I have not navigated a similar transition, but I have studied CS and read tons of business books. I think if you do this and take the development seriously, it

I have not navigated a similar transition, but I have studied CS and read tons of business books. I think if you do this and take the development seriously, it will be a ridiculous good return on investment. The success to Tencent according Mohnish Pabrai was that they had ROI on their developers over 10 years. They just put everything they could in development and if it was too much they would spend the rest on lower ROI categories. Overall 50% ROI. (IIRC). It’s also essentially vertical integration if you do this. If you think it can make your beer taste nicer, as Jeff Bezos put it, then it’s probably worth it. Note that Amazon’s in-house team spawned a new industry. Also, Tesla is currently much ahead on competitors due to their software. I think many car manufacturers underestimate how much Tesla is ahead. The apparently even have their own ERP system called Tesla OS. For attracting and retaining, I think you can definitely do it. There are engineers who like to see physically how their product is being used. Short feedback cycles can be very rewarding. Also, to retain I would look at Napoleon. What is the best for morale? Winning. Give ambitious projects and make them succeed.