Behind the YC Curtain: 9 Tools I Can't Live Without

Here are 9 essential tools I rely on every day. Subscribe to my Substack for more content like this ??

1. Arc - Browser

The Browser Company launched Arc, and it has quickly replaced Chrome as my go-to browser. Arc acts as a central portal for my company, allowing me to organise and access all my tools and platforms in a single workspace. This setup minimises time wasted on context switching and keeps my workflow streamlined by drowning out unnecessary noise and automatically clearing my tabs.

Tips & tricks:

• Life Workspace: I maintain one workspace for personal use, where I pin LinkedIn and a few other social platforms that I check in the morning to stay updated.
• Business Workspace: I keep another workspace for business purposes, where I organise all my development URLs and services like Stripe, Vercel for hosting, and GoDaddy. Everything is neatly organized in folders for quick access.

Check it out here

2. Screen Studio - Screen Recording

You’ll notice that many YC company demo videos share a similar aesthetic, featuring smooth interactions and appealing backgrounds. Screen Studio has become an essential tool in my daily workflow, particularly for sharing updates and ‘building in public’. The ability to quickly develop content and share it in high quality without needing to polish it in Final Cut Pro is a true blessing.

Screen Studio enables me to create polished screen recordings effortlessly, making it ideal for product demos, team updates, and showcasing new features to our community.

Check it out here

3. GitHub - Docs, Planning & Dev

Documentation

I’m a sucker for shiny new tools and a few months ago, I would have probably recommended Linear for its clean, simple interface. However, I’ve come to believe that documentation should be version-controlled. By keeping a few .mdx files in a version-controlled folder and using a tool like Mintlify to make it look nice, you ensure that your documentation is always up-to-date and easily accessible.

Planning

When considering third-party tools like Linear , keep in mind that they add another vector of complexity. Unless you have dedicated product managers, roadmap planning and ticket creation can be effectively managed within GitHub. This approach brings your product and processes closer to your users. Companies like PostHog have adopted this method successfully: check them out here.

Dev

I keep everything in a single codebase using a monorepo. This monorepo includes my personal website (louisjordan.co ), various other projects, my UI component library (ShadCN), and all necessary configurations. I manage the entire setup with TurboRepo. By centralizing everything in one codebase, I significantly reduce setup time and eliminate the need for repetitive boilerplate code. See point 9 for the full list of dev tools I use.

4. Rectangle - Screen management

This is a bit of a meta one, but Rectangle has become indispensable for managing my screen space efficiently. Rectangle is a powerful window management app for macOS that allows you to effortlessly organizes your windows with simple keyboard shortcuts. It helps keep my workspace tidy and improves my productivity by reducing the time I spend rearranging windows manually.

Check it out here.

5. Cursor - A better VSCode

I've spoken to many developers who were frustrated with the limitations of the native Visual Studio Code Copilot. Fortunately, the team at Cursor has addressed many of these issues, making it a superior alternative. I fully migrated to Cursor last month and haven't looked back.

Check it out here.

6. Notion - Life management

This one needs no introduction. Founder life is stressful. From to-do lists to project planning, Notion is my all-in-one tool for organising everything. Think of it as my second brain, keeping all the chaos in check.

Check it out here.

7. Wim Hof Method App - Breathing

This one is another meta one, but it's helped me start my day on the right note. Every morning, I use the Wim Hof App to practice breathing and take a cold shower. I started implementing this routine a few weeks ago, and it has significantly helped me overcome a period of insurmountable stress. The guided breathing sessions clear my mind and energise me. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out. Would be curious to know in the comments how you get on with this!

Check it out here.

8. Physical Tools - Essential Gear

Here's a look at the tools that make up my workspace:

• MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023, M2 Max) Once you go Mac, you never go back. I upgraded from an M1 Pro and the performance boost is noticeable.
• Herman Miller Aeron Chair One of the best chairs on the market. It's expensive but lasts forever. Fun fact: when I first arrived in San Francisco, I found one discarded on the street and used it for 4 months while building my company at Y Combinator.
• LG OLED EVO C2 42 TV (Monitor) This OLED TV doubles as my primary monitor. It feels like a TV but with the right settings, it makes multitasking really enjoyable.
• Desk Setup?- The Ikea Desk Hack?? Made from two IKEA Alex drawers Topped with a kitchen countertop
• Logitech MX Master 3 Mouse Ergonomic and feature-rich for precision tasks.
• Keychron Q2 Pro Mechanical Keyboard Tactile and responsive, perfect for coding.
• Shure MV7 Microphone Ensures high-quality audio for meetings and recordings.
• Elgato Keylight Air Provides perfect lighting for video calls and recordings.
• AirPods Max/AirPods Pro Essential for maintaining focus and blocking out distractions.
• Cocker Spaniel (2023) “Camille” My loyal coding companion, always ready to judge my code design choices and occasionally barks when I use "let" instead of "const."

These tools create a comfortable workspace that I enjoy spending time in.

9. DevTools

Here's a look at the development tools that keep my projects alive:

• CI/CD:?TurboRepo ?(by Vercel) Ensures continuous integration and delivery, streamlining the development and deployment process.
• Framework: Next.js (by Vercel) My go-to framework for building robust and scalable web applications.
• Deployment: Vercel Provides seamless deployment and hosting for my projects.
• Analytics: PostHog Comprehensive product analytics to track user behaviour and improve engagement.
• Communications: Resend Simplifies email communication for transactional and marketing emails.
• Documentation: Mintlify Makes documentation beautiful and easy to maintain.
• Database + Auth: Supabase - Postgres A powerful open-source hosted database solution.
• Key-Value Store: Redis Upstash/Vercel Fast and efficient key-value store for caching and real-time data processing. I use this mainly for rate-limiting calls to OpenAI.
• UI Components Library: Shadcn/UI Provides a comprehensive set of UI components.
• Framework: TailwindCSS Utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom designs.
• LLM’s: OpenAI/Anthropic
• AI Tooling:?npm AI (by Vercel) /Langchain NPM AI:?I have loved using this npm library for generative UI. It also unifies the interface between different language models. Langchain?: Recently, I've been exploring how to productionise and chain different LLM components and blocks. LangSmith, which was recently released, offers an excellent observability and debugging platform for LLM apps, making it easier to manage and optimise these non-deterministic systems.

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