We're often asked what we can build. We prefer to say what we refuse to build: it's more informative, and it saves time before any contract is signed.
The real first question of a meeting at Yumea isn't "what can we build for you?". It's "can we avoid building anything at all?". Many agencies sell software. We sell, first, the decision not to build it when it isn't warranted. Three projects out of ten shouldn't exist in the shape they were first described. Saying this publicly means risking a prospect, but it's the only way not to become yet another agency stacking up tools nobody uses six months later.
Three criteria for turning down a project
First, when the brief doesn't match the actual practice: we come watch a day of work, and if the real problem isn't the one presented, we stop, name the gap, and start over. Sometimes starting over cancels the project. Second, when a well-built free tool already exists, not "in theory", really exists for your need. We install it, train your team, and bill only the training. Third, when the construction cost won't be paid back by the savings. We do the maths out loud, in front of you. If it doesn't balance, we say no: even when the client wants to say yes.
Two cases where we said no to ourselves
Kahoot ruled out before building Wine Break. For wine-quiz evenings at Le Petit Musée du Vin, we first tried the tool everyone uses. The format imposed its own shape, couldn't be branded, and the subscription stacked up. Only then did we build. We write code only when nothing fitting exists. IONOS terminated after a risk review. A shared host that, on internal audit, raised issues we couldn't work around cleanly. We paid the cost of leaving rather than the cost of staying. Our clients saw nothing because we prepared the migration before announcing the decision.
Why we tell you this
Refusing before a contract is the only moment where the refusal costs the agency, not the client. After the contract, it's too late. A provider who's never said no to any brief is a provider who'll end up billing you a tool nobody opens.
What we've seen on the ground
A prospect came in with a mobile-app request. After two hours of observation at their site, we told them the real subject was better use of their current Excel, and we offered a half-day of training instead. Project billed: around a tenth of the initial estimate.
FAQ
What do we gain from working with you if you say no so often? Time and money. A project we refuse is a project a competitor would have billed.
Does this apply to communications work too? Yes. We regularly turn down a print project when the real need is editorial, and a website project when the real need is local SEO.
Have a project to run past us, or a doubt to settle? Tell us how you work today. We look first, then say yes. Let's talk →