How we choose a tech stack for an MVP (and why we usually pick Next.js + Laravel)

Founders ask us this all the time: "What stack should I build my MVP on?" Then they list off five JavaScript frameworks they read about on Twitter.

Here's the honest answer: the stack matters way less than how you use it. But since you asked — here's how we actually decide.

Three questions, every time

1. What does this product fundamentally do? Is it a content-heavy marketing site? A transactional e-commerce store? A real-time SaaS dashboard? Each of those wants something different.

2. Who's going to maintain it after we hand it over? If your team is more comfortable with PHP, shipping a Node-only stack is sabotage. If your team is React-native, don't make them learn Laravel.

3. How fast does this need to scale? Most MVPs don't need Kubernetes. Some do. Honesty about your real growth curve saves you six figures.

Our default: Next.js + Laravel

For most of our clients, the answer ends up being some combination of:

- Next.js for the frontend — fastest TTFB, best SEO, biggest hiring pool, friendliest to design. - Laravel for the backend — mature, batteries-included, an admin panel that ships in days not months. - MySQL or PostgreSQL depending on how relational the data is. - Vercel or a single VPS for hosting — no Kubernetes-shaped problem here.

This stack shipped THEO Clothing's full e-commerce in three weeks. It shipped Toolverse BD's marketplace in four. It's boring, it's proven, and it scales further than 95% of products will ever need.

When we deviate

We use Flutter when the product needs to be a real native app on iOS and Android. We use a serverless-first stack when traffic is spiky and unpredictable. We use plain HTML when the project is genuinely just a brochure.

The point isn't the stack. The point is matching the tool to the problem — and being honest about what the problem actually is.