[jeffmould]

That's a good point about individual's time being a resource. There are many things I am good at and there are many things I am not so good at. I would gladly pay a premium to a service to have them handle the things I am not good at, especially when just in the startup phase. So while one person may think that saving a buck here is an option, for me that buck may be the difference between being able to continue business, having to hire someone internally, or not having a business at all.

That's another good point about researching services can turn into a black hole. It is almost like the question of what framework/language should I use to build my startup.

[0xCMP]

Exactly, isn't that the reason why startups "need" so much money anyways? To get the best people to solve problems? In that case, it's a one off and you solve the issue. Definitely seems like the smarter business move to me too.