4 ms·

I'd say asking them as well, "What do you think you'd pay for it?" could be useful to establish if it's genuinely worth going after it, but it's a really awkwar

I'd say asking them as well, "What do you think you'd pay for it?" could be useful to establish if it's genuinely worth going after it, but it's a really awkward question to fit in and it's a really awkward question to answer as well.

nathanbarry 14y ago
I like to judge the awkwardness of their response. It helps you learn how serious they are. If they really struggle to find a price they probably don't think their problem is that painful. You can also focus on how much a problem costs them in wasted time or lost revenue.
- nicholassmith 14y ago
  That's a pretty awesome kicker to the question, I'd never thought of it in quite those terms.
dbrian 14y ago
Not if you're honest about what you're having the conversation about. They know you are doing research for a startup idea. You can even generalize the question... "What do you think solving this problem is worth to businesses in your industry?"
alok-g 14y ago
A better question to ask would be "Imagine there is such a product/service that solves your issue, can you guess its price?" Let's say the answer comes out at $100. Follow up question may now be "Would you pay if this was available to you for $80?"
purplelobster 14y ago
I think it's very difficult to estimate what something is worth to you unless you're actually on the spot for the buy/no-buy choice. As an example, I was looking for some good software to help me write Chinese characters. Before I went looking, I would have thought it was a $10 product, but the leading product is actually $10 a MONTH. Way more than I'd estimated, but there are good business reasons for this. When you're faced with that choice of buying it at $10 a month, it becomes more real. I didn't buy it yet, but it's a very popular product, so for many people it's obviously worth it.

4 ms·

I'd say asking them as well, "What do you think you'd pay for it?" could be useful to establish if it's genuinely worth going after it, but it's a really awkwar

by nicholassmith 14y ago

nathanbarry 14y ago
I like to judge the awkwardness of their response. It helps you learn how serious they are. If they really struggle to find a price they probably don't think their problem is that painful. You can also focus on how much a problem costs them in wasted time or lost revenue.
- nicholassmith 14y ago
  That's a pretty awesome kicker to the question, I'd never thought of it in quite those terms.
dbrian 14y ago
Not if you're honest about what you're having the conversation about. They know you are doing research for a startup idea. You can even generalize the question... "What do you think solving this problem is worth to businesses in your industry?"
alok-g 14y ago
A better question to ask would be "Imagine there is such a product/service that solves your issue, can you guess its price?" Let's say the answer comes out at $100. Follow up question may now be "Would you pay if this was available to you for $80?"
purplelobster 14y ago
I think it's very difficult to estimate what something is worth to you unless you're actually on the spot for the buy/no-buy choice. As an example, I was looking for some good software to help me write Chinese characters. Before I went looking, I would have thought it was a $10 product, but the leading product is actually $10 a MONTH. Way more than I'd estimated, but there are good business reasons for this. When you're faced with that choice of buying it at $10 a month, it becomes more real. I didn't buy it yet, but it's a very popular product, so for many people it's obviously worth it.