Build, Buy or Partner Memo
Three routes, one cost basis, one horizon — and the reversibility grade that matters more than the number.
What it is
Stops a capability decision being made by whoever is most fluent in the room. States the capability as a job rather than a product, forces build, buy and partner onto one cost basis over one horizon — maintenance in perpetuity, the exit cost nobody models, the margin a partner keeps — then reads differentiation, lock-in, data and IP, recommends, and grades how expensive being wrong would be. For founders and functional leads about to commit a year of engineering, a five-year licence, or someone else's roadmap.
What you receive
a decision memo on whether to build it, buy it or partner for it — the capability stated as a job with the test of whether you need it this year, the three routes costed on one basis over a stated horizon including the costs everyone leaves out, the strategic read on differentiation, lock-in, data and IP, and a recommendation carrying its reversibility grade, its decision date, the conditions that would reverse it and the pilot for where the routes are close
Delivered as a single, complete .md skill file — open it, paste it into any capable chat model, and work. No installation, no account with anyone but us.
Supported models
- Claude (Opus/Sonnet)
- ChatGPT (GPT-4o/5)
- Gemini
- any capable chat model
People reach for it when
- “should we build this ourselves or buy an off the shelf tool”
- “build vs buy decision memo template for leadership”
- “how to compare cost of building software against licensing it”
- “is it cheaper to hire a team or pay a vendor for this capability”
- “how do I present a build buy or partner recommendation to the board”
Record
lineage: first-party house build
gates passed: demand-evidence · function-fit · beats-the-blank-page
status: IN THE COLLECTION
Sale-time bench runs and the fix-or-refund log attach to this record when the payment room opens.
In the collection. The sale room is being fitted; this work goes on sale when it opens.
Join the house — be written to when sales openBack to the collectionLicense
Free-shelf works ship under the DolceDrago House License — use the outputs freely, personal or commercial; the work file itself stays with the house.