Alex Ghiculescu's Newsletter
Yesterday I talked to two companies that were - at the surface level - in similar situations. A huge potential customer is knocking on the door, far bigger than any existing one. There’s a mixture of excitement and nervousness and everyone is wondering, will we be able to pull it off.
An important question to ask before committing is, do you want the customer? Not the cash, but the actual customer. Everyone who’s dealt with more than a few understands that not all customers are created equal, and some will just be more worth working with than others.
What makes them worth it differs by business. Common good reasons include: they’re in the same industry as other customers we want. They have a recognisable logo. They use the product as we intended (though they might stretch it at the seams).
Common bad reasons include: they will pay lots, or there’s a project plan that looks like we won’t have to do much work, or they will pay for the features they want.
