The Seat Was Always the Lie

Six projects. Six websites sitting on servers somewhere, doing their thing.
UptimeRobot wanted a monthly payment to tell you when one went quiet. Not to fix it. Just to notice it and send you an email.
You built the same thing in a weekend.
That is not the story though. The story is what that weekend means for every piece of software you are paying for right now.
Not everyone needs to build their own uptime monitor. Most people should not bother. But two years ago, building one took time and money that made the $7 plan feel reasonable. Today it takes a free Saturday and something to think about. The math on "just pay for it" is different when the alternative is that close.
This is why a trillion dollars left software stocks in February 2026. Not because everyone started building everything themselves. Because enough people looked at their invoices and realized they had options they did not have before. The threat of building became real. And that threat alone changes what sellers can ask for.
The seat was only valuable when leaving was expensive.
Now leaving costs a weekend.