The "Not Built Here" Syndrome

Early engineers love to build.

It’s why they joined a startup: to create, invent, solve from scratch.

But there’s a trap founders rarely see coming.

A team that builds everything in-house becomes slower, not smarter.

Rolling your own auth?

Custom infra for a team of 4?

Replacing a proven tool because “we could build it better”?

That’s Not Built Here Syndrome.

And it’s expensive.

You’re burning time, not adding value.

You’re solving solved problems — while your actual product waits.

At an early stage, momentum is your moat.

The fastest path to product-market fit rarely starts with reinventing the wheel.

Build where you differentiate. Buy where you don’t.

The Baseline