In this episode of Founders Future, with host Ammar Elm, we sit down with Dr. Tim J. Smith, the physicist-turned-pricing-guru behind Wiglaf Pricing, who reveals how he's helping Fortune 500 companies like Siemens and Medtronic unlock millions through strategic pricing. With his new AI-powered tool Signi (launching at $500/user/month), Tim is democratizing price segmentation analysis—allowing manufacturers and tech firms to predict negotiated prices instantly without the million-dollar enterprise software implementations. The conversation peels back layers of pricing strategy most founders never consider, from commercial policy design to the surprising size of pricing teams at major corporations (200+ specialists at companies like WM and JB Hunt).

Tim shares hard-won lessons from 24 years in the pricing trenches—including why ChatGPT will never disrupt this space ("your pricing data is your crown jewels") and how economic uncertainty impacts consulting demand. For founders scaling in 2025, he offers a crucial distinction between "forced" vs. "choice" entrepreneurs, emphasizing network-building and constant experimentation over rigid planning. Listeners get an insider's look at Tim's academic rigor (he still teaches at DePaul University) meeting startup hustle as he validates Signi's MVP—proving even PhD-level pricing strategies can be productized for daily use.