Silly question, but while you're still at the making (expensive) mistakes stage, why not set up a cheap on-prem box that can be switched off/trashed with ease?

Silly question, but while you're still at the making (expensive) mistakes stage, why not set up a cheap on-prem box that can be switched off/trashed with ease? When you're satisfied that you've fixed all the obvious weaknesses, move the software to The Cloud. Or am I missing the point?