Productivity & SaaS3 min read
A Startup Tool Stack from PerkShelf: Build, Ship, Talk to Users
One tool per job for an early startup, with the plan each listing covers and a link to its guide, so you can buy only what you need.
Early teams lose time choosing tools. Here is one pick per job from the PerkShelf shelf, with the guide that explains each plan.
Build
- Lovable Pro for a prompt-built MVP
- Cursor Pro when a developer owns the codebase
- Magic Patterns for UI exploration
Run
- Supabase Pro for Postgres, auth and storage
- Railway Hobby for a small API or worker
- n8n Cloud for automations
Talk to users
- Resend for transactional email
- Customer.io Essentials for lifecycle messaging
- Intercom Advanced for support
Plan and measure
- Linear Business for issues and roadmaps
- Notion Business for docs and wikis
- PostHog Scale for analytics and replay
- Airtable Team for ops databases
Frequently asked questions
Do I need all of these on day one?
No. Start with one build tool and one place to run it. Add email and analytics when you have users.
Are these coupons for my own accounts?
Yes. Each is redeemed on your own vendor account, so the workspace stays with your company.