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This conversation happened this week.
A client needed a full infrastructure app.
Multiple modules. Local and production testing.
Bug-free delivery. 3 month timeline.
We spent days going through the scope.
Not hours. Days.
Architecture. Integrations. Edge cases.
What the product needs to actually survive
in production with real users.
My team even reverse-engineered their
existing scripts to understand what
we'd actually be working with.
Then the budget conversation came up.
"My max budget is $25K
for the whole app with all modules."
My honest response?
"That's about 50% of what I was thinking."
I could've said yes.
Taken the $25K.
Cut scope secretly.
Delivered something half-baked.
Blamed the client later for "unclear requirements."
That's what most teams do.
I've never done that.
And I never will.
Because I've been on the other side.
I've cleaned up projects where the previous team
said yes to a budget they knew was too low.
The client always pays twice.
Once for the cheap build.
Once for the rebuild.
So what happened next?
We talked it through.
Found a realistic scope that respects his budget
without compromising what matters.
No fake promises. No inflated timelines.
Just an honest conversation between
two people trying to make it work.
That's the screenshot below.
That's how every project should start.
#SoftwareDevelopment #StartupFounders
https://entalogics.com
I believe it’s best to ask about the project budget in advance—even if it’s just a rough estimate—so we can understand the client’s intentions.
Our team has adopted the practice of offering the client several “packages,” one of which includes their budget. In other words,...
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From one project to a long-term collaboration.
After working together on this SaaS explainer, my client told me they’re looking to build a long-term collaboration and keep bringing more projects from their SaaS clients.
They already have another project coming up next.
For me, this is what good freelance work should lead to:
Good work → trust → repeat collaborations.
Looking forward to what’s next.
I ran a session with my team on how to build a team of AI agents, and how to treat them so they actually deliver.
What we've seen running this setup on client work:
→ Agents running 24/7
→ 3B+ tokens in 6 days
→ A 2-week milestone done in 3 days
The 5 things I taught the team:
Treat agents like teammates, not software.
Give them a clear goal, the right context and tools they're comfortable with.
Tell them the goal, never the solution.
Let the agents propose the options. You make the call.
Talk to one agent, not ten.
A central PM agent takes the goal and coordinates the rest.
Solve today's problem.
Don't build the perfect agent on day one. Start small and let the team grow with the work.
Don't be the bottleneck.
Review at milestones, not every task.
For clients, this changes the pace. My job is understanding the problem and making the decisions. The agents handle the execution.
Highlights from the session 🎥
Building something and want to move faster with an AI-first team? Let's talk.
AI didn't take my job. It became my business partner.
Every designer I know is asking the same question right now: what's left for us when AI can make something pretty in 10 seconds?
Here's my honest answer, from branding and from product.
The way I work has completely changed. Moodboards, variations, mockups, even clickable prototypes: what used to take days now takes hours.
But here's what nobody says out loud: people are making a lot of pretty things. And pretty doesn't build a brand.
Pretty doesn't tell a stranger why they should trust you.
Pretty doesn't make your offer clear in 5 seconds.
Pretty doesn't fix the screen where users give up.
That part is still on me. It's actually most of my job now.
So I stopped seeing AI as a competitor. It does the drafts, I do the thinking, and my clients get both, faster.
Designers, how has AI changed the way you work this year?
Wonderful presentation and I like your thought you shared