Tech Stack
What positions does every tech stack need to fill?
Every stack is a team sheet — positions that need filling. The job is the same across companies. The candidates change. Use the Tech Decisions process to evaluate each position.
Positions to Fill
| Position | Question | Our Choice | Candidates | Decision Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Which language for which layer? | TypeScript (primary) | TS, Python, Rust, Go, Solidity, Move | Languages |
| Frontend | Which framework renders the UI? | Next.js 15 (App Router, RSC) | Next.js, Remix, Nuxt, SvelteKit | |
| Styling | How do you style components? | TailwindCSS v4 | Tailwind, CSS Modules, Styled Components | |
| Components | Which component library? | Shadcn + Radix UI | Shadcn, MUI, Chakra, Ant Design | |
| State | How do you manage client state? | Zustand | Zustand, Redux, Jotai, Signals | |
| Forms + Tables | How do you handle complex UI data? | TanStack Form + Table | TanStack, React Hook Form, AG Grid | |
| Database | Where does data live? | PostgreSQL (Supabase) | Supabase, PlanetScale, Neon, Turso | |
| ORM | How do you talk to the database? | Drizzle | Drizzle, Prisma, Kysely | ORMs |
| Real-time | How do you sync live data? | Convex | Convex, Supabase Realtime, Pusher | |
| Auth | How do you verify identity? | Clerk + Privy + Worldcoin | Clerk, Auth0, Lucia, NextAuth | Identity |
| Hosting | Where does it run? | Vercel (Web2) + Fleek (Web3) | Vercel, Cloudflare, AWS, Fly.io, Railway | |
| Monorepo | How do you organize code? | Nx | Nx, Turborepo, pnpm workspaces | Monorepo |
| Testing | How do you verify quality? | Playwright + Vitest | Playwright, Cypress, Jest | Testing |
| Transport | How do services communicate? | Kafka + Azure Service Bus | Kafka, RabbitMQ, NATs, SQS | Message Bus |
| File Storage | How do you manage files? | — | S3, Cloudflare R2, Supabase Storage | File Management |
| Analytics | How do you measure usage? | PostHog | PostHog, Amplitude, Mixpanel | |
| AI / LLM | Which model for which job? | Claude (primary) | Claude, GPT, Gemini, OpenRouter | LLM Selection |
| AI SDK | How do you call models? | Vercel AI SDK | Vercel AI SDK, LangChain, direct API | |
| Agent Framework | How do you orchestrate agents? | Custom + MCP | ElizaOS, CrewAI, ARC RIG, VAPI | |
| Browser Auto | How do you automate browsers? | Playwright MCP | Browserbase, Playwright, Puppeteer | |
| AI Search | How do agents retrieve live knowledge? | Exa (Assess) | Exa, Tavily, Perplexity API, SerpAPI | AI Search |
| Blockchain | Which chain for which job? | Multi-chain (ETH L2, Solana, SUI) | Ethereum, Solana, SUI, Aptos | Which Chain — Prediction Game proves Sui integration |
| Payment | How do you collect money? | Stripe + Crypto | Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, crypto-native | |
| Algorithms | Where does business logic live? | Agency lib (client-safe) | Custom, third-party, hybrid | Algorithms |
Common Requirements
What jobs do most SaaS products recruit software to do?
- AI Integration
- User Authentication and Authorization
- Data Analytics and Reporting
- Integration Capabilities (APIs)
- Subscription Management
- Customer Relationship Management
- E-commerce and Micropayments
- Booking and Scheduling
- Project Management
- Dashboard Charts
- Email Out
First Principles
Apply First Principles Thinking — Make it Work, Make it Right, Make it Fast.
- AI Coding — Maximize time in flow state
- Architecture — Scalable performant patterns
- Decision Making — Documenting stack choices
- Dev Ops — Security first
- Platform Engineering — Solve development problems
- Product Engineering — Solve customer problems
Context
- Platform — why platform matters (ABCD thesis)
- Tech Decisions — the process for evaluating each position
- Hexagonal Architecture — the layer pattern that maps positions to boundaries
- Stackmates — the venture that implements this stack
- SaaS Products — common jobs the stack must support
Questions
Which tech stack decision has the highest switching cost once locked in? Compare language choice, database architecture, and deployment infrastructure. How do you choose with incomplete information?
- At what team size does tech stack standardization produce more value than allowing teams to choose their own tools?
- How does the ABCD stack (AI, Blockchain, Cloud/DePIN, Data) change which traditional tech stack decisions matter versus which become commoditized?
- Which tech stack choice in 2025 is most likely to look obviously wrong in retrospect in 2030 — and what's the reasoning?