One vague word can wreck your deal.

The discovery calls keep rolling in. Each one feels a little easier than the last.

Most of them come from the work I’ve already put in - posting content on LinkedIn, having conversations in DMs, and showing up consistently in niche communities like Reddit.

The growth is slow and steady, but it’s starting to compound. More people are beginning to recognize my work in fintech, SaaS, and the broader tech ecosystem. It feels good.

But not everything is smooth sailing.

I’m still struggling to book guests for my podcast. Getting people to commit, finding the right voices, juggling schedules - it’s a bit of a mess.

But even that process has reinforced something I’ve come to believe deeply: execution beats overthinking. You figure things out by doing - not by planning them to death.

And that belief showed up again this week, just not where I expected it.

How One Word Quietly Wrecked a Fintech Deal

A few months ago, I helped a fintech founder clean up a revenue-sharing contract that had silently cost him over six figures.

The issue? One single word in the agreement: “transaction.”

At first glance, the setup looked clean. The founder had built a payments product and partnered with a larger platform.

The platform would process payments, and the fintech startup would receive a cut on every transaction. Simple enough.

But after a few months, he noticed something off. His internal dashboard showed over 20,000 transactions that month, but the payout he received only covered 14,000.

He reached out to the partner and asked about the gap. Their response was blunt: “We only count cleared transactions.”

He pushed back: “But we agreed on all payment attempts.” Then both sides pulled up the contract.

And there it was: “Revenue will be shared on each transaction.” That’s it. No definition. No breakdown. No qualifiers.

In Fintech, Word Definitions Are Important

Here’s the problem: the word “transaction” can mean a lot of things.

It could refer to a payment attempt, a successful charge, a cleared fund transfer, or a settled amount after reconciliation. It might even refer to a final value net of chargebacks and refunds.

None of these interpretations are wrong. That’s what makes them dangerous.

When a contract uses a vague word that sounds precise, both sides feel justified in their understanding, and both feel wronged when payouts don’t align.

The Fix Is Simple. It’s Just Uncomfortable.

Most founders skip this kind of detail because it feels “too legal.” It slows down the deal. It makes things feel less friendly.

But skipping it doesn’t remove risk. It just delays the consequences.

Here’s what I recommend every founder do before signing a revenue-sharing or fee-based agreement:

1. Define the word.

What exactly is a “transaction”? Is it any payment attempt? A successful payment? A settled amount in the bank? Spell it out so there’s no confusion later.

2. Clarify the scope.

Do failed payments count? What about refunds, reversals, or partial transactions? Address these in the actual language of the contract—not in side emails.

3. Agree on the timeline.

When does a transaction become final? On payment confirmation? On settlement (T+1, T+2)? The timing can affect everything from cash flow to tax reporting.

4. Handle edge cases upfront.

What happens if a chargeback hits 30 days later? Or a refund is issued after the payout? Your contract should speak to those cases—even if you hope they never happen.

TL;DR - In Fintech, Contracts Break Over Language, Not Code

• Never leave terms like “transaction” undefined.

• Clarify what counts and what doesn’t - on paper.

• Don’t rely on mutual understanding. Rely on definitions.

One Word. Six Figures Lost.

That’s how easy it is to bleed money when contracts are vague.

And the truth is, most of the friction in fintech doesn’t come from product failure. It comes from language failure. Agreements that were written assuming harmony but not designed to handle disagreement.

You don’t need a 30-page contract. You just need one that’s clear where it matters. Especially when revenue is tied to the words.