Duckbill
@duckbillhq.bsky.social
Enterprise cloud cost management that actually makes sense. We help you understand what you're spending, negotiate smarter contracts, and optimize ruthlessly.
The internet is losing its mind over Figma's half-billion-dollar AWS bill. But that's only 12% of their Cost of Revenue, which is phenomenal. And Figma doesn't hire idiots. Judging a massive cloud bill without any context is... a bold look.
#finops
#finops
November 12, 2025 at 4:44 PM
The internet is losing its mind over Figma's half-billion-dollar AWS bill. But that's only 12% of their Cost of Revenue, which is phenomenal. And Figma doesn't hire idiots. Judging a massive cloud bill without any context is... a bold look.
#finops
#finops
Does your business partner insist on inverting their trackpad? There is a solution for this sociopathic behavior. We offer a simple, proportional response to one of the greatest sins in modern computing. It involves a burlap sack and a firm commitment to corrective action. #YouveBeenDuckbilled
November 11, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Does your business partner insist on inverting their trackpad? There is a solution for this sociopathic behavior. We offer a simple, proportional response to one of the greatest sins in modern computing. It involves a burlap sack and a firm commitment to corrective action. #YouveBeenDuckbilled
Setting FinOps KPIs sounds smart. In reality, it's a great way to watch an engineer waste three weeks to "save" $45. People will always game the metric, even if it makes zero business sense. Think your team is above that? Bless your heart.
#finops
#finops
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Setting FinOps KPIs sounds smart. In reality, it's a great way to watch an engineer waste three weeks to "save" $45. People will always game the metric, even if it makes zero business sense. Think your team is above that? Bless your heart.
#finops
#finops
So you asked a chatbot to fix your AWS bill. What could possibly go wrong? It'll suggest a "one size fits all" policy that works for most things. For the rest? You've just signed up for catastrophic fees. An AI without context is a financial arsonist.
#finops
#finops
November 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
So you asked a chatbot to fix your AWS bill. What could possibly go wrong? It'll suggest a "one size fits all" policy that works for most things. For the rest? You've just signed up for catastrophic fees. An AI without context is a financial arsonist.
#finops
#finops
You use a CDN like CloudFront to save money on data transfer, right? Adorable. In many cases, you can pay more than sending it directly. It all depends on the geographic lottery of where your users are. Welcome to AWS billing.
#finops
#finops
November 6, 2025 at 4:43 PM
You use a CDN like CloudFront to save money on data transfer, right? Adorable. In many cases, you can pay more than sending it directly. It all depends on the geographic lottery of where your users are. Welcome to AWS billing.
#finops
#finops
Trench warfare was a miserable, protracted conflict. So is cleaning up your AWS account after junior engineers "fix" the Terraform state and then quit. Now you get to spend your days hunting for the expensive, orphaned resources they left behind.
#finops
#finops
November 5, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Trench warfare was a miserable, protracted conflict. So is cleaning up your AWS account after junior engineers "fix" the Terraform state and then quit. Now you get to spend your days hunting for the expensive, orphaned resources they left behind.
#finops
#finops
The Israelites wandered for 40 years seeking the promised land. Your finance team is on a similar journey trying to decode the "EC2-Other" charge on the AWS bill. Spoiler: there is no promised land at the end of this quest. There are only support tickets.
#finops
#finops
November 4, 2025 at 4:43 PM
The Israelites wandered for 40 years seeking the promised land. Your finance team is on a similar journey trying to decode the "EC2-Other" charge on the AWS bill. Spoiler: there is no promised land at the end of this quest. There are only support tickets.
#finops
#finops
When Moses saw the golden calf, he shattered the tablets in rage. That's our reaction to seeing S3 cross-region replication on all buckets. It's a form of financial idolatry that creates horrifyingly large bills. That kind of confidence is... a choice.
#finops
#finops
November 3, 2025 at 4:43 PM
When Moses saw the golden calf, he shattered the tablets in rage. That's our reaction to seeing S3 cross-region replication on all buckets. It's a form of financial idolatry that creates horrifyingly large bills. That kind of confidence is... a choice.
#finops
#finops
A word of advice for your next AWS migration, courtesy of the Old Testament: don't look back. Specifically, don't look back at your data transfer bill, or you too will be turned into a pillar of expensive, artisanal pink Himalayan salt.
#finops
#finops
October 31, 2025 at 3:43 PM
A word of advice for your next AWS migration, courtesy of the Old Testament: don't look back. Specifically, don't look back at your data transfer bill, or you too will be turned into a pillar of expensive, artisanal pink Himalayan salt.
#finops
#finops
Sure, pressurizing a bathroom with a poorly installed bidet is bad. But you know what's worse? Enabling S3 object versioning across the board and forgetting about it. You're creating a data graveyard that will haunt your monthly bill. The therapy will feel like a bargain.
#finops
#finops
October 30, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Sure, pressurizing a bathroom with a poorly installed bidet is bad. But you know what's worse? Enabling S3 object versioning across the board and forgetting about it. You're creating a data graveyard that will haunt your monthly bill. The therapy will feel like a bargain.
#finops
#finops
We believe in radical honesty. The kind that makes you tell a friend his kombucha "tastes like divorce." In that spirit: you don't need four RDS read replicas. Your app just isn't that popular, Greg. It's time to stop over-provisioning for your ego.
#finops
#finops
October 29, 2025 at 3:43 PM
We believe in radical honesty. The kind that makes you tell a friend his kombucha "tastes like divorce." In that spirit: you don't need four RDS read replicas. Your app just isn't that popular, Greg. It's time to stop over-provisioning for your ego.
#finops
#finops
God told Noah to build the ark once. He didn't give him 47 attempts with a buggy IaC template. Every failed run that leaves abandoned resources is a cardinal sin of cloud waste. It's time to repent. Build your infrastructure like you mean it.
#finops
#finops
October 28, 2025 at 3:43 PM
God told Noah to build the ark once. He didn't give him 47 attempts with a buggy IaC template. Every failed run that leaves abandoned resources is a cardinal sin of cloud waste. It's time to repent. Build your infrastructure like you mean it.
#finops
#finops
The biblical figure Job suffered greatly, but at least he could blame a higher power. You, on the other hand, have only yourself to thank for the horrors of your AWS bill. Every trial is self-inflicted. Think this won't happen to you? Oh, there's a word for that.
#finops
#finops
October 27, 2025 at 3:43 PM
The biblical figure Job suffered greatly, but at least he could blame a higher power. You, on the other hand, have only yourself to thank for the horrors of your AWS bill. Every trial is self-inflicted. Think this won't happen to you? Oh, there's a word for that.
#finops
#finops
Remember how King Solomon offered to cut a baby in half? AWS does that every time you split a workload across multiple accounts. Sure, security loves the "isolation," but every new account is another place for horrifying costs to hide.
#finops
#finops
October 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Remember how King Solomon offered to cut a baby in half? AWS does that every time you split a workload across multiple accounts. Sure, security loves the "isolation," but every new account is another place for horrifying costs to hide.
#finops
#finops
The Battle of Antietam was the deadliest day in American history. A close second is the day your finance department discovers a smattering of on-demand instances spread across six AWS regions. Before you cause an accounting catastrophe, learn what to look for.
#finops
#finops
October 23, 2025 at 3:43 PM
The Battle of Antietam was the deadliest day in American history. A close second is the day your finance department discovers a smattering of on-demand instances spread across six AWS regions. Before you cause an accounting catastrophe, learn what to look for.
#finops
#finops
Should you use an AWS reseller? For the most part, no. But there are exactly three situations where they aren't a complete waste of time. If you're just buying AWS from them and getting nothing else, you've just added a useless—and expensive—middleman.
#finops
#finops
October 23, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Should you use an AWS reseller? For the most part, no. But there are exactly three situations where they aren't a complete waste of time. If you're just buying AWS from them and getting nothing else, you've just added a useless—and expensive—middleman.
#finops
#finops
So you want to know how your cloud spend stacks up against the competition? Great. Do you also want to be profoundly mediocre? Chasing benchmarks strips away everything unique about your business. Compete with the only company that matters: yourself, last month.
#finops
#finops
October 22, 2025 at 12:22 AM
So you want to know how your cloud spend stacks up against the competition? Great. Do you also want to be profoundly mediocre? Chasing benchmarks strips away everything unique about your business. Compete with the only company that matters: yourself, last month.
#finops
#finops
Want to start a FinOps program? The secret first step: do almost nothing. Just measure everything and show people the numbers. Let the gentle, persistent shame of a public dashboard work its magic. You'll be amazed how quickly costs go down.
#finops
#finops
October 20, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Want to start a FinOps program? The secret first step: do almost nothing. Just measure everything and show people the numbers. Let the gentle, persistent shame of a public dashboard work its magic. You'll be amazed how quickly costs go down.
#finops
#finops
Is your entire FinOps "team" just one person who looks perpetually haunted? The centralized vs. decentralized debate is a trap. The real answer is a hybrid "Cost Champions" model—like little sleeper agents of fiscal responsibility embedded in your teams.
#finops
#finops
October 18, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Is your entire FinOps "team" just one person who looks perpetually haunted? The centralized vs. decentralized debate is a trap. The real answer is a hybrid "Cost Champions" model—like little sleeper agents of fiscal responsibility embedded in your teams.
#finops
#finops
Trying to negotiate with AWS when your spend is shrinking? You have the negotiating leverage of a wet napkin. The only winning move is not to play. Let your contract expire, slash your costs, and then come back to the table from a position of power.
#finops
#finops
October 16, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Trying to negotiate with AWS when your spend is shrinking? You have the negotiating leverage of a wet napkin. The only winning move is not to play. Let your contract expire, slash your costs, and then come back to the table from a position of power.
#finops
#finops
Missed your AWS spend commitment? Don't panic. AWS has a neat trick with a hidden "available balance" that lets you kick that shortfall down the road, as long as you keep signing new deals. Learn how to play their game.
#finops
#finops
October 16, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Missed your AWS spend commitment? Don't panic. AWS has a neat trick with a hidden "available balance" that lets you kick that shortfall down the road, as long as you keep signing new deals. Learn how to play their game.
#finops
#finops
📺 Live thing alert! We’ve negotiated $9bn in AWS contracts. What can we do for you? Join @mikejulian.com on the livestream with your horrifying bills, embarrassing questions, and big ideas. Launches at 10a PT: duckbillgroup.com/officehours
June 12, 2025 at 4:59 PM
📺 Live thing alert! We’ve negotiated $9bn in AWS contracts. What can we do for you? Join @mikejulian.com on the livestream with your horrifying bills, embarrassing questions, and big ideas. Launches at 10a PT: duckbillgroup.com/officehours
Negotiating an AWS EDP? They’ve got all the cards, but you’ve got options. Let’s talk at our drop-in AWS negotiation clinic, 6/12, 10a PT. Register (it’s free!): duckbillgroup.com/officehours
June 10, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Negotiating an AWS EDP? They’ve got all the cards, but you’ve got options. Let’s talk at our drop-in AWS negotiation clinic, 6/12, 10a PT. Register (it’s free!): duckbillgroup.com/officehours
🚨 Going live!🚨 Drop-in FinOps office hours start at 10:00a PDT. Join the stream with your questions, gossip, and horrifying bills. duckbillgroup.com/officehours
May 22, 2025 at 4:55 PM
🚨 Going live!🚨 Drop-in FinOps office hours start at 10:00a PDT. Join the stream with your questions, gossip, and horrifying bills. duckbillgroup.com/officehours