We’re in a weird moment where every day there’s a new AI SaaS tool claiming to:

• build agents
• build chatbots
• build workflows
• build entire startups

So what’s the real answer?

🧨 1. SaaS Tools Are Great… Until They Aren’t

They are: - convenient
- quick
- shiny
- easy to demo
- great for prototypes

But they flatten your skillset.

💀 2. SaaS Tools Die Constantly

Startups shut down.
APIs break.
Models change.
Pricing spikes.
Limits appear.

If your system depends on them, you’re trapped.

🤖 3. SaaS Tools Make You a User

Not a builder.

If you want: - mastery
- control
- speed
- freedom
- customisation
- long-term ownership

…you need your own code.

💪 4. What Real Builders Do

They use SaaS tools for: - validation
- quick testing
- reference UX

Then build their own architecture.

Like what we’ve done with Bob + Chad: - planner
- tools
- jail
- self-repair
- Python-first control

That’s something no SaaS tool can replicate.

🚀 5. When SaaS Tools ARE worth using

• Notion AI (quick drafting)
• Perplexity (research assistant)
• Replit Agent (isolated execution)
• LM Studio (local inference)
• HuggingFace Inference (quick model tests)

But the goal is always the same:

Learn enough to outgrow them.