FROM THE BOOK
The AI-Native Tool Stack
Everything you need to build and run a company as a solo founder
Last updated: January 2025
A note on tools: The AI landscape moves fast. These tools were market leaders when this page was last updated. By the time you read this, some may have evolved, merged, or been replaced.
Focus on the capabilities each category provides—AI-assisted coding, generative prototyping, automated customer support—rather than specific brand names. The principles remain constant even as tools change.
Engineering
Build without a team • ~$100-200/month
Code Generation & Development
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | AI-powered coding assistant with codebase awareness | $20-100/month |
| Claude Computer Use | AI that controls your computer for complex tasks | API costs |
| Cursor | AI-first IDE for complex development | $20/month |
| OpenCode | Open-source AI coding assistant | Free |
| Comet | ML experiment tracking, model monitoring | Free tier |
| GitHub Copilot | Inline code suggestions and completion | $19/month |
| Replit | Browser-based development with AI assistance | $25/month |
Prototyping
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| V0 by Vercel | Generate UI components from descriptions | Free-$20/month |
| Lovable | Build full applications with AI | $20-50/month |
| Bolt.new | Rapid full-stack prototyping | Free-$20/month |
Infrastructure
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel | Frontend deployment | Free-$20/month |
| Railway / Render | Backend deployment | $5-20/month |
| Supabase | Database + Auth + Storage | Free-$25/month |
| Cloudflare | CDN, security, workers | Free-$20/month |
Product
Understand and build for customers • ~$100-200/month
User Research
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| NotebookLM | AI research assistant - analyze documents, generate insights | Free |
| Fathom / Fireflies | Call recording and transcription | $20-30/month |
| Dovetail | Research repository with AI analysis | $30-50/month |
| Hotjar / FullStory | Session recordings and heatmaps | $30-50/month |
Product Analytics
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| PostHog | Analytics, feature flags, session replay | Free-$50/month |
| Mixpanel / Amplitude | Product analytics | Free-$50/month |
Design
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Figma | Design tool (with AI features) | Free-$15/month |
| Midjourney | Image generation | $10-30/month |
| Canva | Quick graphics and marketing assets | Free-$15/month |
Customer Support
Scale without hiring • ~$100-150/month
AI Support Agents
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Intercom Fin | AI-first customer support (50-70% auto-resolution) | $50-100/month |
| Zendesk AI | AI-augmented support | $50-100/month |
| Plain | Developer-focused support | $30-50/month |
Knowledge Base
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| NotebookLM | Generate FAQs and support content from your docs | Free |
| Notion | Documentation and knowledge base | Free-$10/month |
| GitBook | Developer documentation | Free-$8/month |
| Readme | API documentation | Free-$15/month |
Sales & Marketing
Grow without a team • ~$200-400/month
Content Creation
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| NotebookLM | Turn documents into podcasts, summaries, marketing content | Free |
| Stitch | AI-powered video storytelling from your content | Free |
| ChatGPT / Claude | Long-form content, research | Free-$20/month |
| Jasper | Marketing-specific content | $50-100/month |
| HeyGen | AI video generation | $30-50/month |
| Descript | Video/podcast editing | $15-30/month |
Email & CRM
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| ConvertKit / Mailchimp | Email marketing | Free-$30/month |
| Attio / Folk | Modern CRM | Free-$30/month |
| Apollo / Hunter | Outbound prospecting | $50-100/month |
Social & Distribution
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Buffer / Hootsuite | Social scheduling | $15-30/month |
| Typefully | Twitter/X optimization | $15-30/month |
| LinkedIn Sales Navigator | B2B prospecting | $100/month |
Operations
Run without overhead • ~$100-150/month
Finance
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Payments | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Mercury / Brex | Banking for startups | Free |
| Quickbooks / Xero | Accounting | $30-50/month |
Legal
| Tool | What It Does | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Clerky | Incorporation and standard docs | One-time fees |
| Termly | Privacy policy, terms | Free-$10/month |
Productivity & Automation
The Complete Stack
Full Stack Cost
| Engineering | $100-200 |
| Product | $100-200 |
| Support | $100-150 |
| Marketing | $200-400 |
| Operations | $100-150 |
| Total | $600-1,100/month |
$7,200-$13,200/year to run a complete company
Minimum Viable Stack
- • ChatGPT/Claude (free tier)
- • OpenCode (free) or Cursor ($20/month)
- • Vercel + Supabase (free tier)
- • NotebookLM (free) - research, content, support
- • Stitch (free) - video content
- • Stripe (transaction fees only)
- • Notion (free tier)
Total: $0-50/month
You can build and launch a product almost for free.
This is Chapter 26 from the book. Want the full picture?