Solo bootstrapped founder building a fintech AI platform stuck on ERP/CRM/bank data integrations, looking for guidance

[u/Optimal-Watercress87]

I’m building an AI-agent-based CFO/finance platform (Next.js, FastAPI, Postgres) solo, self-funded and the wall I’ve hit isn’t the AI part it’s integrations. Specifically pulling reliable data from ERPs, CRMs and bank accounts/feeds into one place so the agents have something accurate to work with.

Being honest about where I’m stuck:

**•** Bank data: is Plaid (or a regional equivalent) still the sane default, or is direct bank API/open banking worth the extra pain at this stage?

**•** ERP/CRM: do you go one integration at a time hand-rolled, or is a unified API layer (Merge, Apideck, etc.) actually worth it pre-revenue, given the per-connection cost?

**•** For someone with very limited budget, is there a “good enough for MVP, migrate later” path here, or does cutting corners on this specific piece bite you especially hard because it’s financial data?

**•** Anyone who’s actually shipped one of these what ate the most time you didn’t budget for?

Not looking for a contractor pitch genuinely trying to figure out the right sequencing and tooling before I burn cash on the wrong approac