The software stack for a 3-person startup
Three people is the size where informal coordination starts breaking and the temptation to buy process software peaks. Resist most of it; buy the two things that stop work from being redone.
The four that earn their place
Build, one acquisition channel, one shared record of customers, and payments if money is changing hands. That's it.
The first thing to write down
Not a tool — a document. How you decide what to work on this week. At three people this is the highest-leverage thing you can standardize, and it costs nothing.
Categories to leave alone
All reasonable later:
- HR and payroll software until you hire across borders.
- Dedicated project management if a shared list still works.
- Analytics suites before you have daily active usage.
Budget expectation
Most three-person teams should be under $200 a month all in. If you're well above that, the cause is almost always per-seat pricing on tools one person uses.