YC
The YC Stack
The Y Combinator Standard • Battle-tested at scale
Philosophy
- Choose tools that scale. YC companies grow fast - the stack needs to keep up.
- Use what the ecosystem supports. Popular tools have more community support and hiring pool.
- Don't reinvent infrastructure. Use managed services so you can focus on your product.
The Stack
React / Next.js
Frontend
The most popular frontend framework in YC's portfolio. Huge talent pool, massive ecosystem.
PostgreSQL
Database
The enterprise-grade database. ACID-compliant, extensible, and free. Supabase or Neon for managed hosting.
Stripe
Payments
Nearly every YC company uses Stripe. The API is a masterclass in developer experience.
Vercel / AWS
Hosting
Vercel for speed to market, AWS when you need full control. Many start with Vercel and migrate to AWS at scale.
PostHog
Analytics
Product analytics built for developers. Event tracking, session replay, feature flags. Open source.
Supabase
Backend-as-a-Service
The open-source Firebase alternative. Postgres + Auth + Realtime + Storage.
Total: ~$80/mo
Why This Works
This isn't one founder's opinion - it's the aggregate of thousands of YC companies. React dominates because it's where the talent is. PostgreSQL wins because it scales. Stripe wins because the API is perfect.
This stack is optimized for one thing: growing from 0 to millions of users without rewriting everything. Start on free tiers, scale into paid plans as revenue grows. Every tool here has a clear upgrade path.