Pitfalls of Building Your Own Technology vs. Using an Established Product

When it comes to adopting technology, I’ve noticed a common mistake that many companies make, especially when they’re not very tech-savvy: they try to reinvent the wheel by talking to software development companies that promise to build custom solutions. I’ve seen this firsthand with three insurance brokers I’ve worked with who made the same mistake, and it’s one I’ve seen play out over and over in different industries.

"I often see companies stating they need functionality that is not out there. Trust me, if you need it someone else does also and it has been developed already"

Let’s take CRM systems as an example. The CRM landscape is flooded with options, and many of them aren’t expensive at all—HubSpot, Pipedrive, and countless others are very affordable on a monthly basis. These platforms have already been built, tested, and optimized by millions of users. These companies have invested millions of dollars and years of development into making their CRMs as functional, stable, and user-friendly as possible. So, when you’re going to a software development company and asking them to build something custom for $20,000, what are you really getting? Certainly not the same level of polish, stability, or value.

The mistake I’ve seen a lot of businesses make is that they think they need to have a custom CRM built because their needs are “special” or different. The reality is, these CRM systems are highly configurable. You don’t need to be constantly calling up a development company every time you need a small tweak or change. With platforms like HubSpot or Pipedrive, you can make these adjustments on your own without needing any coding knowledge.

Factor	Custom Development	Using a Product
Cost	Small initial cost, but a large time and resource investment from your prespective.	You pay monthly and get milllions of dollars of resources invested into it by the Saas
Testing	You're the tester; testing is limited and more internal. You have to work through the bugs	Thousands of users test it, with more robust and widespread feedback.
Maintenance	You handle maintenance, updates, and bug fixes internally.	Provider handles updates, patches, and bug fixes with no extra cost.
Integrations	You write your own integrations for each new tool or system.	Out-of-the-box integrations are available and updated automatically as new products emerge.
Security	You manage security protocols and ensure compliance yourself.	Security is handled by a large corporation with a strong reputation and quick response to issues.

What’s even more absurd is how often companies overestimate their own technical abilities. I’ve encountered brokers who thought they could take on the task of building a custom CRM and end up feeling like they’re building a car without knowing how to fix a flat tire. That’s not how this works. If you want something built at that level, you need to have a strong CTO, someone with the expertise to understand the technical complexities and manage a project of that scale. Without that, you're just setting yourself up for frustration, confusion, and an overblown budget.

The real kicker is that these brokers would spend far more time and money on a custom-built solution, only to end up with something that didn’t work as well as an off-the-shelf product. I watched one broker, in particular, go over budget and waste months of time. When it comes to common business needs, especially something as standard as a CRM, you're better off choosing a tried-and-tested platform. You’ll save money, time, and the headache of trying to build something from scratch. Trust me, I’ve seen it all too many times. So if you’re in the market for a CRM, don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re going to build something better than what’s already out there. Go with something like HubSpot or Pipedrive, and leave the heavy lifting to the experts who’ve already done the work.