The exact tools.
Every tool on the list is on my bank statement. Grades are honest — A · KEEP means I'd repurchase tomorrow; B · WATCH means I'm running an experiment to replace it.
No affiliate ranking. The order is by role in the stack, not by who pays a referral. Links are unaffiliated unless explicitly marked.
/ 01
The Stack · Q2 2026
| Role | Tool | Grade | Using since |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI co-founder | Claude My default for thinking, writing, code review, and long context. | A · KEEP | 2024-Q3 |
| Second brain | Notion Editorial calendar, post drafts, the running stack-of-notes. | A · KEEP | 2022-Q1 |
| Newsletter | Kit One Friday email, sent reliably. The form on this site posts directly to it. | A · KEEP | 2024-Q2 |
| Social distribution | Typefully Schedules X/LinkedIn threads from one draft. Buys back two hours a week. | B+ · KEEP | 2025-Q1 |
| Cover art | Midjourney Per-post cover art and the editorial gradient placeholders. | B+ · KEEP | 2024-Q4 |
| Hosting | Vercel Astro builds deploy in under a minute. Edge-cached. Free tier still fine. | A · KEEP | 2024-Q2 |
| Analytics | Plausible Privacy-first analytics, no cookie banner, dashboards I actually read. | B · WATCH | 2025-Q2 |
/ 02
Tool reviews & deep dives
| № | Issue | Category | Filed | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | How to Use ChatGPT as Your Virtual Executive Assistant in 2026 Inbox triage, calendar holds, draft replies, meeting prep — the executive-assistant prompts I keep open in a separate window all week. | Tools | JANUARY 6, 2026 | 21M |
| 002 | The AI Tools I Use Every Day as a Solo Founder Seven tools I open before I open my email — and exactly what each one is actually doing for the business. | Tools | JANUARY 1, 2026 | 2M |
Still here? Subscribe — it's the only metric that compounds.
One Friday email. The workflow I'm actually running, the tool I'm actually paying for, or the system that just held up under real load.
No spam · Unsubscribe in one click