The New Founder Dilemma: Build vs. Buy vs. Vibe Code

Becoming Dauntless

Should You Buy, Build, or Vibe Code Your Next App? A Founder’s 2025 Guide to Getting Your MVP Out There, Fast

You need an app, and you need it yesterday. Historically, you've had two options: buy one already on the market or build it yourself, either with in-house engineering or outsourced to a dev shop. Now, business owners have a third option: vibe code it. But before you start throwing money (or precious time) at the problem, let’s talk through the options.

1. Buying an Existing App

Pros:

• Speed: Skip the messy toddler phase—get a working product, pronto.

Cons:

• Technical Debt: What’s under the hood? Sometimes it’s spaghetti code.

Best For: Founders who want to launch fast, don’t need a unicorn-level unique feature set, and are okay with a little “make it work” energy.

2. Building From Scratch

Pros:

• Tailored Perfection: Your vision, your rules, your weird little features.

Cons:

• Time & Money: This is the slow, expensive route. No sugarcoating it.

Best For: Businesses with a crystal-clear vision, unique requirements, and the budget (and talent) to pull it off.

3. Vibe Coding for an MVP

Pros:

• Speed Demon: Get your idea into users’ hands in weeks, not months.

Cons:

• Stability Issues: MVPs can be a little…fragile. Expect bugs, duct tape atches and limited scalability.

Best For: Founders who want proof of concept, fast feedback, and minimal upfront investment—especially when you’re not 100% sure the idea will fly.

What’s Right for You?

• Buy if you need to launch yesterday and can live with “good enough.”

• Build if you’re playing the long game and want IP you own.

• Vibe code if you’re testing the waters, love fast feedback, and aren’t afraid of a little chaos.

Dauntless XR recently opened up their engineering services to help founders and small businesses get apps built from scratch or take your vibe-coded MVP and turn it into something stable, scalable, and ready for the big leagues. Whether you want a custom build or just need your MVP to stop breaking, reach out and let’s make it happen.

News You Need to Know About

• AI Can Alleviate What XR Gets Wrong(AR Insider): Mike Boland argues that AI allows XR to sidestep smart glasses limitations by optimizing the design of the display (UI). imo it's a step in the right direction, but TBD if it's enough to make AI glasses/smart glasses mainstream.

• Amazon Deployed Its One Millionth Robot (LinkedIn). This was in the news for approximately 0.3 seconds, but is under-hyped technology. Robots are becoming commonplace, and companies like Dauntless XR are doing the lord's work to roll out digital twins for human-robot interactions so we don't get run over (or enslaved).

• Cloudflare Launched a Marketplace So Websites Can Charge for AI Bot Scraping (TechCrunch).

Saved on Socials

The posts, memes, job postings, and videos that caught my attention this week:

• Why VR Learning Apps Are So Underwhelming (LinkedIn)

• Using AI to Write GovCon Proposals (YouTube)

• AWE 2025 Recap - Why XR Hasn't Gone Mainstream (YouTube Podcast)

• How AI-Powered Mixed Reality Reshapes Human-Machine Interaction (LinkedIn)

Overheard on Slack

Enter the chat. What our devs are talking about…

• “Desperation sells.” - enough said.

• “I should build an agentic AI to help us find potential acquisitions...thoughts?” - Uh yeah. Duh. Do it. Why was this a question?

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