’s survival.
What You Should Be Doing Instead
Treat pricing like a hypothesis. You wouldn’t roll out a product feature without testing it. Why do that with your pricing?
Your pricing deserves experimentation too. Test, learn, adjust.
The 4 Value Buckets That Matter (H2 with focus keyword)
You don’t need a finance degree to get this right. Just a napkin and some honesty.
Here are the four buckets of value every founder should consider when using value-based pricing:
1. Hard Dollars Earned
Ask: How much extra revenue do you help your customers make? Estimate yearly impact, divide by 12, write it down.
2. Soft Costs Saved
Ask: How much time, effort, or spending do you eliminate? Again, annual estimate. Divide by 12.
3. Protection from Risk
Think like an insurance company. What bad outcomes do you help customers avoid? Quantify risk. Add it to your napkin math.
4. Emotional Wins
This is the most overlooked and most powerful bucket. From confidence and clarity to status and joy, these matter. A lot. If your product helps me spend more time with my kid? That’s not just “value.” That’s priceless.
If You’re Early-Stage, Here’s What to Do
If you haven’t hit product-market fit yet, this still applies. You’re not pricing for profit, you’re pricing to learn.
Try this:
Set your “ideal price” using the 4-bucket framework
Offer a temporary discount in exchange for feedback
Tell your early adopters exactly what you’re testing
This earns trust and gives you real-world data. Pricing clarity comes from conversations, not guesses.
What Most Founders Get Wrong
They start too low.
Why? Because it feels safe.
But going up later is harder than starting high and adjusting down.
Start with what makes you proud. Ask yourself, “Would I feel good getting paid this to do my best work? ”If not, keep iterating.
Want to Hear This in My Voice?
In Summary
If you’re still undercharging, you’re not alone, but it’s time to stop.
Pricing is a test, not a guess
Your value has 4 dimensions, use them all
Don’t wait for “permission” to price with integrity
If this resonated, share it with a founder who’s still playing small.
They might need it more than you know.
What’s Next?
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