For getting the business off the ground - there's often a build vs buy question. My rule of thumb is buy for generic build for core. For SaaS/web app aspects?

For getting the business off the ground - there's often a build vs buy question. My rule of thumb is buy for generic build for core. For SaaS/web app aspects? For me, probably a flavor of the PETAL stack i.e. Postgres/MySQL + Phoenix + Liveview + Tailwind. My core is usually some kind of state machine modeled in boring structs and functions. No frameworks - no libraries if I can help it. Pure as possible when possible for core components. Buy over build (No code / Low code / SaaS / Spreadsheets / CRMS / etc) if its generic and not a core concern. Lead management, a lot of Sales, marketing and case/customer service ticketing concerns in a lot of businesses are often good candidates for buying over building. Never buy if the software is a core business capability - write that code yourself if you can. You can avoid a lot of maintenance risk over time this way. The worst case scenario is you ship quickly and don't find a product market fit, so ship quickly for that feedback. The next worst case scenario is you found a fit but your core business capability is tied to a third party tool you don't control and it starts getting in the way. No API? Don't buy. No real-time API in 2021? Probably don't buy. There's good low-code tools but there are also predatory SaaS tools out there that can enact suffering and delays to your business, so weigh that decision carefully.