Prerequisites: What You'll Need to Get Started
Required knowledge, free accounts to create, time investment, and hardware requirements for the $0 tech stack
Before building your solopreneur tech stack, ensure you have the foundational knowledge, accounts, and resources needed. This chapter outlines everything required to follow the guide successfully.
Required Knowledge
The following skills will help you navigate the setup process smoothly:
- Basic command line skills (cd, ls, mkdir)
- Understanding of web basics (HTML, APIs, what a database does)
- Willingness to read documentation and troubleshoot
- Comfort with keyboard shortcuts and text-based tools
Account Creation
Set aside approximately 30 minutes to create free accounts on these platforms. Each provides essential functionality for your $0 tech stack.
Create GitHub Account
GitHub will be your code hosting platform, providing CI/CD pipelines and project management tools. Sign up at github.com to get started with version control and deployment automation.
Set Up Vercel
Vercel handles frontend hosting with zero configuration. Alternatively, you can use Netlify or Cloudflare Pages. Create your account at vercel.com for seamless deployment.
Register for Supabase
Supabase provides your database and backend services. Alternative options include PlanetScale or Railway's free tier. Sign up at supabase.com to access PostgreSQL hosting and authentication.
Create Google Account
A Google Account gives you access to Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Calendar, and Meet. These tools form the foundation of your productivity and communication suite.
Sign Up for Notion
Notion's free tier provides powerful personal documentation and knowledge management capabilities. Create your account at notion.so to organize your workflows.
Register with Canva
Canva's free tier enables professional design work without graphic design expertise. Sign up at canva.com to create marketing materials and visual content.
Create Buffer Account
Buffer's free tier allows social media scheduling across multiple platforms. Register at buffer.com to automate your content distribution.
Set Up Cal.com
Cal.com is an open-source Calendly alternative for meeting scheduling. Create your account at cal.com to manage bookings without subscription fees.
Time Investment
The initial setup takes 3 to 4 hours as a one-time investment. You'll need 1 to 2 weeks to feel fluent with all the tools, and ongoing maintenance requires approximately 30 minutes per week to keep everything running smoothly.
Hardware Requirements
Any modern computer can run this tech stack. The requirements are minimal:
- Any computer (Mac, Windows, Linux)
- Stable internet connection
- 8GB+ RAM recommended (for local development)
With these prerequisites in place, you're ready to begin building your solopreneur tech stack. The next chapter covers setting up your development environment.