#12 We walked away from $100,000 and it saved our Business.
Why firing customers can be the smartest move you ever make.
Dear readers,
I’m back from holiday! Italy was as beautiful as ever, it just never disappoints. 🇮🇹
I return with fresh ideas and new energy, and I’m excited to dive back in. This week I’ll be at the Tony Robbins event in Cologne. If anyone else is going, let me know, would be great to connect!
I’ll likely share an article soon about the experience.
Best, Xaver
If you missed my last article. Feel free to check it out here.
This week's article is brought to you by Lovable. I said yes because I actually use their no-code platform myself. It makes building and launching products so much faster, and I genuinely enjoy the process.
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In this week’s article I want to talk about something that sounds completely crazy at first.
Something every founder resists but is essential for survival.
And say no to opportunities that could make you thousands of dollars.
You have to quit customers.
Back in 2018, my co-founder and I were constantly on the road. Pitching. Presenting. Talking to almost every company we could find. We didn’t have a clear ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) yet, so we tried every industry and every use case.
In most cases, those conversations were valuable by talking to so many different customers, we managed to build a platform that worked across almost every industry.
Of course, not every company saw the same level of success with it. That’s normal in B2B. Churn happens, and you expect a certain percentage of customers to drop off.
But then there was one client who stood out.
The only time in five years where we had to terminate a contract - not the other way around.
It was worth $100,000, about 10% of our total revenue at the time.
Why would any sane founder walk away from that? Especially when revenue is so essential for survival?
Here’s why.
From the very first negotiation, the signs were there.
Weeks of back-and-forth.
Endless discount requests.
“If you don’t lower the price, we’ll just go to a competitor.”
Demands like “Tomorrow 9am you have to show up - it’s the only time we can make.”
Against our better judgment, we signed.
And it turned into a nightmare.
They treated us like a supplier, not a partner.
They demanded a dedicated project manager (for free) even though this was no part of the contract.
They pushed us to build custom features just for them (for free).
They made us present at their yearly summit, like a checkbox vendor.
The worst part?
Our team hated it. One of our project managers almost quit. We spent weekly leadership meetings discussing nothing but their problems. The entire company’s energy was being drained.
Eventually, we made the hardest call a founder can make.
We canceled the contract. Paid them back in full. And moved on.
Looking back - it was the best decision we ever made.
From that day on, we set a new rule:
If it feels wrong in the sales process, we don’t proceed.
Because yes, as founders we deliver technology. We provide solutions.
But business is still about people. And if people treat you with disrespect in the beginning, it only gets worse once they’re a customer.
Firing that customer taught me something no investor deck or growth hack ever could:
Sometimes protecting your team, your energy, and your culture is worth more than any revenue number.
And ironically?
Once we walked away from bad-fit customers, the right customers showed up.
Ones who valued us, paid fairly, and helped us grow.
Good customers are the ones who want to pay a premium.
They get so much value from your product that they refer you to others without you even asking.
For us, one of those was our first and biggest customer: O2 Germany.
They didn’t just buy the product, they became a true partner.
They referred us into the entire Telefónica group.
They connected us with key stakeholders also of other not related companies.
They actively shaped the product with us.
If there was an outage, they were the first to report it and the last to complain.
When problems came up, they gave constructive feedback instead of blaming or threatening to leave.
They were always happy to do referral calls.
That’s what great customers do.
And it’s why finding the right customers is absolutely essential to a startup’s success.
The wrong ones can slowly kill your company.
The right ones can make it take off.
But how to find the right ones?
1. Start With Your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
Define: industry, company size, budget, geography, pain points.
Think about who could be your ideal customer. You know who it could be.
For us, it was simple: the more customer requests a company had, the more valuable our solution became. That’s why we first started by targeting larger companies with high support volume.
2. Look for Pain
The right customers have a pressing pain they’re desperate to solve.
Wrong customers are “curious” or “exploring” but never commit.
Test this by asking: “What happens if you don’t solve this problem in 6 months?”
O2 Germany, for example, didn’t just struggle with high support volumes. They also faced a shortage of customer support agents and could no longer hire enough staff to keep up.
3. Watch Their Behavior
Do they reply fast?
Do they bring decision-makers into calls?
Do they push the deal forward without constant chasing?
If you’re always dragging them along, they’re probably not right.
4. Test Willingness to Pay Early
The best validation is money.
Even a small pilot payment shows seriousness.
Discounts are okay but beware of customers who only engage if it’s free.
5. Look for Partners, Not Extractors
Good customers give feedback, make intros, and celebrate wins with you like O2 Germany did.
Bad customers only demand discounts, custom features, and threaten to churn.
Red flag: if they treat you like a supplier before signing, it won’t improve after.
6. Analyze Customer Economics
Right customers are profitable: high ACV (annual contract value), low support cost.
Wrong customers drain your team: endless requests, low margins, high churn.
At the end of the day, finding the right customers isn’t just about revenue.
It’s about energy.
It’s about momentum.
It’s about building with people who see you as a partner, not a vendor.
Bad-fit customers can drain your team and destroy your culture.
The right customers will push you forward, open doors, and grow with you.
As founders, we don’t just choose what to build.
We choose who to build with.
And that choice can make or break your company.
Next article?
