Shaan Puri’s Reading and Tool Stack for Founders in 2025

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If you’re looking to discover Shaan Puri tools, reading lists, and the ultimate SaaS stack for founders in 2025, you’re not alone. Every founder wants to know: what does an investor-turned-operator actually use, read, and recommend to get ahead? In this guide, I’ll walk you through Shaan Puri’s founder stack, his productivity strategies, top fundraising tools, the best analytics picks, and even hidden gems from Capitaly.vc resources to level up your own journey.

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Shaan Puri’s Reading and Tool Stack for Founders in 2025

Below, I’ll break down the exact reading habits, digital tools, and frameworks Shaan uses, why they matter, and practical ways you can adapt these insights to your startup life. Whether you’re scaling a SaaS business, building out your analytics suite, picking your next productivity app, or mapping your personal CRM for fundraising, you’ll find actionable advice in every section.

What is Shaan Puri’s 2025 Tool Stack for Founders?

Let’s start by going over Shaan Puri’s tool stack in 2025. His toolkit covers more than just the basic apps. Shaan selects tools that maximize leverage, cut out the noise, and automate low-value work. Here’s a snapshot:

Notion — For managing docs, founder wikis, and company knowledge.
Superhuman — For a blazingly fast email workflow.
Loom — To record quick explainer videos and updates for team and investors.
Linear — For product roadmaps and issue tracking.
Mixpanel — For advanced analytics and cohort tracking.
Airtable — For flexible founder CRMs, deal flow, content calendars.
Zapier/Make — For automations that bridge tools without writing code.
Descript — For creating and editing engaging video/podcasts.

Shaan picks tools that do a single job exceptionally well. The focus is on ROI for every minute spent.

How Does Shaan Puri Curate His Reading List?

Shaan doesn’t just read whatever pops up on Twitter or Reddit. He curates his reading list with intention. Here’s how:

Repeatable classics over trending headlines.
Finding depth: digging into original blog posts, essays, and books written by the practice-driven, not just theorists.
Leveraging newsletter aggregators like The Browser, Not Boring, and The Pragmatic Engineer.
He keeps a Notion database of must-reads and action summaries (not just highlights).

It’s about building a living reading stack — not just a pile of content, but an actionable resource he refers to weekly.

Why Do Founders Need a Modern SaaS Stack?

The right SaaS stack is now the backbone of any modern founder’s workflow. For Shaan Puri and the founders he advises, this means:

Automating the tedious (think onboarding, analytics, CRM updates).
Speeding up team communication (async video, threaded chat, searchable docs).
Getting out of your own way: fewer tools, better standards, less context switching.

By using the best-in-class SaaS, Shaan cuts operational drag and stays focused on big levers.

What’s Unique About Shaan Puri’s Founder Stack?

Unlike most “top 10 founder tools” lists, Shaan’s founder stack is practical and battle-tested. Here’s what makes it unique:

He ditches vanity tools and invests in those that unlock leverage.
Mix of old-school and bleeding-edge; you’ll find Google Sheets living next to AI copilots.
He prefers modularity (tools that integrate or zap together) over all-in-one monoliths.

Shaan’s approach is less about trends, more about resilient workflows.

How Does Shaan Puri Use Productivity Apps in 2025?

Productivity isn’t about cramming more widgets on your screen. Shaan uses apps to:

Automate routine (Superhuman keyboard shortcuts, Notion templates, Zapier triggers).
Schedule deep and shallow work (Time blocking in Google Calendar, daily priorities in Notion).
Protect context (one-touch switching between Slack/Linear/Notion per project).

He recommends picking 3–5 core productivity tools and going deep on their features, not chasing endless new “productivity hacks.”

What Capitaly.vc Resources Can Boost Your Fundraising?

Shaan regularly taps into quality resources from Capitaly.vc, especially when fundraising or helping portfolio founders. Some must-see picks include:

SaaS Deal Rooms: The 2024 Playbook: End-to-end guide for digital fundraising.
24 Venture Metrics Every Founder Needs: Data-driven approach to setting goals.

These resources offer templates, founder checklists, and actionable investor outreach scripts.

Which Analytics Tools Are Non-Negotiable in Shaan Puri’s Stack?

Founders in 2025 must be metric-obsessed, and Shaan’s analytics essentials include:

Mixpanel: Funnels, retention analysis, user journeys.
Google Analytics 4: Traffic sources, cohort overviews.
Segment: Unified customer event tracking across products.
June.so: For SaaS product analytics, early-stage dashboards.

Shaan places analytics at the front of his founder stack, not as an afterthought.

Are AI Tools & Copilots Core to the 2025 Founder Stack?

Absolutely. For Shaan Puri, AI isn’t a toy. It’s now a central element. Here’s what’s on his AI radar:

ChatGPT (Custom GPTs) for rapid research and summarizing complex docs.
Apollo AI for sales outreach personalization.
Descript AI for auto-editing and transcriptions.

Shaan uses AI to reduce friction, speed up decision-making, and prototype business ideas faster.

How Does Shaan Puri Streamline Team Communication?

To avoid endless back-and-forth and sync meetings, Shaan leans on:

Loom for async video updates.
Slack for project threads, with strict channel rules.
Notion for a single source of truth (project briefs, launch docs, company playbooks).

He believes in “fix it at the root” systems — well-designed communication beats endless pings.

What is Shaan Puri’s Approach to Fundraising Tools?

Shaan treats investor outreach like a product pipeline, not a one-off. Here’s his stack:

Airtable (with automations): To track leads, interactions, and warm intros.
Mixmax: Automated follow-ups and calendar links for investors.
DocSend: Share pitch decks securely and monitor views.
Capitaly.vc Playbooks: For outreach scripts and data room templates. (For more, see: The Ultimate Dealflow Tracking Stack)

How Does Shaan Puri Vet Tools Before Recommending Them?

Shaan doesn’t chase the next shiny object. He:

Runs a “14-day real-world trial” with his team.
Checks integration options with the current stack.
Asks founders in his network for edge cases/gotchas.

His main question: “Does this tool help us do something 10x better — or just 10% faster?”

What Reading Habits Set Shaan Puri Apart?

Shaan Puri’s reading list isn’t just about consuming content. It’s about synthesis. Here are his habits:

Blocks 60 minutes each week for deep reading (no notifications, phone off).
Keeps a Notion log of takeaways and “next actions” from a book or blog post.
Shares his summaries with team or on Twitter for feedback/banter.

This process turns reading into a growth flywheel.

What’s in Shaan Puri’s Personal CRM Stack?

Relationships are assets. Shaan builds his personal CRM using:

Airtable schemas for contacts, interactions, scheduled check-ins.
Zapier automations to sync LinkedIn and Gmail to CRM.
Personalized annual check-in reminders set in Google Calendar.

This approach keeps important connections warm and natural, not transactional.

Which Content Creation Tools Power Shaan’s Brand?

Shaan’s online presence is fueled by:

Descript (for fast podcast editing and social video clips).
Typefully (to draft and schedule threads/ideas to Twitter/X).
Canva Pro (for quick high-quality graphics for decks & content).
Ghost (for his newsletter publishing engine).

Content is repurposed smartly with automations and AI help, freeing time to “scale his voice.”

How Does Shaan Puri Test and Deploy New SaaS Tools?

Instead of top-down mandates, Shaan applies a simple process:

Pilots in a sandbox workspace or with a small group.
Runs “shadow sprints” — parallel workflows to measure against old tools.
Seeks brutal feedback in the first week (what’s friction, what actually saves time?).

This hands-on approach stops bad tool choices before they spread.

What Founder Rituals Amplify Shaan Puri’s Productivity?

Productivity is more than tools; it’s about rituals. Shaan’s standouts:

Daily Kickoff: 10-minute standup using Notion’s daily template.
Weekly Review: Reflecting on goals, wins, and pivots every Friday.
“Work in public” moments on X/Twitter to stay accountable.

He builds simple rituals, then layers in tools that enhance, not complicate, the process.

How Does Shaan Puri Leverage Founders’ Networks?

One of Shaan’s superpowers is leveraging networks without being transactional:

He gives value first — short intros, feedback, sharing wins.
Maintains “lifetime relationships” by documenting context in his CRM for each contact.
Uses LinkedIn and Twitter DMs for micro-collaborations.

For more on network-driven growth, see our blog post: Landing Your First Venture Check: Network Effects.

What Uncommon Tools Are High Leverage in Shaan’s Stack?

Beyond the well-known options, Shaan’s stack includes:

Rewind AI — For searchable, private, “memory extension” of everything you see/do.
Matter — For quick peer feedback and praise inside the team Slack.
Heyday — AI-powered personal knowledge management.

These tools aren’t always on founder radar, but bring major productivity gains when adopted early.

Does Shaan Puri’s Stack Change with Startup Stages?

Shaan adapts his stack as companies scale:

Seed: Speed and agility, lightweight tools, founders do the integrations.
Series A: More automation, analytics, and documentation for growing teams.
Growth: Deeper integrations, role-based access, enterprise compliance.

He reviews and prunes his tool stack quarterly to stay ahead of bloat.

What Are Shaan Puri’s Top 5 Must-Read Books for Founders?

Shaan’s 2025 reading list staples:

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant — Wisdom on wealth and leverage.
Founders at Work — First-person stories from iconic entrepreneurs.
High Output Management— Andy Grove’s management gospel.
Deep Work — Cal Newport’s playbook for focus and value creation.
Make Something Wonderful — The life and lessons of Steve Jobs.

Each title is chosen for actionable frameworks, not just inspiration.

How To Build Your Own Shaan Puri-Style Founder Stack?

To build a stack like Shaan Puri’s in 2025:

Start lean: Only add a new tool if it solves a real choke point.
Automate what you repeat weekly, not one-off experiments.
Keep a living doc of your own “stack” — review it quarterly.
Leverage recommendations from operators, not just online roundups.
Borrow rituals, not just software.

Most importantly, shift your mindset: the stack is there to serve your process, not the other way around.

FAQs: Shaan Puri’s Reading & Tool Stack for Founders in 2025

1. What is Shaan Puri’s favorite productivity tool for founders?He swears by Notion for note-taking, docs, and managing company knowledge bases. Superhuman for email is a close second.2. How does Shaan keep his reading list organized?He uses a Notion database with notes, actionables, and reminders to revisit key concepts regularly.3. Which analytics platforms does Shaan recommend for early-stage startups?Mixpanel and June.so are his go-tos for cohort, retention, and conversion tracking.4. Are AI tools a core part of Shaan Puri’s tech stack?Yes; from ChatGPT for research to Rewind AI for memory and Descript for content production, AI tools play a central role.5. How does Shaan structure his personal founder CRM?He uses Airtable linked with Zapier to manage contacts, interactions, reminders, and notes.6. Does Shaan Puri have a favorite approach to fundraising?He uses an Airtable-based investor pipeline, leverages Mixmax for communication, and DocSend for deck analytics—plus scripts from Capitaly.vc resources.7. How often does Shaan review or prune his tool stack?Quarterly. He iterates as the startup grows, removing or swapping tools to avoid bloat.8. Where can I find more of Shaan’s reading and tool recommendations?He shares frequent updates on his X/Twitter feed and on podcasts like My First Million. Many frameworks are also available via Capitaly.vc’s blog.9. What’s one underrated tool Shaan recommends?Rewind AI for private, searchable recall of everything you’ve seen and done on your computer.10. How can I start building my own founder stack?Begin with Shaan’s essentials—Notion, Airtable, Superhuman—then add as your workflow and needs evolve.

Conclusion: Level Up with Shaan Puri’s Stack in 2025

Shaan Puri’s reading and tool stack for founders in 2025 is less about hype, more about compounding advantage. Whether you’re optimizing productivity, analytics, fundraising, or your team’s workflow, use these insights to save time, raise smarter, and build faster. Don’t just copy the stack — adopt the mindset behind it: tools serve your process, not the other way around.

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