The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors SaaStr 842: The 90/10 Rule for AI Agents: What to Build vs Buy with SaaStr's CEO and CAIO
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Feb 18, 2026 
Amelia Lerutte, SaaStr's Chief AI Officer who builds AI agents and apps, walks through the 90/10 rule: buy 90% off-the-shelf, build the 10% you cannot find. She describes creating an AI VP of Marketing and a vibe-coded sponsor portal using Claude Cowork. They discuss SSO, spec-first vibe coding, parsing 150+ contracts in hours, maintenance trade-offs, and the jaw-drop test for AI products.
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Buy 90%, Build 10%
- Buy 90% of what you need and only build the 10% you cannot find or that is proprietary.
- Avoid rebuilding complex categories like CRMs; focus on niche or high-impact gaps instead.
Where Vibe Coding Actually Wins
- Vibe coding is ideal for rapid prototyping, internal tools, and simple custom replacements, not entire platforms.
- Most people use it for prototypes first, then internal tools, and only rarely to replace full SaaS products.
Rebuilt Sponsor Portal With Claude
- Amelia rebuilt a sponsor portal because existing event SaaS had zero AI and lacked key features like persistent SSO.
- She used Claude Cowork plus Replit to spec, implement, and test the portal rapidly in production-ready form.