> So: they had the money, and they had cause to spend it, but they chose not pay you for your service, and as a result they likely paid more in the long run. T

> So: they had the money, and they had cause to spend it, but they chose not pay you for your service, and as a result they likely paid more in the long run. That's one possibility. Another, and one that I think is more common with startups (majority are people using their own savings and family/friends, not raising millions from seed rounds) is that they really didn't have that much money up front, but paying a cheaper way allowed them to minimally get a product out the door until they had enough revenue to "do it right."