Blog - Lauren Pearl · Lauren Pearl
articleinsightBuild vs. Buy in the age of AI
16 April 2026Profit
Source excerpt
About Blog - Lauren PearlAs a CFO who used to be technical, I specialize in working with engineer founders.And it's in this context that I encountered something interesting this week:I was sitting in a client team meeting and we were discussing updating their financial software stack as they move from seed stage to series AWhich is a typical conversation we have during growth:Lower-cost solutions like Quickbooks, Xero, manual processing, on-the-fly analysis tend to break down when volumes go up, so it's typically when we'll discuss migration to a costlier but better tool.There are lots of factors to consider during an ERP upgrade, CRM build out, or switching providers, but typically for startups, we're most times talking about BUYING software.To date, the rule of thumb is that in the early days, you never think about BUILDING the software.Because building internal software will take time away from your main…
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Apollo layer
What a founder can learn
Founder takeaway
Treat the seed-to-Series A transition as a trigger to reassess financial and operational tooling. When transaction volume makes low-cost or manual systems unreliable, compare buying a more capable platform with building internally—but charge the build option for the engineering time diverted from your core product.
Why it matters
Technical founders may underestimate the ongoing cost of internal tools. A solution that looks cheaper to build can create maintenance work and distract scarce talent, while an appropriately timed software purchase can support growth without adding operational fragility.