Choosing the Right Tech Stack for Your Startup
A practical guide to selecting technologies that will serve your startup well, based on our experience building dozens of products.
Choosing the Right Tech Stack for Your Startup
"What tech stack should we use?" is one of the most common questions we get from founders. The answer is always: it depends. But here's how we think about it.
The Framework: Three Questions
Before recommending any technology, we ask:
- What are you building? (Web app, mobile app, API, etc.)
- Who's maintaining it? (Team size, expertise level)
- Where are you going? (Scale expectations, timeline)
Our Go-To Stack
For most projects, we start with:
Frontend
- Next.js for web applications
- React Native for cross-platform mobile
- TypeScript everywhere
Backend
- Next.js API routes for simple backends
- Node.js + Express for complex backends
- PostgreSQL for relational data
- Redis for caching
Infrastructure
- Vercel for frontend hosting
- AWS or Railway for backend
- Cloudflare for CDN and security
Why This Stack?
Developer Experience
Modern tools mean faster development. Features that took weeks now take days.
Hiring
React, Node.js, and TypeScript have huge talent pools. You'll be able to hire when you need to.
Scaling
This stack has proven it can scale to millions of users. You won't need to rewrite everything when you grow.
When We Deviate
We don't force-fit our preferred stack onto every project:
- Native mobile when performance is critical (Swift, Kotlin)
- Python for ML/AI heavy applications
- Go for high-performance backend services
Real Examples
Surge: Built with Next.js, deployed on Vercel. Handles thousands of concurrent users without breaking a sweat.
BeYourSexy.ai: React Native mobile app with Python backend for AI processing. Each part uses the right tool for the job.
The Bottom Line
The best tech stack is the one that:
- Solves your specific problem
- Your team can work with
- Won't become a bottleneck as you grow
Don't obsess over finding the "perfect" stack. Pick solid, proven technologies and focus on building something people want.
Need Help Deciding?
We've been through this decision hundreds of times. Talk to us about your specific situation and find the right approach for you.
