One-Man Startup Tech Stack

After I posted about transitioning to fully remote, I received some questions about what software, tools, desk setup, etc., I now have and am using.

So, I’ll dive into that in this post. It’s about tools I’m using to build and run Herodesk, not the tech stack behind the actual product (that may come in another post, another day).

If you have questions, want details or anything else, just drop a comment below.

I’ve set up two “rules of thumb” for myself when choosing different tools and software:

• Keep it simple. Complexity is a productivity killer. You can soon find yourself spending more time building and maintaining internal tools than getting things out to the customers. So I try to use as few but effective tools as possible instead of having loads of different tools trying to work together.
• Prioritize cost efficiency, but don’t compromise productivity. It’s a bit ironic. I’m building and selling a SaaS product (Software as a Service), but when looking for tools and software, I try to find an open-source/self-hosted alternative, or at least the most cost-efficient one. The reason is simple: I’ve gotta earn money before I spend it, and if I spend money I haven’t earned yet, it must be an investment that clearly drives the business forward.

I heard about another SaaS start-up the other day that had just about twice as many SaaS subscriptions themselves as they had employees. Crazy!

Anyway… The remainder of this post is divided into two parts: Desk setup and workstation software.

Desk setup

Keep it simple - focus on productivity.

The main thing on my desk is my 39" Dell UltraSharp U4021QW. Over the years, I’ve tried everything from working only on my laptop to having three monitors side-by-side. Ultimately, I’ve found that a single, ultra-wide monitor works best for me. When programming, I can have the code in the centre, the browser on one side and docs/terminal/google on the other. When I’m in focus mode (fx when writing this), I just have the browser in the centre and nothing else.

My laptop is a 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Pro with 32 GB memory. It still runs perfectly, although I occasionally use up all the memory. So, when the time comes for an upgrade, I’ll probably go with 64 GB. I love my Mac and honestly can’t imagine switching to Windows or Linux. Not that there’s anything wrong with those operating systems, I just don’t want to spend a lot of time onboarding myself on a new platform. The Macbook neatly tugged away in the back, standing in a Grovemade Laptop stand.

The headset is a B&O H9, probably 5-6 years old, but plays wonderfully! It’s perfect for when I need a longer stretch of music. I mainly use my AirPods for online meetings, as my ears get irritated when wearing them for too long. I also have a great speaker in the back for background music during the day, if I don’t feel like wearing a headset.

The keyboard and trackpad are Apple's default products. They’re simply great. However, I recently upgraded the keyboard to include Touch ID. I use that all the time with 1Password (I’ll get back to what that is later in this post).

Above the screen is an Elgato Key Light Air, which I turn on during online meetings, webinars, etc., to ensure proper lighting. My desk is at the back of the room, so there isn’t too much natural light. To compensate for that, I have the Elgato Key. It’s WIFI-controlled and has an app for my Mac to manage light temperature and strength.

The webcam is a Logitech BRIO 4K, which produces great images for online meetings. (As you can probably guess by now, I have my fair share of those and honestly prefer them to physical meetings to save time!)

Finally, the microphone is a Blue Microphones Yeti. I use that for recordings, webinars, etc., when the sound needs to be super precise. If you have one yourself, I recommend this video to get started and use it right.

Phone- and headset stand are also from Grovemade.com, and the desk itself is a standing desk from the OkaoDenmark.

Workstation software

In this part, I’ll mention the ones that make the biggest difference to me on a daily basis.

1Password

Having a password manager is probably the greatest combined security and productivity improvement I’ve found so far.

• All your passwords are stored in one program that syncs across devices (no more time wasted trying to remember passwords). You only need to remember your master password
• Because the password manager knows and stores all your passwords, you can (and should!) use different 64 random-character-passwords for everything
• Built-in 2FA management
• Browser- and terminal integration that opens with Touch ID (the main reason why I upgraded to a keyboard with Touch ID)

If you don’t have a password manager yet, start here.

PHPStorm + Github CoPilot

Herodesk is built using PHP. When you write code, you do it in an IDE (integrated development environment), which is basically a text editor on steroids.

I’ve tested a lot over the years, but I keep returning to PHPStorm. The real magic happens when you add Github CoPilot. It’s like ChatGPT for programmers. It helps me document, explain and even write code. It gives proposals for solving different problems, including code examples, etc. Finally, it helps me solve problems like a co-programmer would. I can chat with it, give code examples, ask what’s wrong, how to solve a specific error or problem, etc…

The best estimate is that this gives me a 25-30% productivity increase when writing code.

Docker

Instead of installing all the components I need to build Herodesk directly on my Mac, I’ve set up the development environment in Docker containers. This makes it super easy to maintain when the time comes to add more programmers to the project and get them up and running in no time.

Google Workspace

I use Google Workspace for all office-related tasks—email, calendar, docs, sheets, presentations, online file storage, meetings, etc. Yes, there are open-source alternatives, but I find that Google’s offering is by far the best and definitely worth the price.

Loom

It's a great tool for recording videos. It is super easy to start a recording, including screen sharing, and edit it afterwards. I use it for tutorials and guides but also record one-to-one support and walk-throughs that I send to people. When working asynchronously, it’s a great way to explain with video and sound.

Mattermost / Focalboard

Mattermost is a self-hosted open-source alternative to Slack, which comes with Focalboard (an open-source alternative to Trello) built in. I’m not using the chat part, as I’m still the only employee, but I’m using the board part for all project management. I have three projects:

1. Product (development tasks). All the things I need to code for the product, including planning what-to-do-when, the backlog of things to prioritise in the future, and time-logging (for accounting)
2. Sales. You can configure it to work kind of like Pipedrive, which is great for keeping track of all the open deals I have
3. Todo. All the other tasks on my todo that must be done

This works fine for now, but I’ll probably move all chat, project management, etc., to Workjoy.co once I start having employees. It’s made for remote-first companies, and I’m currently testing it. If you’re working fully or partially remotely and are looking for a cool collaboration tool, check it out.

Adobe Photoshop

I’m in no way great at doing graphics. But I know my basics, and I’ve been using Photoshop for some years. The new subscription-based model is cash-flow friendly. For the more simple things, like ads graphics, etc., I’ve tried Canva because of how easy it is to work together with others (freelancers, etc.).

But I’ll switch it all to Photoshop, especially now that Adobe has the Creative Cloud suite…

Having two tools serving the same purpose goes against both the keep-it-simple and stay cost-effective, so I’ll “clean this up” and stick to one tool!

Cal.com

Instead of the traditional back-and-forth, trying to find a time to meet with people, I use cal.com. It’s the same as Calendly, etc., but cal.com has a great freemium plan to do everything I need. Whenever people want to talk to me or schedule a meeting/demo, they can book a time in my calendar. Cal.com integrates with Google and Outlook, so it knows when I’m available and only shows those time slots. It also includes a google-meet link in every invite, so it’s super easy to jump on calls and meetings.

Herodesk

And last but not least, I’m, of course, using Herodesk for my own customer support.

That covers the desk and workstation setup I’m using to build Herodesk. If you have any questions about any of the tools, how I’m using them, etc., drop a comment below.

And by the way, everything runs on my laptop, and all services are accessible from anywhere with a VPN, so while my home office is my default setup, I can (and often am) work from anywhere.

I think the future will bring more AI-supported niche tools. For example, the images I’m putting on these blog posts are generated by Adobe Firefly, and I think it’s evident to everyone now that AI will play a massive role in Customer Service in the future.

I’m still figuring out how AI will be integrated into Herodesk (I already have a lot of ideas). Fx things like translations, summaries, rules based on AI-analysis of incoming messages and perhaps suggested replies.

I plan to start implementing them this summer.