You need to be able to get feedback on your product as quickly as possible, so my advice is to choose the technology stack that will allow you to build a prototype efficiently. There's no right answer here: for some people it's LAMP, for others it's node, for others it's a Windows stack.

Worrying about the technology at the stage you're at is a red herring: worry about the product, the problem it solves and the user experience of your solution, and get feedback you can iterate on as quickly as possible.

I'm a serial startup CTO who's now a startup founder and CEO. Let me know if I can help.

Hi there!

Your choice of technology stack will highly depend on your objectives and projects. There is no one correct answer to this. It would be really great if you can share with us what kind of applications or projects you are working on in order to give you a proper advice. Thanks!

Tech stack always comes down to a combination of two thing: requirements for what you are trying to build and background/preferences for your team. There is no one generic set of answers you will get here because so much of your decision comes down to the specifics of these two factors. I strongly suggest you solicit feedback from friends and advisors that can learn more about your situation.

Like others have said, it truly depends on what your project's goals are.

That said, there's going to likely be many viable options when it comes to the tech and after you've narrowed it down you'll have other factors to consider.

For example; how many developers are out there that use said technology? are they cheaper to hire compared to developers who might use a different technology?

How can one technology (be it a database or hosting provider) lower your overhead? Or how and when does it increase? How does that impact your margins?

Obviously there's a LOT to consider. Just know that the considerations go much farther than just, "what's the best language" or "what's the best database" ... Performance and popularity are not the only things to consider.

I did want to put together a site that would help people decide based on project requirements and explain trade offs. It's going to take a bit of time (so many options), but this is what I help people with all the time on Clarity.

What technologies do you know? or are you outsourcing the development?
If you are worried about software costs for Microsoft there is a Startup Bizspark program where software is free.

Using Opensource is also great, there are so many options. Don't think you could go wrong with LAMP and server hosting end up being cost effective as well.

PHP and MySQL are powerful.

You are the lead developer/CTO of a new and shiny Start-up. It seems that on the product side of things you know pretty well where you are headed. The next stage of course is to choose the right start-up tech stack to implement the idea and make the product “come to life”. In addition, if you have a lot of runway you can choose a technology that takes more time to develop in the short run but has stability, scalability, and maintenance benefits in the long run. For instance, if you have a lot of runway you might choose a compiled language which adds an overhead of compiling the whole thing before you run your code to test if it works . A little known at the time functional language and VM. In addition, it will be easier to hire a software architect and/or developers for your team. If you are not an expert on the tech stack you intend to choose, it is always helpful to have commercial support to assist you. Choosing the right start-up tech stack can have a crucial impact on the success of your start-up.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath