DBA perspective:

• PostgreSQL: Best all-around, open source
• MySQL: Simple, popular
• MongoDB: Document, JSON-native

Pick: PostgreSQL for most cases

CRM for 3 startups:

• Pipedrive: Best for sales teams
• HubSpot: Most features, pricey
• Close: Best for SMB cold calling

Pick: Pipedrive for sales, Close for outreach

CDN expert:

• BunnyNet: Fastest, cheap
• Cloudflare: Most features, free tier
• AWS: Expensive but reliable

Pick: BunnyNet for speed, CF for features

Screen recording daily:

• Loom: Best for async video
• Vidyard: Good for business
• ScreenStudio: Mac only, beautiful

Pick: Loom for sharing, ScreenStudio for quality

Email power user:

• Hey: Innovative, unique features
• Superhuman: Fast, keyboard-driven
• Apple Mail: Free, simple

Pick: Superhuman if you email all day

Alfred is still GOAT for power users

Billing experience:

• Stripe Billing: Enterprise standard
• Lemonify: New, maker-friendly
• Placid: Simple, direct Stripe integration

Pick: Lemonify for indie, Stripe for scale

Team lead perspective:

Linear: Best UX, GitHub integration, fast

Jira: Enterprise standard, too complex for small teams

Notion: Good for docs, okay for tasks, not a real PM tool

My pick: Linear for startups, Jira only if forced