Hold the margin line - willing to walk from bad-economics deals (currently applied to Rakuten)

Situation

In his 1:1 with Baek, Peter articulated a generalized stance and named its current target: stop playing the tell-the-customer-yes-to-anything game, and hold a hard line even if it means losing the deal. He will not spend 2M to capture 400K. He confirmed this is a generalized principle that at this moment absolutely applies to Rakuten as those negotiations finalize.

Reasoning

Margin discipline over top-line vanity: a deal that costs more to serve than it returns is a net drain regardless of logo value. Saying yes to everything erodes the engineering org and trains customers and sales to expect unlimited scope. Better to lose a bad-economics deal cleanly than win it and absorb a structural commitment the team cannot staff.

Additional Context

Confirmed by Peter as a generalized stance currently applied to Rakuten as negotiations finalize. The 6/17 internal sync covered two CentOS-extended-support pricing scenarios for Rakuten; the RFQ response was due around Thursday 6/18.

Observed Evidence

Direct quote in Baek 1:1; Peter confirmed it is a generalized stance currently applying to Rakuten.

Confidence Breakdown

Reasoning Depth Analysis