From $500 to $20,000 a Month: What This Pricing Jump Reveals About Value with Alex Shartsis

Описание: From $500 to $20,000 a Month: What This Pricing Jump Reveals About Value with Alex Shartsis

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Summary:
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Alex Shartsis is a pricing and go-to-market advisor who helps founders charge what their products are actually worth. He is the CEO of Silverwood and Skyp, working with early- and growth-stage companies on pricing discipline, packaging, and monetization.

This episode explores why charging too little early is one of the most expensive mistakes founders make, including the story of raising a customer from $500 a month to $20,000. Mark and Alex discuss when to raise prices, how early sweetheart deals quietly damage businesses, and why price often signals quality in AI and SaaS markets.

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Why you have to check out today’s podcast:
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Understand why early underpricing creates long-term trauma in customer bases, teams, and investor conversations.
Learn when to raise prices (and when not to) especially with early customers and pilots.
See why price often acts as a signal of quality in markets where buyers can’t easily judge value (AI, software, experimentation budgets)


“If you can charge for value early and be disciplined about it, you’ll have a much better journey—you’ll look better to investors, and you’ll be running a more viable business much sooner.”
— Alex Shartsis


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Topics Covered:
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02:00 – From $500 to $20,000: A Pricing Wake-Up Cal. Alex shares the deal that pulled him into pricing—and why willingness to pay is often far higher than founders expect.
06:10 – Founder Discounts and Early Pricing Mistakes. How “sweetheart deals” happen, why they feel harmless early on, and how they quietly break pricing discipline.
10:45 – Should You Raise Prices on Early Customers?A nuanced discussion on fairness, trust, investor expectations, and when price increases actually make sense.
15:30 – Building NRR Into Pricing (Without Repricing Customers). Why limits, packaging, and expansion paths matter more than simply charging more later.
18:45 – AI Changes the Cost and Pricing Equation. Why the old “software has no marginal cost” mindset no longer holds in AI-driven businesses.
22:30 – Price as a Signal of Quality. When buyers use price to infer value—and why this shows up strongly in AI and experimental products.
26:15 – Credit-Based Pricing: Temporary Fix or Long-Term Problem?. A candid debate on credits, customer confusion, and what it signals about unresolved value models.
29:10 – Final Advice: Charge for Value Earlier. Alex’s closing guidance for founders—and why pricing discipline creates better businesses, not just higher revenue.

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Key Takeaways:
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“If you can charge for value early and be disciplined about it, you’ll have a much better journey—you’ll look better to investors and you’ll be running a more viable business sooner.” — Alex Shartsis

“Most early-stage founders charge too little, and it quietly creates problems that don’t show up until much later.” — Alex Shartsis

“Price often becomes a signal of quality when buyers can’t easily judge value—especially in AI and software.” — Alex Shartsis

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People/Resources Mentioned:
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Carta – Carta’s ERP for private capital combines software and services to deliver connected clarity and control across equity, fund, and portfolio management.
Google Maps – Example of usage-based pricing evolution
Tesla – Used as an example of starting high and expanding market access over time
Porsche – is referenced as a real-world analogy for how premium pricing shapes belief, not because Porsche has radically different parts, but because the brand and price tell a story buyers trust.excellence.
Kyle Poyar - is referenced in the context of “reasonable use” pricing.
Steven Forth - comes up during the discussion on credit-based pricing models, especially in AI-driven products.

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Connect with Alex Shartsis:
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LinkedIn:   / shartsis  
Skyp: https://skyp.ai
Silverwood: https://silverwood.ai

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Connect with Mark Stiving:
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Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn:   / stiving  


VISIT THE IMPACT PRICING PODCAST for Full Show Notes and Resources:
http://impactpricing.com/podcast/