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I know of a couple of specialized financial product companies where development was funded entirely by the first customer.

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This is an interesting use case, but I don't understand it.

Why fund the development of new software to a third party who will then resell it to your competitors, versus hiring a software shop to develop it and deliver it to you for internal use?

Equity split? lower maintenance costs? I can't really grok such a decision.

If you hire a software shop to deliver it for your internal use, then you're also on the hook to pay for any and all future versions, or they won't get built. If the software isn't going to be your advantage over your competitors, then keeping it to yourself just increases the amount you'll pay for upgrades.

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