The Vibe Coding Stack That Ships

What separates a vibe coder who ships week after week from someone who hits a wall after their first demo? The answer isn't talent or technical background — it's the stack. Most builders start with one-shot tools that feel magical at first, then run into limited debugging, no data ownership, and payment integrations that barely work. The stack that actually lets you ship real products is one where every layer compounds: each tool makes the others more powerful over time. This episode walks through all 7 layers live — from choosing your AI hub (Lovable vs. Cursor vs. Claude Code) to setting up payments with Stripe — making a real decision at each step. The interactive Stack Builder in the article lets you follow along and leave with a copy-paste blueprint you can hand to any AI and start building. Honest admission: this comes from a non-developer perspective. Experienced devs will spot simplifications — and that's fine. The goal is helping founders who don't come from a development background make confident tool decisions they won't regret. This is a real stack, building a real product, with real revenue. Not theory. WHO THIS IS FOR A founder who tried vibe coding tools but hit a wall of complexity Someone choosing between Lovable, Cursor, and Claude Code for their first real SaaS A non-developer who wants to understand the tech stack without the jargon A builder ready to move from demo to product with payments and auth IN THIS EPISODE 00:00:00 – The vibe coding stack that ships 00:00:25 – Why most vibe coders hit a wall 00:04:36 – What makes a stack compound 00:05:53 – The 7 layers explained 00:07:13 – Layer 1: Choosing your AI hub 00:08:28 – Quick take on AI models 00:13:36 – Layer 2: How your code ships to users 00:17:46 – Layer 3: Making your app look professional 00:20:01 – Layer 4: Where your data lives 00:21:45 – Layer 5: How users sign in 00:23:34 – Layer 6: Turning demos into businesses 00:25:06 – Layer 7: Operations — analytics, email, PM, automation TOOLS & RESOURCES MENTIONED 🖥️ Cursor (AI code editor): https://cursor.com 💬 Lovable (chat-based AI builder): https://lovable.dev 🤖 Claude Code (terminal AI tool): https://anthropic.com ⚡ Next.js + Vercel (framework + hosting): https://vercel.com 🎨 shadcn/ui (component library): https://ui.shadcn.com 🗄️ Supabase (database): https://supabase.com 🔐 Clerk (authentication): https://clerk.com 💳 Stripe (payments): https://stripe.com 📊 PostHog (analytics): https://posthog.com 📧 Resend (email): https://resend.com 📋 Linear (project management): https://linear.app ⚙️ n8n (automation): https://n8n.io DEEP DIVE LINKS 📖 Full Article + Interactive Stack Builder: https://pirateskills.com/insights/vibe-coding-stack 🧪 Builder Lab — Feb 18: Walk through the Stack Builder live, make decisions together, and leave with your stack ready to go: https://pirateskills.com/build/lab 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7kFl0BJiOYih8yqQTRR9SN 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/build-grow-repeat/id1870561487 🗓️ All upcoming events (free): https://pirateskills.com/events 💬 Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bensufiani/