EA Hired, AI Broke the Store & Build vs. Buy the Eternal Debate

Matt opens with his head already in 2027 — two of the largest projects in Develop's history landed back to back, and now the focus is making sure the sales pipeline is ready to sustain that momentum after the current wave clears. Michael is back from the Toolpath Manufacturing Summit, where he spoke on a panel and came home with renewed clarity on where the business needs to go — and a snowboarding edge sharpening that made him feel like a beginner again.On the marketing side, Develop's website traffic has nearly doubled in a month with no clear explanation — knowledge base pages quietly gaining traction, possibly AI-driven. Michael, meanwhile, shares a costly AI mistake: a Shopify MCP server accidentally deleted product variants from the tumble blast listings, quietly costing an estimated $15–20K in lost revenue over three weeks before anyone noticed. He also breaks down how firing his marketing agency and replacing everything with Claude-connected ad analysis nearly doubled return on ad spend — and how he's now converting five-figure orders directly through the web store.Engineering covers Develop hiring a third mechanical engineer off a shortlist from a previous hiring round, a mechanical engineer transitioning into an IT and account management role ahead of the next growth wave, and a frank debate about daily huddles — whether founders should stay in them or get out. Michael pushes back on Matt stepping away entirely; Matt pushes back on Michael still running Gantt charts himself. The continuous improvements section closes with Matt finally hiring an executive assistant after a six-month search — first applicant on his birthday, first person hired.The episode closes with a long, honest debate about build vs. buy in software: Michael doubling down on his custom ERP despite the security and maintenance risks, Matt arguing you don't build your own CNC just because you can — and both landing somewhere honest about where they actually differ in philosophy.