16 minute read · 5 May 2026
The wrong unit of measurement
On hourly billing, fixed-fee projects, SaaS subscriptions, and what becomes possible once AI cost structures eliminate the bootstrap problem agencies have always tripped on.
The argument
Price the outcome, not unverifiable inputs.
Hourly, fixed-fee, and subscription pricing are structurally misaligned in different ways. The literature has pointed at the alternative for forty years; AI cost structures finally make it practical at agency scale.
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