AI Stack for a 5-Person Startup

A 5-person startup needs shared tools, limited budget, and speed. You are moving fast and wearing multiple hats. This guide covers team vs. individual stacks, core shared infrastructure, and a sample stack at $200–500/month total.

The Constraint

Shared tools where possible. Limited budget. Moving fast. Some roles need personal tools; others should be shared. Balance cost with flexibility.

Team Stack vs. Individual Stacks

Shared — Tools everyone uses: project management, communication, core LLM or API access. One subscription or team plan. Centralized.

Individual — Tools where preference matters: coding (Cursor vs. Copilot), writing (Notion AI vs. dedicated). Let people choose within a budget.

Rule of thumb: shared for infrastructure and collaboration; individual for productivity tools where preference affects output.

Core Shared Infrastructure

Team LLM — API access (OpenAI, Anthropic) or team seats (ChatGPT Team, Claude for Teams). Shared context, shared prompts, or shared API keys. One plan for the team.

Project management — Notion, Linear, or similar with AI features. One source of truth for tasks and docs.

Communication — Slack or Discord. AI for summarization and search when available.

By Function

Product and dev — Cursor or Copilot for coding. Shared docs (Notion, Confluence). AI for PRD drafting and specs.

Marketing — Writing assistant, content calendar, social scheduling. Shared or per-seat depending on volume.

Sales — CRM with AI (HubSpot, Pipedrive). Meeting transcription. Outreach automation.

Operations — Workflow automation (Make, n8n). Document processing. AI for internal Q&A.

Per-Seat Pricing Trap

Many tools charge per user. $20/user × 5 = $100 for one tool. Multiply across tools and you hit $500+ quickly. Mitigate by:

Using API access instead of seats where possible
Sharing seats for low-use tools (e.g., one image tool for the team)
Choosing flat-rate tools when available

Collaboration Features to Prioritize

Shared workspaces — Where the team stores prompts, templates, and outputs
Team prompts — Reusable prompts everyone can use
Knowledge bases — Shared context for RAG and internal docs
Integration — Tools that connect to your project management and communication

Sample Stack: $200–500/month

$200 — ChatGPT Team or Claude for Teams ($25/user × 5 = $125) + Notion ($10) + one automation tool ($15) + one specialized tool ($50). Covers LLM, docs, and one workflow.

$350 — Above + coding Copilot ($20/user × 2 devs = $40) + CRM with AI ($50) + meeting transcription ($30). Covers product, sales, and meetings.

$500 — Above + writing assistant ($30) + image credits ($20) + extra automation. Full coverage across marketing, sales, product, and ops.

How This Connects to Hokai

Run >Smart Match with context: "5-person startup, shared tools, budget $X." Hok returns a Strategy Brief and stack. Use >My Stack to track team tools and share stacks with the team. >Smart Match for Startups has role-specific guidance.

The Bottom Line

For a 5-person startup, share core infrastructure (LLM, project management, communication) and allow individual choice for productivity tools. Watch per-seat pricing. Prioritize collaboration features. A $200–500/month stack can cover writing, coding, sales, and operations. Use Smart Match for personalized recommendations.