How I Rapidly Build SaaS MVPs with React, Next.js & Supabase — My Approach

So you’ve got an idea. Maybe it’s the next AI-powered dashboard, a real estate platform, or a productivity tool for remote teams. You open VS Code… and then what?
If you're like me a few years ago, you overthink:
→ Which stack?
→ Backend? Frontend? Auth?
→ Should I buy a template?
→ Is this even worth building?

Been there. That’s why over time, I refined a simple, scalable process to build SaaS MVPs lightning fast using React, Next.js, Supabase, and a bit of AI magic. Here's how I do it — code included.

Why This Stack? (Quick & Brutal Honesty)

After shipping dozens of projects, this is my go-to setup:

✅ React — battle-tested, huge ecosystem
✅ Next.js — routing, SSR, API routes, no headache
✅ Supabase — real-time Postgres, auth, storage, basically Firebase but SQL-friendly
✅ Tailwind CSS — fast, clean UI without wasting time
✅ OpenAI API — if I need AI in minutes, not months

Bonus: I can deploy the whole thing on Vercel in 5 minutes.

Step 1: Project Kickoff — Don’t Overthink, Just Init

Create your Next.js app:

npx create-next-app@latest my-saas --ts

cd my-saas

npm run dev

Tailwind setup?
Just follow their quick install — no excuses.

Step 2: Supabase Setup — Your Backend in 10 Minutes

Head to supabase.com, create a new project.

Install Supabase client:

npm install @supabase/supabase-js

Connect in your app:

import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js';



const supabase = createClient(

  process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,

  process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY!

);

Boom — you’ve got a database, auth, storage. No backend code yet? Don’t worry, it’s coming.

Step 3: Auth That Works (Finally)

Supabase makes this absurdly easy:

const { data, error } = await supabase.auth.signUp({

  email: 'user@example.com',

  password: 'securepassword'

});

Magic link? Social login? All built-in. No Firebase spaghetti or OAuth headaches.

Step 4: Basic SaaS Structure

Here’s my mental model:

→ Landing Page
→ Auth flow (login/signup/reset)
→ Dashboard (protected)
→ Simple billing (Stripe or Lemon Squeezy later)
→ Database tables for core features

Start lean. Ugly UI is okay — shipping is the goal.

Step 5: Deploy & Iterate

Vercel deploy:

git init

git remote add origin <your_repo>

git push -u origin main

Connect to Vercel. Done.

Now your MVP is live. You’ll fix bugs, improve UI, stress about users — that’s normal.

Final Thoughts — Ship Fast, Learn Fast

I’ve built real SaaS products this way: AI tools, dashboards, client portals. Is it perfect? No. But it works. It gets you to:

✔️ A live product
✔️ Real user feedback
✔️ Confidence to scale

You can waste months planning the “perfect stack” or you can launch, learn, and improve. Your call.

Need help turning your SaaS idea into a real app?
That’s literally what I do — React, Next.js, Supabase, AI — fast, reliable, no nonsense.

Let's build something cool.