“I gave much reduced pricing so we didn't make any money on our first three customers but I just wanted to put this in someone's hands and see what happens”

Use Reduced Pricing on First Customers to Validate Willingness to Pay

Ian deliberately sold below cost to friends in the early cohort, treating it as paid market research rather than lost revenue. The goal was not profit but proof: would real people hand over money — even discounted money — for this service? Once he confirmed genuine demand and generated referrals from those first clients, he moved to full pricing with confidence.