Free Lesson

How to Make the Build-Buy-Partner Call on AI Capabilities

Part of The AI Bet: Adding AI to Products That Already Work

30 min
Jul 15, 2026 1:00 PM
Virtual (Zoom)

In this video

What you'll learn

Evaluate AI Sourcing as a Capital Decision

Assess whether to build, buy, or partner for AI based on cost, control, and strategic trade-offs.

Avoid the Two Most Expensive AI Sourcing Mistakes

Recognize when over-building burns capital and when vendor dependency creates lock-in you can't escape.

Defend the Sourcing Call to Executive Leadership

Frame your AI sourcing recommendation in the language of capital allocation, not engineering preference.

Why this topic matters

Your engineers want to build it. Your leadership wants to buy it. Both can be wrong — and the tell is a number most leaders can't quote. Learn to place any AI capability on the build-buy-partner spectrum using a break-even line and the "own your orchestration" rule, treating it as capital allocation, not an engineering preference. Bring the debate you're having now; leave with a defensible call.

You'll learn from

Elena Leonova

Elena Leonova

Founder & CPO, OneRank.io, ex-CPO @ Spryker, VP of Product @ BigCommerce

Previously at

eBay
PayPal
BigCommerce
Spryker Systems
See all products from Elena