The 'Build AND Buy' Hybrid Model
by Austin Hay • Head of Marketing Technology at Ramp
VP of Business Operations at Runway, VP of Growth at mParticle, early employee at Branch Metrics, Reforge Creator
🎙️ Episode Context
Austin Hay demystifies the complex world of Marketing Technology (MarTech), explaining how to scale systems from startup to enterprise. He discusses the critical distinction between marketing ops and martech, offers a future-proof data schema for attribution in a post-cookie world, and shares mental models for decision-making and build/buy strategies.
Problem It Solves
Prevents engineering teams from wasting years rebuilding commoditized tools (like A/B testing engines) or buying rigid tools that don't fit specific business needs.
Framework Overview
A reframing of the classic 'Build vs. Buy' dilemma. Instead of a binary choice, it advocates for buying the commoditized 90% of a solution and investing engineering resources to build the custom 10% on top of it to create unique value.
🧮 Success Formula
When to Use
When evaluating major infrastructure decisions like A/B testing platforms, CDPs, or CRMs.
Common Mistakes
Building an entire platform from scratch because of one specific feature requirement, or buying a tool and refusing to allocate engineering time to integrate it properly.
Real World Example
Buying split.io for the A/B testing engine (Buy) but building a custom internal interface/reporting layer (Build) that fits the company's specific workflow.
You buy the tool to get 90% of the way there and then you build the cool thing on top with the other 10%.
— Austin Hay