From Poverty to Pricing Power | Why Great Companies Undercharge
Casey Brown didn’t grow up thinking she would become an entrepreneur.
She grew up in a blue-collar family where money was always tight — close enough to the edge that the fear of poverty shaped many of her early decisions.
That fear led her into engineering, into corporate America, and eventually into a moment where she had to decide: Stay safe… or take the risk.
In this episode of Get Vertical!, Casey shares how she went from:
• First-generation college student
• Engineer at GE
• Corporate leader
→ To building a firm that helps companies price with confidence and unlock millions in value.
But this conversation goes deeper than business.
It’s about:
• Fear and how it shapes decisions
• Imposter syndrome and breaking through it
• Why so many companies underprice their value
• The human impact of better pricing (families, communities, employees)
• And what it really means to do work that matters
This is a story about doing something extraordinary — not because the path was clear, but because the alternative wasn’t acceptable.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:01 Growing Up on the Edge of Poverty
02:24 Choosing Engineering Out of Fear
03:47 Corporate Career & Early Success
05:06 The Fear That Almost Stopped Her
05:49 Redefining Risk & Taking the Leap
06:18 Breaking Out of Rural America
08:37 Culture Shock & Starting Behind
10:37 Grit, Stubbornness, & Survival
12:14 The “Proving” Mindset
14:26 Early Career & Imposter Syndrome
18:43 Defining Success & Big Wins
19:07 Casey’s “Why” — Pricing & Impact
20:29 The Real Impact of Better Pricing
21:45 Confidence, Negotiation & Culture Shift
24:48 From Proving to Purpose
27:11 Overcoming Failure & Mindset Shifts
28:25 Authenticity at Work
31:00 Adventures, Risk & Kayaking
31:47 AI, Work, and the Future of Jobs
36:42 The Coming Skills Gap
39:32 Redefining Work & Value Creation
43:09 Education, Trades & Career Shifts
44:09 Life Outside of Work
46:35 Where She’d Go Next
47:01 Life Beyond Business
Casey Brown is a pricing expert, speaker, and the founder of Boost Pricing, where she helps companies rethink their pricing and unlock meaningful profit growth. She has helped thousands of businesses generate over $1 billion in incremental profit and is known for translating complex pricing concepts into practical, actionable steps for leaders and sales teams. With a background spanning engineering and leadership roles at GE and AkzoNobel, she combines operational expertise with deep insight into value-based pricing.
