Episode 6 · 28 Jul 2026

The tools you keep, and the tools that keep you

Exit cost is the least reviewed feature in software. On lock-in, data portability, and the questions to ask before a tool becomes load-bearing.

Show notes

• Exit cost is a product feature whether the vendor designs it or not. Evaluate it on the way in, not on the way out.
• A tool is load-bearing when removing it would change how the team works. Those tools deserve the hardest scrutiny and the shortest contracts.
• Ask for the export before you sign. The quality of a vendor's export tells you how they expect the relationship to end.

Chapters

• The week in five lines
• Exit cost as a feature
• The load-bearing tool test
• Listener mail

Transcript

This episode runs as written notes rather than a recording. The argument, in order.

Every software review compares features on the way in. Almost none compare the cost of leaving, which is strange, because the exit cost is the one number that compounds. Data models, integrations, muscle memory and workflow all accrue to the tool, and every month they make the renewal conversation shorter.

The load-bearing test is simple: if this tool disappeared tomorrow, what would the team actually do? If the honest answer involves panic, the tool is load-bearing, and it deserves a different standard of scrutiny: data export you have tested, not read about; contract terms you can survive; and a vendor whose incentives survive your growth.

None of this argues against commitment. Deep tools are worth committing to. It argues for entering the commitment with the exit priced, so the decision to stay is a decision rather than a default.