The $500/Month AI Stack That Runs My Business

Why most founders fail: They hire too early.

You don't actually know WHAT you're selling or WHO you're selling it to until you're way into building. Hiring a team before product-market fit is the fastest way to burn through cash while you're still figuring things out.

The new playbook: Build your AI infrastructure first. Hire humans second—and only for what AI can't do well.

Here's the exact 7-tool stack that runs my entire operation, costs less than $500/month, and replaces what would traditionally be a $15K-30K/month team.

🧠 Tool #1: Claude Sonnet 4.5 + Claude Code

Cost: $20/month (Pro) + Free (Code)

What it replaces: Business analyst, developer, content writer, strategist

What I Use It For:

Business Strategy & Analysis

• Analyzing sales calls and extracting insights
• Creating business process audits
• Identifying automation opportunities
• Strategic planning and decision-making

Development

• Writing code for automations
• Building custom scripts
• Debugging and optimization
• Integration development