When selling innovative tech to risk-averse enterprises, don't build for their needs today; build for the future they will be forced into by competitive pressure. The strategy is to anticipate the industry's direction and have the solution ready when they finally realize they are being left behind.

When deciding to build or buy, the key factor is strategic importance. Never cede control of technology that is core to your unique value proposition to a vendor. Reserve outsourcing for necessary but commoditized functions that don't differentiate you in the market.

While it's tempting to build custom AI sales agents, the rapid pace of innovation means any internal solution will likely become obsolete in months. Unless you are a company like Vercel with dedicated engineers passionate about the problem, it's far better to buy an off-the-shelf tool.

When facing a major technical unknown or skill gap, don't just push forward. Give the engineering team a dedicated timebox, like a full sprint, to research, prototype, and recommend a path forward. This empowers the team, improves the solution, and provides clear data for build-vs-buy decisions.

Large enterprises don't buy point solutions; they invest in a long-term platform vision. To succeed, build an extensible platform from day one, but lead with a specific, high-value use case as the entry point. This foundational architecture cannot be retrofitted later.

Instead of large, multi-year software rollouts, organizations should break down business objectives (e.g., shifting revenue to digital) into functional needs. This enables a modular, agile approach where technology solves specific problems for individual teams, delivering benefits in weeks, not years.

To transform a product organization, first provide universal access to AI tools. Second, support teams with training and 'builder days' led by internal champions. Finally, embed AI proficiency into career ladders to create lasting incentives and institutionalize the change.

If your team lacks development expertise, don't hire an agency to build a complex SaaS. Instead, build a simpler product that aligns with your skills, such as a no-code app or a small utility. This approach avoids unmanageable technical debt and agency dependency.

When engineering teams claimed they could build a solution themselves, Nexla's founder agreed. He then reframed the problem not as a one-time technical challenge, but as an endless, repetitive maintenance task that was not a "career growing trajectory" for talented engineers, making the "buy" decision a strategic move for the engineering manager.