Stack Choices Compound
The stack you choose on day one becomes your hiring constraint, your technical debt source, and your performance ceiling for the next three years. Choose badly and you are refactoring at the worst possible moment — when you are growing.
Here is what we would build with if starting a new product today.
Frontend: Next.js 14 + TypeScript + Tailwind
Next.js 14's App Router with React Server Components is the right model for most web applications. Server-side rendering for SEO-critical pages. Client components for interactivity. Edge caching for performance.
TypeScript is non-negotiable. The overhead of types pays back within the first month of working with a codebase you did not write alone.
Tailwind CSS eliminates the naming problem in CSS. Utility-first at the component level with component abstractions where repetition appears.
Backend: Node.js with Express or Fastify + PostgreSQL
Node.js with TypeScript for API services. The shared language with the frontend reduces context-switching. The ecosystem is comprehensive. For CPU-intensive workloads, add a Python service.
PostgreSQL for the primary database. The JSONB column type handles semi-structured data without needing MongoDB. PostGIS adds geospatial capabilities. The query planner is excellent.
Infrastructure: AWS + Terraform + GitHub Actions
AWS for infrastructure. ECS Fargate for containers without Kubernetes overhead until you need it. RDS PostgreSQL with automated backups. CloudFront for CDN. S3 for file storage.
Terraform for infrastructure-as-code from day one. It costs a day to set up and saves weeks when you need to reproduce environments or recover from failures.
GitHub Actions for CI/CD. Simple enough for small teams, powerful enough for complex pipelines.
Auth: Clerk or Auth0
Do not build authentication. Use Clerk for consumer products (best DX we have used) or Auth0 for enterprise SSO requirements. The security surface area of authentication is too large to manage yourself at early stage.
Payments: Stripe
No decision to make here. Stripe handles every payment use case you will encounter before Series B. The documentation is excellent. The API is well-designed. The developer experience is unmatched.
The Stack That Scales
This stack scales from 0 to 100,000 users without an architectural rewrite. That is the goal on day one — choose a stack that is not a liability when the growth hits.