James D. Wilton, founder and managing partner of Monevate, brings over 20 years of experience in pricing strategy and monetization. His career began as a consultant at ZS Associates, followed by leading pricing at RELX and SBI. After three years at McKinsey, James launched Monevate, a consulting firm focused on helping tech startups, scale-ups, and fast-growing companies optimize their pricing strategies.

In this conversation, James shares insights from his career and discusses the role of pricing strategy in modern business, the misconceptions surrounding it, and the challenges of implementing usage-based pricing models. He offers practical advice for companies looking to grow their pricing discipline and explores how AI is shaping the future of pricing. The discussion also highlights the importance of building community within the pricing space.

Takeaways

• Pricing is often overlooked in modern MBA programs.

• Effective communication of pricing strategies is crucial.

• Discounting can lead to a culture of undervaluing products.

• Both qualitative and quantitative data are essential in pricing.

• Pricing strategy should be tailored to specific business situations.

• Companies often realize the need for pricing strategy at inflection points.

• Building a community around pricing is challenging but rewarding.

• Usage-based pricing presents unique operational challenges.

• Maintaining a logical record of deals is vital for pricing strategy.

• Integrity in consulting means providing honest advice, even when it's difficult.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Background

• 01:43 Career Journey and Transition to Pricing

• 10:09 Key Learnings from Previous Roles

• 16:13 Founding Monevate and Building Community

• 22:34 The State of Pricing in B2B SaaS

• 29:29 Misconceptions in Pricing Strategy

• 39:40 Challenges of Usage-Based Pricing

• 48:44 Best Practices for Growing Companies

• 54:11 Formative Moments in Consulting