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THE LESSON LEARNED
We believe every story our guests have shared has their own touch, and their own lessons to learn from. However, it seems that there are a couple of lessons that keep coming up, and that’s why they deserve their own separate page for you to take notes on.
What begins as a dream project quickly turns into a high-stakes legal battle. This episode unpacks a cautionary tale of trust, missed warning signs, and the business fundamentals that can make—or break—you.
Matthieu Mehuys took on a high-stakes garden project for a wealthy client—only to end up blindsided by delays and an unexpected lawsuit. His story is a powerful lesson in preparation, client expectations, and surviving your first business crisis.
This episode of Client Horror Stories opens with light banter between host Morgan Friedman and longtime UX and product strategist Tamara Adlin, but quickly settles into a story that reshaped how Tamara chooses clients and structures her work.
Tamara Adlin was brought in to help a blockchain startup build smart contracts—but quickly realized the team was rushing ahead without a solid foundation. Her efforts to slow things down for long-term success clashed with the founders’ chaos, leading to a hard but necessary split.
Melinda's nightmare with a rogue procurement officer taught her a core business truth: cash-flow terms matter as much as the contract itself. The chaos resolved, but the lesson stuck: don't absorb a corporation's dysfunction—push the tension back to their side. It's a reminder that experience teaches the real skill: trust your instincts and protect your boundaries.
Melinda Spaulding was blindsided when a client suddenly tried to cancel their contract over billing terms—despite everyone having already agreed on them. What followed was a confusing scramble that ultimately proved the original terms were never the issue at all.