Ep. 22 - Pricing Your Product
Steven Haws and Lucian Che Park of Opulo discuss pricing strategies for their open-source hardware products, specifically the Lumen pick-and-place machine and Feeders. They detail the calculation of Bill of Materials (BOM) and Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), including labor and shipping, to determine a Minimum Monthly Obligation (MMO) that the product must cover. The hosts explain their iterative pricing history, moving from a loss-leading DIY kit price to a sustainable $2,000 for the assembled machine, while emphasizing the importance of transparency and value-add. They contrast top-down market-based pricing with bottom-up cost-plus models, advising founders to find a sweet spot that ensures business sustainability without alienating their community.