Posting this because the pattern seems common and nobody talks about the failure version of it. I ran a consultancy helping fintechs and banks launch innovative payment products. I deliberately didn't want to sell hours, so the model was: license the tooling we'd already built as part of the engagement, and put productized consulting on top. Fixed stages, fixed scope. The model didn't work. Institutions want a vendor or they want a consultant, and being both at once confuses the purchase. Long sales cycles on the licensing side, and the consulting revenue couldn't carry the build. We split the company in April. What I didn't expect: the tool was fine. The payment infrastructure I'd originally built for my own problem back in 2021, then rebuilt into every client enga