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Why Charging From Day One Reveals Real User Demand

21 August 2026 · 40 views · 0 likes · 0 reposts · 77 blog views

Startups decision-making funny philosophy product

Not long ago, I finished reading Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. I loved it from the very first page to the end.

The funny thing is, I didn’t plan to read it - I chose it spontaneously. A couple of months earlier, we’d taken a trip to London, and I wanted to watch it there. After Dune, I realized you should read the book before the movie (because books are x10 better than movies). Movies are great as an addition to the book, but the details, the deep characters, their thoughts - everything gets left out.

Anyway, what I found interesting there, I keep seeing over and over. It’s one of those things you can’t unsee once you notice it: skin in the game (thanks @nntaleb for that). The main character saved one person and lost everything he’d earned because he thought it was aligned with his beliefs.

That’s exactly why you should start charging users from day one. "we love this" doesn’t mean anything. Will they pay? Will they sign?

Behavior under cost is more informative than words.

...and there’s more - I’ll write it down in my next post

Why Charging From Day One Reveals Real User Demand

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