[xyzzy123]

The flip side of debt is leverage. That is, you get stuff that you "normally" couldn't afford, or can't afford right now. For a smaller investment (maybe all you can afford..) you can achieve bigger outcomes.

Usually in software, this would be shipping "magical" features (that are done in a crappy way behind the scenes) or shipping faster (because you are foregoing some maintenance).

The common business advice is that debt is OK if you're using it for growth (building capital) and I think that analogy loosely holds for software. Obviously it's possible to get dragged down by debt if you overdo it.