Build the thing
Cursor
The code editor that writes half your app with you. If you can describe what you want in a sentence, Cursor can usually get you 80% of the way there — then you clean up the rest. This is what most solo AI builders are shipping with right now, not because it's trendy, but because it genuinely cuts build time in half.
Codex
Open AI's coding agent — you hand it a task, it goes and writes the code, tests it, and comes back. Less "autocomplete," more "junior developer you can delegate to." Good for when you know what you want built but don't want to write every line yourself.
Lovable
Describe your app in plain English, get a working product back — no code required. This is the fastest way to go from idea to something you can actually show people this weekend, not next quarter.
Get paid
Stripe
The plumbing behind almost every subscription business you've ever paid for. Set up pricing, handle billing, collect money — all without touching a bank. If your idea involves anyone paying you monthly, this is where that starts.
Automate the boring parts
Make
Connects your tools together so things happen automatically — a form gets filled out, an email gets sent, a spreadsheet updates itself. Think of it as the glue between apps that don't naturally talk to each other.
Vapi
Gives your AI a real phone number so it can actually call or text people. If your idea needs to sound like a human on the phone, this is the tool doing the talking.