Made a classic noob mistake with my startup's pricing in Toronto

Launched my SaaS tool 3 months ago and set prices based on what I thought was 'fair' instead of looking at actual numbers. Lost $2k in potential revenue because I undervalued my tier 2 plan by 40% compared to what competitors charge. A mentor told me straight up: 'You're not a charity, you're a business.' Now I'm stuck raising prices and explaining it to early customers. Has anyone else had to awkwardly increase prices after launch and how did you handle the backlash?

2 comments

2 Comments

wade_young8616d ago

Oh, the classic 'fair pricing' trap. Yeah, because the market totally cares about what's fair... said nobody ever. Your mentor nailed it though - you're not running a charity, you're just running a charity case for your own wallet. I raised prices on a subscription service once and literally had a customer email me a 3 paragraph essay about how I was 'betraying the community.' I just replied with a screenshot of my competitor's price list and said 'this is why.' They stayed. Sometimes people just need to see the math before they stop whining.

kellymurphy16d agoTop Commenter

A three paragraph essay about "betraying the community" over a price hike? That's wild, I can't imagine being that invested in a subscription service.