"Build one to throw away" feels like it will make you go slower, but you actually go faster overall!

The knowhow acquisition is more useful than the code acquisition.

The code ties you down.

The more you have, the more you have a Lilliputian web of things that are hard to change holding you in place.

The knowhow sets you free.

The knowhow just tunes your intuition; the more you have, the smarter you get.