Of the 5 million apps out there, only a rare few will actually make you faster. After years of trial and error, I hunted them down the same way I hunt for the right avocado at the grocery store.
I put together a tech stack list back in 2024, then again in 2025, and both times it was one of my most-read articles ever. I didn't plan to write it a third time, but the stack changed enough that I had to.
Last year, AI got smarter. This year, AI got hands. It stopped answering questions and started doing things: sending emails, building spreadsheets, updating your CRM, booking meetings, running outreach 24 hours a day without taking a vacation or making a mistake. That's the shift. Here's what's running my operation now.
Manus AI
This is where I spend the most time and money: $850/month, and it's worth every dollar.
Every morning at 7 a.m., Manus scans my calendar and inbox and sends me a debrief of what's on for the day. Every night, a Telegram DM lands with what got done. It builds spreadsheets, builds reports, and I train it by voice: I speak the skill, it builds the skill, and it remembers forever.
Claude AI
Still the sharpest LLM for complex work. I use it in team mode with shared threads, saved knowledge, and ongoing projects.
I dumped ChatGPT because it was too glitchy, too robotic, and too unreliable for the specialized tasks I need. Claude is more consistent, more precise, and just sounds more human.
OpenClaw
This is the most exciting thing I've built this year, and I built it with my son.
OpenClaw is a Claude-powered agent running on a Mac Mini on a second desk. It's connected to a model router, so it automatically picks the best AI for each task: Claude for writing, GPT Codex for code, a lightweight model for the fast and cheap stuff.
It has its own email, its own WhatsApp number, and its own phone number. Right now, we're building a 24/7 outreach workflow where it prospects, follows up, updates the CRM, and tags the right team member: nonstop, no mistakes, no days off.
IndustrialIQ.AI
Our in-house small bay acquisition software with an AI layer you command by voice. This is where the deals get found and underwritten.
The Supporting Cast
These tools are still pulling their weight:
- Wispr Flow: I barely type anymore. Voice in, clean professional message out.
- Loom: Every meeting recorded, transcribed, and logged. My memory lives here.
- Perplexity: Faster than Google for research. We have a team subscription.
- Remove Paywall: Everything is behind a paywall now. This solves that.
- Superhuman: Still the best email app, period. Inbox zero at least once a week.
- Google Apps: Command center for the whole team. Unmatched for storage and search.
- Apple Notes: Voice memos, quick notes, files on the go. Always open.
- Notion: Where all the marketing gets built and stored.
- 1Password: No more password chaos. Synced across the whole team.
- Beehiiv: This is where I push out my Newsletters.
- LandGlide: First thing I open stepping out of the car.
- Canva: Your $13/month graphic designer. Still standing.
The Evolution
Here's how it went:
- 2024: We used these tools to ask questions and get answers. Super Google.
- 2025: We started using them to organize and speed up our work.
- 2026: We're telling them what to do. And they're doing it.
- Next 6 months: We'll tell them the outcome we want. They'll figure out the tasks to get there on their own.
We're early, but not that early.
The shift is real: AI went from answering questions to taking action, and the tools that are worth keeping are the ones actually doing the work. Use the stack. Abuse it. And let the machines do the heavy lifting while you stay focused on the deals.
