Key takeaways
- Decide based on differentiation, not feature checklists
- Buy commodity workflows; build what creates your edge
- Customize only when the platform is 80% of the job
Teams waste enormous money arguing about tools. The real question is simpler: does this capability differentiate your business, or is it plumbing?
“Buy the commodity. Build the advantage. Customize only when you’re sure.”
Three paths, three failure modes
A five-question filter
- 01
Is it differentiating?
If customers choose you because of this capability, lean build or deep customize. If not, buy.
- 02
How often does the process change?
Fast-changing internal process favors flexible software you control. Stable commodity process favors SaaS.
- 03
What’s the integration surface?
If it must talk to five systems of record, a thin SaaS with brittle Zapier glue often costs more than a focused build.
- 04
Who owns it in year two?
No owner means buy (vendor support) or don’t start. Custom without an owner becomes abandonware.
- 05
What’s the exit cost?
Can you export data and replace the tool in a quarter? If not, treat lock-in as a first-class risk.
Worked examples
- Email marketing, payroll, basic CRM → buy
- Industry-specific quoting with unique pricing logic → build or heavily customize
- Internal ops dashboard over existing APIs → often build thin, don’t buy a bloated suite
- Auth, payments, file storage → buy primitives, build the product on top
2–4×
Typical cost of reversing a bad buy
1 qtr
Healthy exit window for replaceable tools
80%
Min platform fit before deep customize
Make the decision stick
Write the choice down with the five answers above. Revisit only when the differentiation question changes - not when a salesperson demos a shiny feature matrix.
