Frameworks

Proprietary models, methodologies, and diagnostic tools for evaluating your stack.

4 frameworks · 1 in Insider, 2 in Playbook, 1 in Architecture

The Five Locks: How SaaS Vendors Keep You Trapped

Every major SaaS platform uses five mechanisms to make leaving feel impossible. A framework from 16 years inside HubSpot.

Apr 9, 2026 · 10 min read

Framework The Playbook

Should You Leave HubSpot? An Evaluation Framework from a Former Partner

The most locked-in companies have the strongest economic case for leaving, because their ongoing vendor dependency cost is highest.

Updated July 2, 2026 · 11 min read · Reckoning, Part 5

Framework The Architecture

The Sovereign Stack Blueprint: The Architecture Replacing Legacy Software

The five-layer reference architecture for companies building marketing, sales, and web operations on infrastructure they own — outside legacy SaaS.

Updated April 9, 2026 · 18 min read

Framework The Playbook

The Full-Stack Cost Index: A TCO Framework for Build vs. Buy in 2026

Most TCO models stop at the invoice. The Full-Stack Cost Index maps seven cost dimensions — from AI capability ceiling to switching cost asymmetry — that change the math.

Updated June 25, 2026 · 12 min read

The Sunday Briefing.

One email a week. Strategic analysis, architectural teardowns, and insider intelligence for companies building outside legacy software.