“Would you give our startup a discount because we’re a startup?” I’ve been asked versions of this question too many times to count. I used to give startups discounted rates on services. That changed for reasons that are a decent lesson in pricing structure and market positioning. This article is based on the below video. I liked the idea of working with startups. Potential rapid growth is exciting. Shaping something meaningful without the bureaucracy of larger organizations is appealing. But giving a discount to startups was always about the emotions and wasn’t rational. Push ROI now prices startup projects at the same rate as any other client. But when priced rationally, delivering consulting or services for startups should cost more than normal rates. Here are four reasons why. More Risk Most startups will fail, and most don’t have enough assets to get a judgment against. This means the risk of going unpaid is very high. It also means if a startup breaches a contract, it’s likely not worth suing over. Effectively allowing the startup to walk away from a contract at any point without real legal consequence. More Work Asking an executive at a makeup company or a local plumber about profit margin, pricing or target market will lead to answers based on experience and data. Asking an early-stage startup founder will lead to a lot of typically unvalidated assumptions. Shocking to some founders, but market research, pricing, and product market fit are part of marketing. So unvalidated assumptions about those critical…Startup Discount