Who is Amanda DeLuca?
Founder building Riley with a small team focused on shipping product fast. The Amanda DeLuca tools below are chosen for speed - quick decisions, fast iteration, minimal tool overhead.
Her approach to the tech stack is ruthlessly practical. If a tool doesn't directly help ship product or run essential business functions, it's gone. No tools kept around just because they're popular in startup circles.
The 10 apps below cover product development (Linear, Figma, GitHub), team coordination (Slack, Loom, Notion), deployment (Vercel), and analytics (Mixpanel). Everything else is either handled by one of these tools or doesn't need a dedicated app.
What makes it work is the integration between tools. Linear syncs with GitHub. Vercel deploys from GitHub automatically. Slack gets notifications from Linear and Vercel. Information flows without manual copying between systems.
Product Development Workflow
Linear tracks everything from bugs to feature requests. Clean interface, keyboard shortcuts, and project views that actually make sense. Every issue gets prioritized in weekly planning.
Cycles (their version of sprints) show what's shipping next. Team velocity gets tracked automatically. Roadmap view connects issues to bigger initiatives. No manual status updates in spreadsheets.
Integration with GitHub means engineers can reference Linear issues in commits and pull requests. Issue status updates automatically when PRs merge. Less context-switching between tools.
Figma is where features start. Design first, build second. Every mockup lives in Figma with comments from product and engineering before code gets written.
Design system in Figma keeps UI consistent. Components get reused across features. Engineers use Dev Mode to grab exact spacing, colors, and sizing. No guessing about design specs.
The workflow is simple: idea gets spec'd in Notion, designed in Figma, tasked in Linear, built in GitHub, deployed via Vercel. Everything connects.
Engineering & Deployment Stack
GitHub handles all code and version control. Pull requests get reviewed before merging. CI/CD pipelines run tests automatically on every commit. Catches bugs before they hit production.
Branch protection rules require PR reviews and passing tests before merging to main. Prevents broken code from deploying. GitHub Actions automate everything from testing to deployment.
Vercel makes deployment stupidly simple. Push to GitHub, Vercel builds and deploys automatically. Every branch gets preview URL for testing. Production deploys happen on merge to main.
Edge functions handle backend logic without managing servers. Analytics built-in show performance metrics. Rollbacks are one click if something breaks. Zero-config deployment that just works.
The combo of GitHub and Vercel means shipping happens fast. Merge PR, production updates in 2 minutes. No manual deployment processes, no server management, no DevOps overhead for a small team.
Team Coordination & Knowledge Sharing
Slack handles real-time team coordination. Channels organized by function - #engineering, #product, #design. Quick questions get answered in minutes instead of waiting for next sync.
Integrations post updates from other tools. Linear issue updates, GitHub PR notifications, Vercel deployment statuses - all visible in relevant Slack channels. Team stays informed without checking five apps.
Loom replaced most synchronous meetings. Product walkthroughs, design reviews, feature explanations - record async video instead of scheduling 30-minute calls.
Team watches videos on their schedule. Pause, rewind, rewatch sections. Comments on specific timestamps. Way more efficient than live meetings for most communication needs.
Searchable video library becomes institutional knowledge. New team member joins, they can search Loom for 'onboarding' and find everything they need without bothering existing team.
Notion is the company brain. Product specs, meeting notes, company handbook, engineering docs. Everything searchable, everything linked together.
Templates prevent recreating docs from scratch. New feature spec? Use the template with pre-filled sections. Weekly planning? Template pulls in relevant Linear issues automatically through integration.
Product Analytics & AI Tools
Mixpanel tracks how users actually use the product. Which features get engagement, which sit unused. Funnel analysis shows where signups drop off. Cohort tracking reveals retention patterns over time.
Product decisions get made with data, not gut feelings. 'Should we build feature X?' becomes 'Do users who engage with similar feature Y retain better?' Answers come from Mixpanel reports.
Event tracking shows user behavior beyond surface metrics. Don't just count page views - track meaningful actions like feature adoption, workflow completion, value realization moments.
Claude speeds up research and documentation. Competitive analysis, user feedback synthesis, spec drafting. Feed it context and rough ideas, get back structured output to refine.
Treats it like a research assistant with editing skills. Summarize 50 user feedback comments into key themes. Draft release notes from Linear issue descriptions. Generate first-pass product specs from bullet points. Then edit into final form.
The Amanda DeLuca tech stack is built for speed. Fast shipping, fast decisions, fast iteration. Every tool either supports that or gets cut.
Frequently Asked Questions About Amanda DeLuca's Stack
What project management tool does Amanda DeLuca use?
Linear handles all issue tracking and sprint planning. Clean interface with keyboard shortcuts makes triage fast. Integrates with GitHub so issue status updates automatically when code merges. Cycles show what's shipping next without manual status updates.
What tools does Amanda DeLuca use for product development?
Linear for issues, Figma for design, GitHub for code, Vercel for deployment, Mixpanel for analytics. Full product development cycle covered. Ideas get spec'd in Notion, designed in Figma, tasked in Linear, built in GitHub, deployed via Vercel, tracked in Mixpanel.
How does Amanda DeLuca's team communicate?
Slack for real-time coordination, Loom for async video updates, Notion for documentation. Most meetings got replaced with Loom videos - record once, team watches on their schedule. Slack handles quick decisions. Notion stores everything that needs to persist.
What analytics tool does Amanda DeLuca use?
Mixpanel for product analytics and user behavior tracking. Shows which features get used, where funnels drop off, how cohorts retain. Product decisions backed by data instead of guessing. Event tracking goes beyond page views to measure meaningful user actions.
Does Amanda DeLuca use AI tools?
Claude for research, documentation, and spec drafting. Summarizes user feedback, drafts release notes, generates first-pass specs from bullet points. Treats it like a research assistant - feed context, get structured output, edit into final form. Speeds up routine writing without replacing thinking.
What makes Amanda DeLuca's startup stack effective?
Everything integrates seamlessly. Linear syncs with GitHub. Vercel deploys from GitHub automatically. Slack gets updates from Linear and Vercel. Information flows between tools without manual copying. Built for small team speed - ship fast, iterate fast, minimal tool overhead.