Working with a PhD student to do economic analysis is overkill for an early stage startup.
I would use the methods outlined by other commenters to create a set of potential price points. Pick the highest one and revise downward (or upward) as needed.
If you're solving a real pain point, there's a set of early adopters who will pay a high price for your solution. If this isn't true then I would examine product / market fit.
Mistakes to avoid:
1. Doing a "name your price" promotion.
2. Thinking you've found the golden ticket of pricing and sticking with it. Pricing should be scrutinized early and often.
3. Charging too little. At least some users and reviewers of your product should be commenting that perhaps your pricing is too high. You're charging too little if no one is complaining about pricing. Of course, you've charged too much if everyone complains.
I would use the methods outlined by other commenters to create a set of potential price points. Pick the highest one and revise downward (or upward) as needed.
If you're solving a real pain point, there's a set of early adopters who will pay a high price for your solution. If this isn't true then I would examine product / market fit.
Mistakes to avoid:
1. Doing a "name your price" promotion.
2. Thinking you've found the golden ticket of pricing and sticking with it. Pricing should be scrutinized early and often.
3. Charging too little. At least some users and reviewers of your product should be commenting that perhaps your pricing is too high. You're charging too little if no one is complaining about pricing. Of course, you've charged too much if everyone complains.
Finally, how you present the value of your product is perhaps more important than the pricing. See here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704240004575085...