What to Build In-House vs. What to Delegate
A Founder's Guide to Smarter Scaling
Deciding what your team should build internally versus what to hand off isn’t just a cost consideration — it’s a growth strategy. Whether you're a 5-person startup or a 100-person scale-up, knowing when to keep things in-house and when to bring in external support can save time, money, and mental bandwidth.
At Third Eye Technologies, we help companies stay lean and focused by stepping in where you need it most — especially in fractional, tech-enabled, and strategic roles.
🔍 In-House vs. External Help: What’s the Difference?
In-house = You hire full-time or part-time employees to own a function.
External support = You contract specialists, freelancers, or fractional experts to handle a task or role temporarily or on-demand.
The right mix depends on your size, priorities, and how quickly you need to move.
🎯 Breakdown by Company Size
1–10 Employees
You need to move fast, stay lean, and avoid unnecessary overhead.
Bring in external help for:
Bookkeeping & Accounting (hourly or part-time CPA)
Tech Setup & IT Support (freelancers or managed IT)
Web Design & Development (freelance or agency support)
Marketing Strategy (fractional CMO or brand consultant)
Admin/Operations (virtual assistant or flexible ops support)
Keep in-house:
Founder-led Sales & Customer Relationships
Product Vision & Core Development
💡 Pro tip: Fractional executives give you senior-level strategy without the full-time price tag.
11–50 Employees
You're scaling. Systems and specialized expertise become essential.
External support works well for:
IT Infrastructure & Security (especially for compliance-heavy sectors)
Paid Ads & Performance Marketing (agency or consultant)
Data & Analytics Setup (dashboards, integrations, etc.)
Recruiting (especially for technical or niche hires)
Build internally:
Core Engineering Team
Sales Operations / Revenue Enablement
Customer Success
Third Eye helps at this stage by embedding fractional tech leads, system architects, or ops support where needed.
51–100 Employees
You're growing fast, building culture, and tightening operations.
Contract out:
Specialized Consulting (AI/ML, automation, regulatory)
Training & Learning Programs
Technical Implementation (one-time systems builds or migrations)
Keep internal:
HR & Culture Building
Product Management & Data Ownership
Finance Leadership (Controller, FP&A)
We often help teams here with roadmapping, vendor consolidation, and internal efficiency builds.
🧠 Final Take
There’s no universal playbook — but there is a smarter way to scale.
✅ Use external partners for non-core functions or where temporary expertise adds the most value.
✅ Build internally when a role is tied to your company’s identity, values, or long-term product roadmap.
🚀 Want a quick strategy session?
Let’s map out where external support could unlock growth for your team — and help you stay focused on what matters most.
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