It's that time of year again - when tech influencers flood the internet with their predictable listicles: "Top 10 Frameworks for 2025" and "Technologies You Can't Miss in 2025." These posts perform well in search engines, which explains their popularity among content creators looking for easy traffic.
Just recently, I came across yet another "Essential Startup Tech Stack for 2025" post, promoting the usual suspects: Next.js, React Query, Supabase, NestJS, and shadcn/ui. While these are all solid technologies, this approach misses a fundamental truth about startups: velocity is everything. The fastest way to ship products isn't through complex distributed systems - it's through simplicity. Juggling Next.js, Supabase, and NestJS creates unnecessary complexity. Each additional component introduces new coordination challenges, network concerns, and edge cases that slow down development.
Instead of chasing the latest trends, I advocate for a "boring" but practical approach: stick with a monolith for as long as possible. Choose a batteries-included framework that provides common features out of the box. Why spend precious time building authentication when frameworks like Ruby on Rails, Laravel, Phoenix, or even NestJS provide these essentials? Sure, monoliths might not be the most fashionable architectural choice in 2025. But they're simple, reliable, and will take you much further than you might expect.
Remember: Instagram scaled to millions of users with a Django monolith, and Shopify grew into a tech giant with Ruby on Rails.
Happy New Year! Now go build something great - and keep it simple.