Hey there, fellow software engineers and aspiring startup founders! I'm excited to share a project I'm just starting: LaunchStack. But here's the twist – I'm not an expert. In fact, I'm using this project to learn NextJS myself!
What is LaunchStack?
LaunchStack is going to be a NextJS starter kit that I hope will eventually have everything needed to build a startup or website with dynamic features quickly. But right now, it's more of a dream and a learning goal than a finished product.
Why am I creating LaunchStack?
Learning NextJS: I'll be honest – I'm not proficient in NextJS yet. LaunchStack is my way of diving deep into this powerful framework. I'm learning as I go, and I'm excited to share this journey with you!
Building a Useful Tool: As I learn, I want to create something that could eventually help me (and maybe you!) build web projects more efficiently.
Challenging Myself: This is a pretty ambitious project for a NextJS beginner like me. But I believe in learning by doing, even if it means tackling something that seems a bit out of reach right now.
Sharing the Journey: By documenting this process, I hope to inspire other developers who are also at the beginning of their journey with new technologies.
Since I left my job, I have more time to dedicate to this project. My goal is to become proficient with NextJS by the end of it. I estimate it may take me around 6 months to a year to feel comfortable and confident working with NextJS, but I'm excited about the journey and the learning process.
What do I hope LaunchStack will include?
As I learn and grow, I'm aiming to incorporate these features and identify the technology to incorporate for each. For now, I just listed what I know based on my research.
| Feature | Technologies
(subject to change based on research) |
| --- | --- |
| Auth | AuthJS |
| API Security / Rate Limiting | Unkey, Zuplo |
| Theming | Tailwind, DaisyUI, Shadcn |
| Payments / Subscriptions | Stripe, LemonSqueezy, RevenueCat |
| Forms | Netlify, HubSpot Forms, Formspree |
| Email Sending | Mailgun |
| File Storage | Supabase, S3 |
| ORM | Drizzle |
| Database | PocketBase, SQLite
Postgres (Vercel, Supabase)
Redis (Vercel KV) |
| Analytics | Google Analytics, Posthog, Plausible |
| Deployment | Vercel, Netlify |
| AI | Vercel AI SDK |
A Call for Support and Patience
This project is ambitious, especially given my current skill level with NextJS. There will be struggles, mistakes, and probably moments of frustration. But I'm committed to learning and growing through this process.
If you're an experienced NextJS developer, I'd love your advice and insights. If you're a beginner like me, maybe we can learn together! And if you're just curious about the process, I invite you to follow along on this journey.
For now, LaunchStack will not be open-sourced until it is decent enough to show the world. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time, inspired by projects like ShipFast, LaunchFast and DivJoy. As a beginner, it's hard to start building all these features from scratch, but I'm determined to make it happen.
I can't promise that LaunchStack will be ready for use anytime soon. What I can promise is an honest, open look at what it's like to tackle a big project as a way of learning a new technology.
Stay tuned for updates , lessons learned, and hopefully, steady progress towards a useful tool for all of us aspiring startup founders! You can subscribe here or follow me in Twitter, see you! I go online in Youtube or Twitch when I feel like doing live coding.
Let's learn, code, and grow together!