Article · 6 min read

One Simple Rule on When to Build a Custom Feature

Jason Lemkin · SaaStr Free Intermediate

When the big customer's wishlist lands on your desk, this gives you a hard gate instead of a gut call: build the custom feature only if it is already on your 24-month roadmap, the contract is 1+ year and paid a lot (never for a pilot), the customer does not demand exclusivity, and you have met them yourself. Lemkin's reframe is the repeatability test in action: if one enterprise wants it and it fits your roadmap, at least nine more will, so it stops being custom and becomes product direction. His "do 1 to 2, not the 10 to 12 sales asks for" line is the discipline that keeps one account from eating the plan.

• Only build the custom ask if it is already on your roadmap AND a paid 1+ year contract, otherwise it is a services project in disguise.
• If a big customer wants something on your roadmap, treat it as a paid preview of what nine other big customers will want, which is the definition of repeatable.
• Sales will surface 10 to 12 custom features a year; you can only afford 1 to 2 that reshape timing, so the CEO, not sales, holds the gate.