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.

Many founders think they need to offer their product for free to gain users, but it's often better to charge a price to gauge real interest.

It's important to charge for your product because if there's enough pain and promise of a solution, people will pay for it.

When pricing your product, focus on the value it delivers to the customer rather than just the cost of providing the service.

If you're going to charge for a product, it needs to be self-serve and frictionless for users. Many startups fail because they rely too heavily on founder involvement for customer acquisition.

You should price based on the perceived value of your product rather than on cost, as many founders mistakenly use cost-plus pricing, which ignores the full value customers see.

If you're offering something for free but your business model relies on other revenue streams, it's crucial to explain that to users to alleviate their concerns and build trust.

Pricing should be viewed as a tool to learn about customer demand and value perception, helping to refine your product offering.