Pricing Strategy

with @jasonrosenthal @skominers @meigga @rhhackett

Welcome to web3 with a16z, I’m Robert Hackett and today, we discuss pricing strategy for startups — from traditional businesses to web2 to web3.

Topics we cover include:

• unit economics
• understanding consumer psychology
• using onchain data to inform pricing decisions
• Common mistakes and how to avoid them
• How to navigate a pricing pivot
• And lessons from real world pricing case studies, including Tesla, Nvidia, and others

Our experts include a16z crypto's Maggie Hsu, head of our go-to-market team; research partner and Harvard Business School professor of economics Scott Kominers; and head of our CSX startup accelerator Jason Rosenthal, who is a tech veteran having spent the last 25 years at various internet companies — the three combine all their different expertise around the theme of this episode.

Resources for references in this episode:

• When is decentralizing on a blockchain valuable? by Marco Reuter (a16z crypto, January 2023)
• The Value of Decentralization Using the Blockchain: An Economic Analysis by Marco Reuter (a16z crypto, January 2023)
• "The single most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power..." — Warren Buffett (Bloomberg, February 2011)
• Network Effects, Moats, & the Business of Web3 (Episode 25) (web3 with a16z podcast, May 2023)
• 6 questions every founder should ask about pricing by Jason Rosenthal and Maggie Hsu (a16z crypto, May 2023)
• Zipcar: Refining the business model by Myra M. Hart, Michael J. Roberts and Julia Stevens (Harvard Business School Case Collection, May 2005)
• Ning CEO: Building a Better Website by Adam Lashinsky (Fortune, September 2010)
• On the best business advice Disney CEO Bob Iger ever received by Jeff Haden (Inc., December 2020)
• Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely (HarperCollins, February 2008)
• On the Bored Ape Kennel Club donating secondary sale proceeds to charity (Twitter, June 2021)
• Chief's Silicon Valley Stardom Quickly Clashed at J.C. Penney by Stephanie Clifford (New York Times, April 2013)
• Tesla turns up heat on rivals with global price cuts by (Reuters, January 2023)

As a reminder none of the following should be taken as tax, business, legal, or investment advice. See a16zcrypto.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.

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