Tameem Hourani

It's given us a ton of flexibility to do whatever the hell we want to do. The more people I talk to, the more it's not that common.

So very big sporting company that I may not name because they'll probably sue us. They came to us and I made COVID. I don't remember the exact time. And they're like, hey guys, we need you to do this work for us. We're easy to work with. We have this, that, the other thing. We're really small. We're probably like 15, 25 at the time. We have no legal team, right?

So very big sporting company that I may not name because they'll probably sue us. They came to us and I made COVID. I don't remember the exact time. And they're like, hey guys, we need you to do this work for us. We're easy to work with. We have this, that, the other thing. We're really small. We're probably like 15, 25 at the time. We have no legal team, right?

So very big sporting company that I may not name because they'll probably sue us. They came to us and I made COVID. I don't remember the exact time. And they're like, hey guys, we need you to do this work for us. We're easy to work with. We have this, that, the other thing. We're really small. We're probably like 15, 25 at the time. We have no legal team, right?

So we're just, we'll review a contract and then sure enough, we'll sign it. So we're really excited about working with them. Like every single person, I would say, I don't know, 90% of the world's population knows this brand. We get the deal going. We start working with them. They want to migrate to Datadog.

So we're just, we'll review a contract and then sure enough, we'll sign it. So we're really excited about working with them. Like every single person, I would say, I don't know, 90% of the world's population knows this brand. We get the deal going. We start working with them. They want to migrate to Datadog.

So we're just, we'll review a contract and then sure enough, we'll sign it. So we're really excited about working with them. Like every single person, I would say, I don't know, 90% of the world's population knows this brand. We get the deal going. We start working with them. They want to migrate to Datadog.

Once we're going, we realized, I realized probably halfway through it, it was a fixed fee contract. For those who don't know what that means, it means you got to get everything done before you get paid. In our industry, there's two kind of general types of contracts. There's fixed fee and time materials. Time materials says you get paid for the time you spend on the project.

Once we're going, we realized, I realized probably halfway through it, it was a fixed fee contract. For those who don't know what that means, it means you got to get everything done before you get paid. In our industry, there's two kind of general types of contracts. There's fixed fee and time materials. Time materials says you get paid for the time you spend on the project.

Once we're going, we realized, I realized probably halfway through it, it was a fixed fee contract. For those who don't know what that means, it means you got to get everything done before you get paid. In our industry, there's two kind of general types of contracts. There's fixed fee and time materials. Time materials says you get paid for the time you spend on the project.

Fixed fee says you don't get paid for anything until the work's done. They kept changing the goalposts and they kept changing the scope and they kept pulling in. And anytime we said, guys, you can't do that, they would threaten us with legal. Miserable project. And I can really understand why people shy away from getting into consulting because of this kind of thing.

Fixed fee says you don't get paid for anything until the work's done. They kept changing the goalposts and they kept changing the scope and they kept pulling in. And anytime we said, guys, you can't do that, they would threaten us with legal. Miserable project. And I can really understand why people shy away from getting into consulting because of this kind of thing.

Fixed fee says you don't get paid for anything until the work's done. They kept changing the goalposts and they kept changing the scope and they kept pulling in. And anytime we said, guys, you can't do that, they would threaten us with legal. Miserable project. And I can really understand why people shy away from getting into consulting because of this kind of thing.

Like you can have a really tough customer that makes you not want to keep doing it. And it was like, I think it was like a six week project that I'm taking more than a year. And then at the end of it, we're like, guys, just take your money back. We're out. We don't like, we don't want anything to do with this anymore. We don't charge you. We're just, we give up.

Like you can have a really tough customer that makes you not want to keep doing it. And it was like, I think it was like a six week project that I'm taking more than a year. And then at the end of it, we're like, guys, just take your money back. We're out. We don't like, we don't want anything to do with this anymore. We don't charge you. We're just, we give up.

Like you can have a really tough customer that makes you not want to keep doing it. And it was like, I think it was like a six week project that I'm taking more than a year. And then at the end of it, we're like, guys, just take your money back. We're out. We don't like, we don't want anything to do with this anymore. We don't charge you. We're just, we give up.

Since then, we never did any more fixed fee without really scrutinizing the scope of the project, something like that. If we didn't go through that, we would have never learned to not do fixed fee and could have been burned by something a lot worse. But I'll never forget that project. And if anyone on the team ever listens to this podcast, they'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

Since then, we never did any more fixed fee without really scrutinizing the scope of the project, something like that. If we didn't go through that, we would have never learned to not do fixed fee and could have been burned by something a lot worse. But I'll never forget that project. And if anyone on the team ever listens to this podcast, they'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

Since then, we never did any more fixed fee without really scrutinizing the scope of the project, something like that. If we didn't go through that, we would have never learned to not do fixed fee and could have been burned by something a lot worse. But I'll never forget that project. And if anyone on the team ever listens to this podcast, they'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

We still make fun of it.