Field Notes - Jan 2, '26

Executive Signals

• Build is the new buy: agents plus on-demand infra collapse time-to-demo and integration debt
• Spec is the product: black-box assistant yields optionality, partner integrations, monetization paths
• BATNA by building: visible progress lowers price and de-risks Day 1
• Fractional-first beats headcount: pre-V1 thrash rewards one owner with spikes
• Secure-by-default is the unlock: HIPAA/SOC2 baselines turn review into a checkbox for IT

CEO

Build Overtakes Buy for Assistants

The calculus flipped. With modern agents and on-demand infra, time-to-demo collapsed for focused scopes. For a black-box assistant without enterprise integrations, you can ship credible demos fast and avoid inherited baggage. Expect early velocity followed by hardening, and plan to throw away V0.x.

• Choose build if close plus integration exceeds 12–16 weeks
• Constrain scope to the black-box assistant; defer integrations
• Plan for a hardening phase and disposable V0.x branches

Buying Buys Debt and People Problems

Acquisitions rarely dock cleanly. You inherit tech you do not need, integration tails, and founder or key-architect attrition risk. Teams sized for the build phase can be overkill once the system stabilizes.

• Price the integration tail and hidden replatforming into the deal
• Assume partial senior attrition; design for a smaller steady-state team
• Validate that must-keep components are fewer than sunsettable ones before signing

Start the Build to Strengthen Your BATNA in M&A

Even if acquisition is likely, a visible internal build reduces willingness to pay and creates a credible walk-away. It also de-risks Day 1 by ensuring a usable demo regardless of deal timing.

• Kick off the build before LOI; share milestones during diligence
• Tie offer validity to a timeline so delays are visibly costly
• Set a go or no-go date when the internal path becomes default

Fractional-First Beats Hiring a Big AI Team Pre-V1

Early phases are thrashy. One accountable owner with fractional specialists in one-week spikes out-executes a newly hired team still forming. Run tight ship-test-delete loops until patterns stabilize, then hire.

• Appoint one owner; run weekly ship-test-delete cadences
• Use fractional experts surgically; avoid a standing army pre-V1
• Recruit the core team only after V1 patterns stabilize

Product

Design the Assistant as a Black Box with a Spec-First Interface

Treat the assistant as its own product with a clean contract. Spec-first design yields speed now and optionality later: internal plug-and-play, partner integrations against your spec, and the option to monetize the box separately.

• Publish API, event schema, and auth once; dock everything to it
• Provide a BYOI spec so adjacent teams integrate to you, not vice versa
• Keep the data boundary explicit to streamline security review

Engineering

Secure-by-Default From Day 1 Speeds Enterprise Adoption

Build as if all data were sensitive. HIPAA and SOC 2-grade defaults turn security review into a checkbox and let IT say yes without slowing the roadmap.

• Encrypt in transit and at rest; rotate secrets; minimize data by design
• Centralize audit logs and access controls; enforce least privilege
• Treat PII like PHI to avoid special-case paths later