#148 - Startup School Week 7 Recap - Kevin Hale on Conversion Rates and Pricing

<p>We've cut down the seventh week of lectures to be even shorter and combined them into one podcast.<br><br><a href="https://twitter.com/ilikevests">Kevin Hale</a> gave both lectures this week. Kevin’s a partner at YC and cofounded Wufoo. His first lecture is on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGqX9fpweyc">how to improve conversion rates</a> and his second lecture is on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwXlo9gy_k4">pricing for startups</a>.<br><br>Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.<br><br>Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: <a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/">https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/</a><br><br>***<br><br><b>Topics</b><br><br>00:00 - Intro <br><br>00:27 - Kevin Hale - How to Improve Conversion Rates<br><br>1:02 - Why we care about conversion rates<br><br>2:02 - Shareware conversion rate is .5%<br><br>2:22 - Casual download games is 2%<br><br>2:32 - Freemium SaaS range from 1.5 to 5%<br><br>3:57 - Knowledge spectrum<br><br>5:52 - The one button interface<br><br>6:37 - What is the call to action? And the magic moment.<br><br>8:02 - What is it?<br><br>8:38 - Is it right for me?<br><br>9:02 - Is it legit?<br><br>9:22 - Who else is using it?<br><br>9:52 - How much? What's the catch?<br><br>10:39 - Where can I get help?<br><br>11:30 - Kevin Hale - Startup Pricing 101<br><br>13:15 - Monetization gives you the biggest bang for your buck<br><br>14:35 - Price thermometer<br><br>16:35 - Mistake 1 - Prices are too low<br><br>16:55 - Mistake 2 - Underestimate costs <br><br>17:08 - Mistake 3 - Don't understand your value<br><br>17:27 - Mistake 4 - Focus on wrong customers<br><br>18:05 - Sales and profit over a product's life<br><br>19:20 - Why is pricing innovation hard?<br><br>21:27 - How to optimize prices <br><br>22:32 - $1B formula<br><br>24:05 - Price and complexity<br><br>26:55 - 10 - 5 - 20 rule<br><br>28:20 - Summary<br></p>