Node + React startup stack — one language end to end
TypeScript across Node backend and React frontend. Shipped at bolttech ($1B+ unicorn) and Instill (AI startup). Fixed monthly price.
Who this is for
YC-style startup committed to a TypeScript-everywhere stack (Node plus React plus Postgres or Mongo).
The pain today
- The team knows the tools but not the discipline — modules, queues, tests, deploys.
- Express is scattered; NestJS is over-committed-to before needed.
- Next.js is being used for everything including backend that should be its own service.
- TypeScript types are not shared between backend and frontend.
The outcome you get
- A senior engineer who shipped this stack at $1B+ unicorn and AI startup scale.
- A reference architecture for when to use Node vs Nest vs Next.
- Shared TypeScript types between frontend and backend via monorepo.
- Queues, auth, observability, CI/CD — the discipline, not just the tools.
Reference architecture for Node + React
The typical TypeScript-everywhere stack: Turborepo monorepo with apps/web (Next.js or Vite plus React), apps/api (NestJS or Fastify), packages/shared (Zod schemas, types, domain models shared both ways). Node 20 plus TypeScript strict. Prisma plus Postgres or Mongoose plus Mongo depending on data shape. BullMQ on Redis for queues. Auth via Clerk, Auth.js, or custom Passport plus JWT. Testing: Vitest plus Playwright. Deploy: Vercel for web, AWS ECS Fargate or Fly.io for api. CI: GitHub Actions with Turborepo remote caching.
Two ends of the scale: bolttech + Instill
bolttech ran NestJS plus React plus MongoDB plus Redis plus TypeScript at $1B+ unicorn scale. 40+ payment providers, 99.9% uptime, zero post-launch critical bugs. Instill runs Next.js 16 plus React 19 plus TypeScript plus PostgreSQL plus Vercel plus MCP at AI-startup scale. 30+ users, 1,000+ skills, 45+ projects. Same engineer, two opposite ends of the scale curve. The discipline is the same at both ends — the specific scale decisions (queue sizing, replica count, cache tiers) differ.
Node vs NestJS vs Next.js route handlers
Three buckets. Raw Node plus Fastify or Express: for lean services with clear bounds (under 20 endpoints). NestJS: for complex domains with real structure needs (fintech, B2B SaaS, multi-tenant). Next.js route handlers: for backends that live alongside the frontend and share types tightly, where the backend is light. Most startups should start with Next.js route handlers plus NestJS as a separate service when the backend outgrows the frontend repo. The decision is written in discovery, not left to whoever shows up on Monday.
Pricing and engagement
Applications subscription at $3,499 per month flat. 2 to 4 day delivery cycles. Daily async updates. 14-day money-back. Cancel anytime. Work Made for Hire — monorepo, shared packages, deploy configs, all yours.
Recent proof
A comparable engagement, delivered and documented.
Unified payment orchestration across Asia and Europe
Delivered the payment orchestration platform at bolttech, a $1B+ unicorn, with 40+ integrations across multiple regions.
Frequently asked questions
The questions prospects ask before they book.
- Turborepo or Nx?
- Turborepo for most teams (simpler, faster, Vercel-native). Nx when the team needs Nx-specific plugins or has deep Nx expertise already.
- Postgres or Mongo?
- Postgres as default for most CRUD SaaS. Mongo when the data is genuinely document-shaped and schema flexibility is core. bolttech is Mongo (payment providers have different shapes); Instill is Postgres.
- tRPC, REST, or GraphQL?
- tRPC for tight monorepo type-sharing. REST for public APIs. GraphQL for complex frontends with many clients — rare at startup scale.
- Next.js 16 with React Server Components?
- Yes. RSC is the default for new Next.js work in 2026. Instill uses RSC heavily. Client Components only when interactivity requires it.
- Can you migrate our Express codebase?
- Yes. Express to NestJS incremental migration or Express to Fastify cleanup — the audit picks the right target based on complexity and team preference.
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