Tool Selection Matrix
Overview
This framework helps founders select the right tools for their current validation stage. The key insight: tools exist to kill risk cheaply, not to build the final product. Each stage has different risks and therefore requires different tools.
The Matrix
┌─────────┬──────────────────┬─────────────────────┬────────────────────┬─────────────────┐
│ STAGE │ RISK TO KILL │ TOOLS │ STOP WHEN │ WARNING SIGNS │
├─────────┼──────────────────┼─────────────────────┼────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ 0 │ Is this a real │ Notion, Claude, │ Clear problem │ No pain in │
│ Problem │ problem? │ ChatGPT, Docs │ statement + │ interviews │
│ │ │ │ interview evidence │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
├─────────┼──────────────────┼─────────────────────┼────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ 1 │ Do people │ Lovable, v0, │ Conversion rate │ Low conversion │
│ Demand │ want it? │ Figma, PostHog │ + qualitative │ despite traffic │
│ │ │ │ interest │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
├─────────┼──────────────────┼─────────────────────┼────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ 2 │ Can we │ n8n, Replit, │ Technical │ Can't achieve │
│ Tech PoC│ build it? │ Cursor, APIs │ Go/No-Go │ core function │
│ │ │ │ decision │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
├─────────┼──────────────────┼─────────────────────┼────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ 3 │ Will people │ Lovable, Stripe, │ Pricing validated │ Objections to │
│ WTP │ pay? │ Gumroad, PostHog │ + some commits │ any price │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
├─────────┼──────────────────┼─────────────────────┼────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ 4 │ Does it │ Cursor, Claude │ MVP shipped + │ Users can't │
│ MVP │ deliver value? │ Code, Vercel, │ activation │ complete core │
│ │ │ Supabase │ metrics │ action │
│ │ │ │ │ │
├─────────┼──────────────────┼─────────────────────┼────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ 5 │ Do users │ PostHog, Sentry, │ Healthy retention │ Churn after │
│ Retain │ stick? │ Intercom │ curve │ first use │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
├─────────┼──────────────────┼─────────────────────┼────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ 6 │ Can we │ Full custom stack │ Scale decision │ System breaks │
│ Scale │ grow? │ + all of above │ made │ under load │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
└─────────┴──────────────────┴─────────────────────┴────────────────────┴─────────────────┘
Tool Categories
Research & Documentation Tools
Purpose: Organize thinking, synthesize research, draft content
| Tool | Best For | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Notion | Knowledge base, docs | Free / $10/mo |
| Obsidian | Personal knowledge | Free |
| ChatGPT/Claude | Research synthesis | $20/mo |
| Perplexity | Deep research | Free / $20/mo |
| Google Docs | Collaboration | Free |
Landing Page & Prototype Tools
Purpose: Test demand without building product
| Tool | Best For | Pricing | Breaks At |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lovable | Full landing pages | Free / $20/mo | Complex apps |
| v0 (Vercel) | UI components | Free / $20/mo | Backend logic |
| Framer | Marketing sites | Free / $15/mo | App complexity |
| Figma | Clickable mockups | Free / $15/mo | Interactivity |
| Webflow | Complex marketing | $14/mo+ | App logic |
Workflow & Automation Tools
Purpose: Technical PoC, process automation
| Tool | Best For | Pricing | Breaks At |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | Complex workflows | Free / $20/mo | Scale, reliability |
| Make (Integromat) | Simple automation | Free / $9/mo | Complexity |
| Zapier | Basic integrations | Free / $20/mo | Volume |
| Retool | Internal tools | Free / $10/mo | Customer-facing |
Vibe-Coding Platforms
Purpose: Build apps from natural language
| Tool | Best For | Pricing | Breaks At |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lovable | Full-stack apps | Free / $20/mo | Security, scale |
| Bolt.new | Quick prototypes | Free / $20/mo | Complexity |
| Replit | Code + hosting | Free / $25/mo | Production |
| Base44 | Simple apps | Free / $20/mo | Custom logic |
AI-Assisted Development
Purpose: Write real code faster
| Tool | Best For | Pricing | Breaks At |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | AI code editor | Free / $20/mo | Unclear specs |
| Claude Code | Agentic coding | Usage-based | Large codebases |
| GitHub Copilot | Code completion | $10/mo | Architecture |
| Windsurf | Full IDE | Free / $15/mo | Complex projects |
Backend & Database
Purpose: Data storage, authentication, APIs
| Tool | Best For | Pricing | Breaks At |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Postgres + Auth | Free / $25/mo | High scale |
| Firebase | Real-time + Auth | Free / Pay-as-go | Complex queries |
| PlanetScale | MySQL, serverless | Free / $29/mo | — |
| Neon | Serverless Postgres | Free / $19/mo | — |
Analytics & Monitoring
Purpose: Measure, debug, understand users
| Tool | Best For | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| PostHog | Product analytics | Free / $0+ |
| Mixpanel | Event analytics | Free / $20/mo |
| Sentry | Error tracking | Free / $26/mo |
| Hotjar | Session replay | Free / $32/mo |
| LogRocket | Session + errors | Free / $99/mo |
Payments
Purpose: Accept money
| Tool | Best For | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Everything | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Gumroad | Simple products | 10% |
| Lemon Squeezy | SaaS, digital | 5% + $0.50 |
| Paddle | SaaS, MoR | 5% + $0.50 |
Tool Transition Triggers
Lovable → Cursor/Custom Code
When to transition:
- Security requirements emerge
- Complex business logic needed
- Performance issues
- Users hitting bugs you can't fix
- Integration requirements
Signs it's time:
- AI keeps creating loops
- Every fix creates new bugs
- You don't understand the generated code
- Features take 10x longer than expected
n8n → Custom Services
When to transition:
- Workflow reliability matters
- Scale exceeds limits
- Complex error handling needed
- Need transaction guarantees
Signs it's time:
- Workflows become spaghetti
- Debugging takes hours
- Random failures increase
- Can't handle edge cases
Supabase → Custom Backend
When to transition:
10K daily active users
- Complex query patterns
- Custom performance requirements
- Specific compliance needs
Signs it's time:
- Query timeouts
- Cost scaling poorly
- Need for custom indexes
- Multi-region requirements
Decision Framework
START
│
▼
What are you trying to validate?
│
├─► Problem exists? ──────► Research tools (Notion, Claude)
│
├─► People want it? ──────► Landing page tools (Lovable, v0)
│
├─► Tech works? ──────────► PoC tools (n8n, Replit)
│
├─► They'll pay? ──────────► Payment tools (Stripe + Lovable)
│
├─► It delivers value? ───► Development tools (Cursor, Supabase)
│
└─► They retain? ──────────► Analytics tools (PostHog, Sentry)
Budget Considerations
| Stage | Typical Monthly Cost | What It Gets You |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 | $0-50 | Research, landing pages |
| 2 | $50-200 | Workflows, PoCs |
| 3 | $100-300 | Payment integration, testing |
| 4 | $200-500 | MVP development tools |
| 5+ | $500+ | Full stack, monitoring |
Anti-Patterns
Tool Maximalism
Problem: Using 20 tools when 5 would do Fix: Use the minimum tools for your current stage
Premature Optimization
Problem: Picking enterprise tools for 10 users Fix: Match tool to current scale, not imagined scale
Tool FOMO
Problem: Switching tools because something new launched Fix: Only switch when current tools are limiting you
Ignoring Limits
Problem: Using validation tools for production Fix: Recognize and plan for transitions
Workshop Usage
- Module 05: Tool selection by stage
- Module 06: When tools break
- Module 10: Cheat sheet reference