Pick a Price (and Raise It)

Why it matters

Picking a price feels like guessing, so most beginners avoid it by picking something tiny — $1, or “pay what you want” — because a low number feels safer than being told no. It is not actually safer. A price that is too low signals that the thing is not worth much, and it makes it harder to raise later, because early buyers get upset when the number changes on them.

Kevin Hale’s rule of thumb is direct: pick a real number based on the value someone gets, not on what feels comfortable to type, and expect to raise it as you learn more. Most first-time sellers under-price by a lot, not a little. The fix is not becoming fearless overnight. It is testing your price on real people and watching what actually happens, instead of only asking what they think of it.

That is the assignment today: put a real number on your live site, then ask three people to pay it. Not “would you pay this” — an actual ask, with an actual price attached. Their answer, yes or no, teaches you more than a week of guessing would. This lesson feeds straight into the Sell gate: your First Dollar has to come at a real price, from someone who chose to pay it.

What to watch for

Kevin Hale - Startup Pricing 101

• Watch for his explanation of why beginners consistently price too low, and what that costs them later.
• Notice the difference he draws between asking for feedback on a price and actually asking someone to pay it.
• Skip the sections aimed at subscription software metrics; focus on the core pricing principles that fit your offer.

Start with Claude

Talk through your pricing options with Claude before you commit to a number. It should help you reason through the tradeoffs and reality-test your instincts — it should not just hand you a number.

I'm picking a starting price for the Sell stage of Make First. Here's my offer: [describe it, including what's included]. Here's who buys it and what problem it solves: [paste notes].

Don't just tell me a price. Ask me questions about the value someone gets, what similar things cost, and why I might be tempted to price low out of fear. Help me reason through one-time vs. subscription vs. service pricing for my specific offer, and push back if I'm picking a number without a real reason behind it. Once I land on a starting price, help me write three short, direct asks I can use with real people — not surveys, actual requests for money.