I really enjoyed this. I try to run my team similarly.
Where I disagree slightly is vendors. If the need filled by the vendor is well-defined and low-complexity, sure, I'll go for it. Otherwise, I'm doing it in-house nine times out of ten.
Where this starts to get tricky is when some worthy competitors emerge, utilizing your foundation to scale quicker and more effectively. Then you might wish you had hired more people earlier. But overall, I think starting from this perspective is a lot safer than the opposite.
Where I disagree slightly is vendors. If the need filled by the vendor is well-defined and low-complexity, sure, I'll go for it. Otherwise, I'm doing it in-house nine times out of ten.
Where this starts to get tricky is when some worthy competitors emerge, utilizing your foundation to scale quicker and more effectively. Then you might wish you had hired more people earlier. But overall, I think starting from this perspective is a lot safer than the opposite.