You cannot have a conversation on company-building without talking about #pricing and #monetization. We had Simon-Kucher’s Madhavan Ramanujam, author of Monetizing Innovation share his thoughts with #Surge 03. Some key takeaways:

1. The question is not if you’ll have a #pricing and negotiation conversation with your customers. It’s when you’ll have it. If you have it early you can design your products around what your customers need and value.

2. Your customers are not in a negotiation mindset at that point so they’ll give you rational advice + critical information around what’s important to them. End of the day it’s not enough to have #PMF. You need a product-market-pricing fit.

3. Price before product is the No 1 factor for co’s that have blockbuster commercial success. This information is hyper important. It maximizes your chance of success & enables you to commercialize & monetize your innovations.

4. If you didn’t put pricing as part of your PMF validation then you’re simply hearing what you want to hear. Without the willingness to pay conversation you cannot prioritize and focus on your roadmap.

5. When segmenting customers, remember 1 size fits none. There isn't a single market where needs of customers are all homogenous. Think of segments as clusters of customers willing to pay diff $ for the same product. Use demographic+behavior to predict membership into the segment

6. And then productize to that price point. Don’t just price your product. The war is won not by positioning - but by productizing to different segments.

7. Consumers are value conscious, not price conscious. Price is a measure of value. Don't talk about your product features, communicate their value. Value communication is the key to price increase. The cost is the consequence.

Then you gotta use @InVideoOfficial! Watch with 🔊 On and watch the full song here - youtu.be/kJA4YE8mqc8

"As you choose learning and development programs and themes for your employees, don’t introduce everything to everyone because this results in nothing for no one. Don’t try to solve for 100 skills and 100 mindsets." Nellie Wartoft @TigerhallAsia Surge #learningmindset

"When your job comes naturally to you, then you get paid for doing what you love." Shivam S @lovefromyours speaking to Oliver Lo on all things marketing.

If you see a product that you absolutely love and it’s a startup: send the founder a note telling them what you love about it. They usually reply. Be creative about how you reach out to companies. You SHOULD be creative – you’re a marketer. Shivam S Oliver Lo #marketingjobs

Asia is no longer ‘the future’. Asia is Now. We have unique opportunities to build from the ground up and transform our industries. We’re looking at over a trillion $ of market cap being built in tech over the next decade. Rajan Anandan #surge03 Thread 👇

7/‘Growth at all costs’ is so 2019. Don’t build a 2019 company in 2020. Be fast, but not mindlessly so. It’s ok to have new ideas, but don't try to execute one every day. Regular execution is not glamorous and exciting, but it’s like your health. You have to keep it going.

“800,000 small merchants and retailers across 700 cities and districts on its platform with value of transactions exceeding $1.3B.” Congratulations BukuKas on raising Pre-Series A & for leading the charge on digitizing Indonesia’s MSMEs! Surge techinasia.com/exlazada-execs…

“Is there simplicity in it or not?” – that’s what Krishnan Menon and the BukuKas team ask themselves with every idea. It’s a process that’s seen the app’s users surge over the past 6 months. Find out how it’s #digitizing #SMEs in this chat with ex-Sequoia India’s Aakash Kapoor.

New things have to be learned as you go from early stage to growth stage and the journey is a long one. G V Ravi Shankar talks to #Surge03 #startups about each stage of a company’s growth and how to keep learning and evolving as a founder. #getreadytosurge Thread 👇

Founders in SEA, something for you. Have a fantastic product/company that you want to showcase to successful founders, investors & business leaders in the region? Apply for one of SEA’s largest live pitch battles. Coming soon…to a virtual stage near you! youtube.com/watch?v=G6LnM1…

Application link here: conference.techinasia.com/startup-arena/

“I don’t know if we will be the most successful VC firm, or remain the largest firm, years on. But I do know when it comes to founders, we will be the hardest working firm.” Peak XV What I ❤️ about each day I spend @Sequoia_India. #TechSparks2020