Most founders don't have a tool problem. They have a stack problem — too many subscriptions, no clear workflow, and AI bolted on as an afterthought instead of built into how the business actually runs.
This is the stack I recommend to solo founders and small teams who want to operate like a company ten times their size. It's lean by design: one primary tool per job, with clear handoffs between them.
Writing & Content
Your voice is your moat. AI should amplify it, not replace it. These tools handle drafts, edits, and repurposing — you provide the judgment.
Claude (Anthropic)
Long-form thinking, strategy docs, and nuanced editing. Use it for first drafts of newsletters, landing page copy, and client proposals where tone matters. Brief it with context, not commands — see The Briefing Templates.
Grammarly / Hemingway
Final-pass editing only. Run your AI drafts through these for clarity and readability. Never skip this step — polished output is what separates professionals from amateurs.
Descript
Turn video and podcast content into written assets. Record once, publish everywhere. The text-based editing workflow makes repurposing fast enough to actually do it.
Research & Intelligence
Information advantage is leverage. These tools compress hours of research into minutes — but only if you know what question you're trying to answer first.
Perplexity Pro
Market research, competitor analysis, and trend scanning with cited sources. Use it before client calls, before writing content, and before making strategic bets. Always verify the citations.
NotebookLM (Google)
Upload your own documents — contracts, transcripts, research PDFs — and query them directly. Ideal for synthesising client work, course material, or your own back catalogue into new outputs.
Feedly + AI summaries
Curate 20–30 sources in your niche. Let AI summarise the daily feed. You read the summaries, dive deep on the 10% that matters. This replaces the two hours most founders spend scrolling.
Automation & Operations
This is where solo founders gain the most leverage. Automate the repeatable. Keep the judgment calls human.
Make (formerly Integromat)
Visual automation for connecting your CRM, email, calendar, and AI tools. Start with three workflows: new lead → CRM entry → personalised follow-up draft. Then expand.
Notion AI
Your operating system — project management, SOPs, client portals, and knowledge base in one place. AI features handle summarisation, action item extraction, and template generation inside your existing docs.
Cal.com + AI scheduling
Remove the back-and-forth of booking calls. Pair with an AI-generated pre-call brief (client background, last interaction, suggested talking points) sent to you 30 minutes before each meeting.
Customer Operations
How you handle customers after the sale determines whether you get referrals or refunds. AI makes great service scalable without losing the personal touch.
Intercom or Crisp (with AI agent)
Handle 80% of support queries automatically — FAQs, order status, scheduling. Route the 20% that need human judgment to you with full context attached.
Claude / ChatGPT for email triage
Batch-process your inbox twice daily. AI categorises (urgent / delegate / archive), drafts responses for review, and flags anything that needs your direct attention. Never live in your inbox again.
Loom + AI transcript
Record personalised onboarding videos for new clients. AI generates the transcript, summary, and follow-up email. One recording becomes four touchpoints.
How to Adopt This Stack
Don't install everything at once. That's how stacks become graveyards. Instead:
- Run the Leverage Audit — identify where you're losing the most hours each week.
- Pick one category — start with whichever area costs you the most time right now.
- Install one tool, one workflow — use it daily for two weeks before adding anything else.
- Document what works — write a one-page SOP so future-you doesn't have to re-learn it.
The goal isn't to have the most tools. It's to have the fewest tools that cover the most ground — and to use them so consistently they become invisible.