The Tech Stack Behind Every Microstart Product
We standardized on Next.js, TypeScript, Postgres, and Stripe — here's why this stack gives solo founders the best balance of speed, reliability, and scalability.
When we set out to build the Microstart catalog, we had a key constraint: every product needs to be something a solo founder can deploy, customize, and maintain without a DevOps team. That led us to a very specific tech stack.
Next.js is the foundation. It handles routing, server-side rendering, API routes, and deployment in a single framework. For a solo founder, this means one codebase, one deployment, and one mental model. No separate backend repo, no microservices to orchestrate.
TypeScript is non-negotiable. When you're working alone, the compiler is your code reviewer. TypeScript catches entire categories of bugs before they reach production, and the autocompletion alone makes you significantly faster when navigating an unfamiliar codebase.
Postgres is the database. It's battle-tested, scales well beyond what any micro-SaaS will need in its first years, and has excellent tooling. We use Vercel Postgres for zero-config deployment, but the schemas are portable to any Postgres host.
Stripe handles payments. It's the industry standard for SaaS billing, supports subscriptions and one-time payments, and has the best developer documentation in the payments space. Every Microstart product comes pre-wired with Stripe checkout, webhooks, and customer portal.
For the UI layer, we use Tailwind CSS and Radix UI primitives. Tailwind keeps styles co-located with components and eliminates CSS naming debates. Radix provides accessible, unstyled components for things like modals, dropdowns, and tooltips — the stuff you don't want to build from scratch.
This stack isn't bleeding edge, and that's the point. Every piece is well-documented, widely adopted, and supported by a large community. When you hit a problem at 2am, the answer is already on Stack Overflow.