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.

Why You Have to Check Out This Episode:

• 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

Topics Covered:

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.

Key Takeaways:

"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

People & Resources Mentioned:

• 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.

Connect with Alex Shartsis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shartsis/
• Skyp: https://skyp.ai
• Silverwood: https://silverwood.ai

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on December 1, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/pricing-ai-outcome-based-pricing-the-holy-grail-for-ai/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

This episode takes a slightly different approach than the usual Impact Pricing conversation.

Instead of teaching a finished framework, Mark brings an early draft of his upcoming book to the table and asks Steven to react to it as a thoughtful pricing peer.

Steven Forth, co-creator of ValueIQ, largely agrees with the direction of the book, but pauses on a key point: how buyer context is defined, and whether the argument separates value and willingness to pay too cleanly.

Mark jokingly tells Steven he's "wrong," setting the tone for what follows: a calm, constructive discussion that explores where the ideas hold up and where they still need work.

What unfolds is a straightforward, unscripted book review in progress. The ideas are tested against real examples, refined through debate, and shaped in real time.

For listeners who care about pricing theory and how it actually gets formed, this episode offers a transparent look at how those ideas evolve before they're finalized and published.

Why you have to check out today's podcast:

• Why buyer context is trickier than it sounds and where pricing frameworks often oversimplify it.
• How value and willingness to pay diverge in real buying decisions using practical examples.
• What this debate changes about how you think about pricing before ideas turn into rigid rules.

"Most pricing books don't really deal with buyer context. That's why this conversation matters."

— Steven Forth

Topics Covered:

01:11 – Steven's career update, transition from being a CEO.

08:54 – Why this episode is different. Mark brings an unfinished book draft to the conversation, setting up a rare moment where ideas are explored, challenged, and shaped before they're finalized.

10:40 – The core question the book has to answer. A turning point in the review as Steven pushes on whether context affects only willingness to pay or fundamentally changes value itself.

17:13 – Testing the argument with real examples. They pressure-test the book's ideas using real buying scenarios where value stays the same but willingness to pay shifts dramatically.

22:10 – Where theory meets real buyer constraints. A discussion of budget limits, framing effects, and mental ceilings that complicate clean pricing logic and challenge how the book explains buyer behavior.

25:45 – How this feedback shapes the final book. Mark reflects on what this debate changes in the manuscript and why early, honest pushback is essential before pricing ideas turn into published frameworks.

Key Takeaways:

"Value didn't change, context did." — Steven Forth

"I agree that context influences willingness to pay, but I'm not convinced it doesn't also influence value." — Steven Forth

People Mentioned:

• Michael Mansard - referenced for his Compass Framework and ongoing work on pricing, value, and attribution.
• Edward Wong - Mentioned in the context of collaborative work on value attribution and pricing research.
• Karen Chiang - Mentioned as leading the services side of Ibbaka as Steven transitions away from CEO roles.
• Tom Nagle - Referenced in discussions around economic value, willingness to pay, and foundational pricing theory.

Connect with Steven Forth:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenforth/
• Email: [email protected]

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on November 24, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/a-tool-to-reveal-your-value-literacy/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

Kathryn Porritt is the founder and CEO of Iconic Empires, where she specializes in helping elite experts build luxury and premium positioning. With a focus on monetization expertise and authority, Kathryn works with clients to elevate their brands and expand their vision of possibilities. Her unique approach emphasizes mastery, rarity, and transformative experiences, enabling her clients to connect deeply with high-end buyers.

In this episode, Mark Stiving sits down with Kathryn Porritt to explore the intricacies of selling luxury goods. They discuss the differences between luxury and premium buyers, the importance of creating an expanded vision of possibilities, and how to effectively communicate value in high-end markets.

Why You Have to Check Out This Episode:

• Learn why luxury buyers don't negotiate and how expanding a buyer's future vision removes price from the conversation entirely.
• Understand the difference between premium and luxury pricing, and why treating them the same quietly caps your revenue.
• Discover how elite sellers confidently say bold prices without flinching, discounting, or overselling.

"Expand a vision of possibility for people—show them what they can't see for themselves. When you focus on that, pricing becomes easy."

– Kathryn Porritt

Topics Covered:

01:30 – What Luxury Buyers Actually Buy. Why true luxury customers aren't purchasing features or value props—they're buying rarity, mastery, and first-of-its-kind experiences.

05:40 – Premium vs. Luxury: The Line Most Sellers Miss. How premium buyers still compare and negotiate—while luxury buyers step outside price entirely.

08:45 – The "Expanded Vision of Possibility" Framework. Why the most powerful pricing conversations anchor buyers in a future they didn't know was available.

12:30 – When Budgets Grow (Even in Corporations). How elite sellers expand scope and impact—causing "fixed" corporate budgets to quietly increase.

16:10 – Confidence, Control, and Saying the Number. Why the price you can say without hesitation determines whether the buyer trusts you.

19:40 – Intuition vs. Calculators in Luxury Pricing. How elite experts balance cost, margins, and intuition when there is no reference price.

23:20 – Why This Isn't Just for Luxury Brands. Mark connects the dots: this is exactly how every B2B seller should be selling value.

26:40 – One Pricing Principle That Changes Everything. Kathryn's closing advice—and why expanding possibilities is the fastest path to higher prices.

Key Takeaways:

"People at this level, people who buy luxury, like true luxury buyers, they're looking for something that's not necessarily about the value." – Kathryn Porritt

"That expanded vision of possibility is the difference. And like I said, that's when pricing becomes almost obsolete in the conversation." – Kathryn Porritt

"For a luxury buyer, it's not about the budget." – Kathryn Porritt

People & Resources Mentioned:

• Iconic Empires – Kathryn's firm helping elite experts position, monetize, and sell at the highest levels.
• Jeff Bezos – Referenced as an example of true luxury buying behavior where budget is irrelevant
• Coca-Cola - Mentioned as a corporate example in the context of budget discussions for events.
• Luxury Market - Discussed as a distinct market segment with unique buyer motivations.

Connect with Kathryn Porritt:

• Website: https://www.kathrynporritt.com/
• Website: https://iconicempire.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-porritt?originalSubdomain=au

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on November 17, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/credits-the-bridge-between-ai-uncertainty-and-value-clarity/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

Ryan Susanna is the VP of Sales at LogiSense, where he helps telecom, IoT, and SaaS companies operationalize complex usage-based and hybrid pricing models. With more than two decades in monetization, automation, and billing infrastructure, Ryan didn't come up through pricing theory—he came up through execution. His work sits at the intersection of pricing ideas and the systems required to make those ideas real at scale.

In this episode, Ryan breaks down why billing platforms quietly shape—and sometimes constrain—pricing innovation, what usage-based pricing actually looks like in practice, why many AI pricing models default to credits, and the single pricing habit he believes every company must adopt: testing pricing ideas in isolation before scaling them across the business.

Why You Have to Check Out This Episode:

• Understand why pricing innovation fails after approval—and how billing and monetization systems quietly block execution.
• Learn which modern pricing models die first in rigid systems (usage-based, high-watermark, hybrid, credits).
• Discover how to test pricing ideas safely without risking your entire go-to-market motion.

"Find an isolated way to test your pricing hypothesis before you boil the ocean for your entire motion."

— Ryan Susanna

Topics Covered:

02:00 – From Physics to Monetization (By Accident). How Ryan's background in physics, computer science, and sales led him into billing systems—and why monetization sits closer to pricing than most teams admit.

04:00 – "Why Should Pricing Care About Billing?" Mark challenges the assumption that billing is just collecting money. Ryan explains how billing systems determine which pricing models are even possible.

07:00 – High-Watermark Pricing Explained. Charging based on peak concurrent usage—not total usage—and why this better reflects customer value in many SaaS and telco models.

08:30 – Earned Discounts and Hybrid Usage Models. How companies combine multiple usage metrics to guide behavior while protecting margins.

14:00 – Meter Everything (Even If You Don't Charge for It). Ryan explains why future pricing decisions depend on historical usage data you may not even know you need yet.

19:00 – Credits vs. Value-Based Pricing. Mark reframes credits as a payment mechanism—not a pricing model—and explains why value correlation matters.

23:00 – The Pricing Test Most Companies Skip. Why executives roll out pricing changes globally—and how isolated testing could prevent costly mistakes.

25:00 – Final Advice for Pricing Leaders. Ryan's core message: pricing strategy without monetization readiness is just theory.

Key Takeaways:

"You could dream up any pricing scenario if you want, but if you can't operationalize it at scale, you are setting yourself up for failure." – Ryan Susanna

"Billing systems quietly decide which pricing models you're allowed to use." – Ryan Susanna

"If you pick a model and you have the same model forever, then it will not appear hard for you—because it's what you've always done. What's hard is change." – Ryan Susanna

People / Resources Mentioned:

• LogiSense – Monetization and billing platform enabling complex usage-based pricing
• OpenAI – Referenced in the context of AI credit-based pricing models
• Databricks – Example of proprietary credit-based pricing (DBUs)
• Slack – Example of active-user pricing metrics

Connect with Ryan Susanna:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryansusanna/

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on November 10, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/designing-hybrid-and-evolving-pricing-models-for-ai/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/

Mike Wilkinson, founder of Axia Value Solutions, joins Mark Stiving to explore how AI is fundamentally changing buying behavior—and why this shift exposes weak value stories more than it threatens good sellers.

In this episode, Mike explains how AI has raised buyer expectations by enabling benchmarking, price testing, and faster comparisons—rewarding sellers who clearly communicate value and exposing those who don't. He and Mark show why AI creates mediocrity when used blindly, and why value clarity—not pricing tricks—determines who wins.

Why You Have to Check Out This Episode:

• Understand how AI is changing buyer expectations—and why buyers now demand clearer value justification before accepting price.
• Learn where AI helps sales—and where it hurts—including why copying AI outputs creates "AI mediocrity" instead of differentiation.
• Discover how value clarity and value literacy become your competitive moat in an AI-saturated selling environment.

"Whatever price you're charging or thinking of charging, make sure that it's supported by the value that you are communicating that you can deliver."

– Mike Wilkinson

Topics Covered:

02:17 – AI Is Changing How Buyers Buy. Buyers now show up informed with comparisons and benchmarks, shifting the focus from persuasion to value justification.

06:00 – How Buyers Use AI When Making Decisions. Why price-focused questions produce very different answers than value-focused ones.

09:08 – Using AI to Support Value Selling. Where AI helps sellers think through value—and where copying AI outputs makes everyone sound the same.

11:32 – The Real Problem: Most Salespeople Don't Understand Value. Why unclear definitions of value break value-based selling, with or without AI.

17:23 – AI as a Sales Assistant, Not a Replacement. How AI supports preparation and thinking, but can't replace real customer conversations.

19:25 – Practical Ways Salespeople Should Use AI. What actually helps sellers win—from research to prep—and what's just busywork.

22:55 – Researching Customers with AI Before the Call. How to use AI to understand the company, the market, and the buyer before the meeting.

27:17 – Pricing Advice: Value Has to Justify Price. Why prices fall apart when sellers can't clearly explain why they're worth it.

Key Takeaways:

"The people who truly understand and communicate value are the people who will rise above that mediocrity." – Mike Wilkinson

"For me, the question in the customer's mind is: if you're more expensive than a competitor, why should I make that additional investment? What do I get back in return? And if the answer is, 'I haven't a clue,' prepare to discount. If you've got some great reasons why you're worth more than competing alternatives, then you're into the conversation." – Mike Wilkinson

People & Resources Mentioned:

• Axia Value Solutions – Mike Wilkinson's consultancy focused on value-based selling and commercial excellence.
• Value-Based Selling – A sales approach centered on discovering, quantifying, and communicating customer-specific value rather than competing on price.
• AI in Sales Enablement – Used for research, preparation, and idea generation—not as a substitute for human judgment or relationship-building.
• Mentioned LinkedIn article in the episode: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-selling-ai-world-michael-wilkinson-5brme/

Connect with Mike Wilkinson:

• Website: https://axiavalue.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewilkinson-thevalueexpert/
• Email: [email protected]

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving
• Email: [email protected]

This is an Impact Pricing Blog published on November 3, 2025, turned into an audio podcast so you can listen on the go.

Read Full Article Here: https://impactpricing.com/blog/pricing-ai-evaluating-pricing-metrics/

If you have any feedback, definitely send it. You can reach us at [email protected].

Now, go make an impact.

Connect with Mark Stiving:

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/