Charging for your product shouldn't come from fear of losing customers; it should be based on understanding its value to users.

Charging customers is essential for validating your product's value. Offering free trials can be tempting, but if customers aren't paying, they aren't truly customers. Resist the fear of rejection based on price.

Founders often make the mistake of being afraid to charge for their product, fearing customer rejection. However, charging customers is one of the most effective ways to learn about your business, including whether users are willing to pay and which customer segments are most excited to pay.

When building a product, it's crucial to understand people's pain points and why they need it.

Even if you have an amazing product, you must deeply understand the market and ensure that customers are willing to pay for it.

If you're charging significantly less than competitors, you might be attracting customers who only want the cheapest option, leading to misleading data about your product's demand. Successful products often charge a premium rather than being cheaper than competitors, as they solve significant problems for customers who are willing to pay more for effective solutions.

To determine if a problem is valuable, assess whether people are willing to pay for existing solutions in the market.

A compelling value proposition must address a critical problem that users face, ensuring that the gain from your product outweighs the pain of adopting it.

I encourage founders to practice charging for their product early on. By simulating a transaction, they can become comfortable with the process of asking for payment, which prepares them for real customer interactions later.