Build Vs Buy
Provides a rigorous, repeatable framework to decide whether a team should build a solution internally or purchase an external product. Use when evaluating a new capability, considering a SaaS tool or vendor, or when someone asks "should we just build this?" Covers time to value, TCO, strategic differentiation, control and risk, and opportunity cost.
Install
$ agentstack add skill-pratikshadake-claude-solo-founder-skills-build-vs-buy ✓ scanned · ✓ verified, works with Claude Code, Cursor, and more.
Security review
✓ PassedNo issues found. Passed automated security review. · v0.1.0 How review works →
- ✓ Prompt-injection patterns
- ✓ Secret / credential exfiltration
- ✓ Dangerous shell & filesystem operations
- ✓ Untrusted network calls
- ✓ Known-malicious package signatures
What it can access
- ✓ Network access No
- ✓ Filesystem access No
- ✓ Shell / process execution No
- ✓ Environment & secrets No
- ✓ Dynamic code execution No
From automated source analysis of v0.1.0. “Used” means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it’s unsafe.
Verified badge
Passed review? Show it. Paste this badge into your README, it links to the public security report.
Links to your public security report.[](https://agentstack.voostack.com/security/report/skill-pratikshadake-claude-solo-founder-skills-build-vs-buy) Reliability & compatibility
Declared compatibility
Compatibility is declared by the source manifest. End-to-end runtime verification is coming, see below.
We're building live execution health for every listing: tool-call success rate, median latency, uptime, and last-checked timestamps, measured, not self-reported. It isn't live yet, so we don't show numbers we can't stand behind.
How agent discovery & health will work →About
Skill: Build vs Buy Decision Engine
Purpose
Provide a rigorous, repeatable framework to decide whether a team should build a solution internally or purchase an external product.
This skill prioritizes:
- speed to value
- long-term strategic leverage
- total cost of ownership
- engineering focus
When to Use
Activate when:
- A new capability is required.
- A SaaS/tool/vendor is being considered.
- Engineers propose building internally.
- Leadership asks: "Should we just build this?"
Required Inputs
If missing, ask the user:
- Problem to solve
- Timeline pressure
- Budget range
- Strategic importance
- Internal engineering capacity
Decision Framework
1. Time to Value
Compare:
- Build delivery timeline
- Vendor onboarding time
Flag high risk if build time > 2× buy time.
2. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Include:
- Engineering build time
- Maintenance burden
- Infra costs
- Vendor pricing
- Switching costs
Project over 24 months.
3. Strategic Differentiation
Classify the capability:
- Core advantage → lean BUILD
- Commodity → lean BUY
- Experimental → lean BUY fast
4. Control & Risk
Evaluate:
- Data sensitivity
- Vendor lock-in
- Reliability requirements
- Compliance constraints
5. Opportunity Cost
Ask:
> What higher-leverage work will NOT happen if we build this?
This is a critical deciding factor.
Scoring Model
Produce:
- Build Score (0–10)
- Buy Score (0–10)
Explain each score briefly.
Final Recommendation Rules
- Score difference ≥ 3 → choose higher
- Difference Advice from a seasoned CTO or startup founder
> not a generic AI summary.
Source & license
This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.
- Author: pratikshadake
- Source: pratikshadake/claude-solo-founder-skills
- License: MIT
Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.
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Versions
- v0.1.0 Imported from the upstream source.