Get Vertical! With Mike McCalley

From Poverty to Pricing Power | Why Great Companies Undercharge


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Casey Brown didn’t grow up thinking she would become an entrepreneur.

She grew up in a blue-collar family where money was always tight — close enough to the edge that the fear of poverty shaped many of her early decisions.

That fear led her into engineering, into corporate America, and eventually into a moment where she had to decide: Stay safe… or take the risk.

In this episode of Get Vertical!, Casey shares how she went from:

• First-generation college student

• Engineer at GE

• Corporate leader

→ To building a firm that helps companies price with confidence and unlock millions in value.

But this conversation goes deeper than business.

It’s about:

• Fear and how it shapes decisions

• Imposter syndrome and breaking through it

• Why so many companies underprice their value

• The human impact of better pricing (families, communities, employees)

• And what it really means to do work that matters

This is a story about doing something extraordinary — not because the path was clear, but because the alternative wasn’t acceptable.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:01 Growing Up on the Edge of Poverty

02:24 Choosing Engineering Out of Fear

03:47 Corporate Career & Early Success

05:06 The Fear That Almost Stopped Her

05:49 Redefining Risk & Taking the Leap

06:18 Breaking Out of Rural America

08:37 Culture Shock & Starting Behind

10:37 Grit, Stubbornness, and Survival

12:14 The “Proving” Mindset

14:26 Early Career & Imposter Syndrome

18:43 Defining Success & Big Wins

19:07 Casey’s “Why” — Pricing & Impact

20:29 The Real Impact of Better Pricing

21:45 Confidence, Negotiation & Culture Shift

24:48 From Proving to Purpose

27:11 Overcoming Failure & Mindset Shifts

28:25 Authenticity at Work

31:00 Adventures, Risk & Kayaking

31:47 AI, Work, and the Future of Jobs

36:42 The Coming Skills Gap

39:32 Redefining Work & Value Creation

43:09 Education, Trades & Career Shifts

44:09 Life Outside of Work

46:35 Where She’d Go Next

47:01 Life Beyond Business

Casey Brown is a pricing expert, speaker, and the founder of Boost Pricing, where she helps companies rethink their pricing and unlock meaningful profit growth. She has helped thousands of businesses generate over $1 billion in incremental profit and is known for translating complex pricing concepts into practical, actionable steps for leaders and sales teams. With a background spanning engineering and leadership roles at GE and AkzoNobel, she combines operational expertise with deep insight into value-based pricing.

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Get Vertical! With Mike McCalleyBy MarketScale