“Should we build it or buy it?” is one of the most consequential — and most muddled — decisions a growing business makes. Get it wrong and you either pay forever for software that doesn’t fit, or sink money into building something you could have bought for a fraction.
Start with the question behind the question
The real question isn’t “build or buy?” It’s: is this process a source of competitive advantage, or is it a commodity? Commodity processes — email, accounting, payroll — should almost always be bought. The moment a process is how you actually win, off-the-shelf tools start forcing you to operate like everyone else.
Five signals that point to custom
- You’re paying for multiple tools and still bridging them with spreadsheets.
- Your team has invented workarounds because the software won’t do what you need.
- Per-seat licence costs are scaling painfully as you grow.
- The process is genuinely specific to how you operate.
- You need to own the data and the roadmap, not rent them.
Five signals that point to buying
- The process is standard and well-served by mature products.
- You need it next week, not next quarter.
- The total cost of ownership of custom clearly outweighs the benefit.
- The domain is heavily regulated and certified products de-risk you.
- You’d be rebuilding something that already exists and works.
The hybrid reality
Most businesses end up somewhere in between: buy the commodities, build the advantage, and integrate the two well. That integration layer — making your tools actually talk to each other — is frequently where the biggest, fastest payback hides.
If you’re not sure where a given process sits, that’s exactly what a short Discovery Sprint is for: we map it, model the payback, and tell you honestly which way to go.