Should you charge for a product before users have experienced its value?

I've been thinking about this while building my own software company.

You can spend months developing a product, researching the problem, testing features, and determining what you believe the solution is worth.

But there's a difference between what you believe your product is worth and what someone is willing to pay before they've experienced it.

That's where I'm finding myself as a founder.

I'm considering whether giving people access to the product without charging initially could be more valuable than trying to convert them into paying customers right away.

Not because the product has no value, but because real usage could help establish that value.

There are trade-offs, though.

If you offer too much for free, will people ever pay?

If you charge too early, will people take the chance on something unfamiliar?

And if you limit access too much, can users actually experience enough of the product to understand why they would want it?

I'm beginning to think the decision isn't necessarily about which features should be free.

Maybe it's about what someone needs to experience before they're willing to pay.

For founders who've been through this, did you start charging immediately, offer free access to early users, or change your approach after launch?