Written by Fatih Kadir Akın, on May 14, 2025
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# MCP Startups: Building the Next Generation of AI-Powered Businesses

I can't stop thinking about how the **Model Context Protocol (MCP) is going to completely transform the startup landscape** in the next few years. We're at the beginning of something huge here, and I want to make sure you understand why this is such a massive opportunity for entrepreneurs and developers.

## The MCP Startup Revolution

The AI landscape is evolving incredibly fast. Just two years ago, everyone was rushing to build their own AI apps with basic LLM integrations. Now we're entering a new phase where the real opportunity isn't building yet another AI chat interface - it's creating specialized tools that extend what existing AI platforms can do.

This is where MCP comes in. The Model Context Protocol is the bridge between powerful LLMs like Claude and specialized tools that make these LLMs vastly more capable. And this bridge is creating an entirely new category of startups.

> MCP is to AI what the App Store was to smartphones - it creates an entirely new economy of specialized tools that extend a platform's capabilities while sharing a unified user experience.

Imagine being able to launch a startup without:
- Building a complex UI/UX system
- Creating your own user base
- Solving distribution and discovery

Instead, you focus exclusively on building specialized tools that solve real problems. Claude and other LLMs become your distribution platform, user interface, and integration layer all in one.

## Why MCP Startups Will Be Huge

There are several reasons I'm convinced MCP startups are going to explode in popularity:

### 1. The Perfect Division of Labor

LLM platforms like Claude handle what they're good at:
- Natural language understanding and generation
- User interaction and conversation management
- Context handling and memory
- Interface and distribution

Your MCP tools handle what they're good at:
- Specialized domain knowledge
- Access to proprietary data
- Complex calculations and processing
- Integration with other systems

This division creates a symbiotic relationship where both sides win.

> The brilliance of MCP is that it lets everyone do what they're best at: LLMs handle the conversation, and your tools provide the specialized capabilities.

### 2. Incredible Economics

The business model for MCP startups is remarkably efficient:
- Minimal frontend development costs
- Reduced user acquisition costs (users are already on LLM platforms)
- Pay-as-you-go infrastructure scaling
- Ability to charge per-use or subscription

Think about it - you can build a valuable tool that costs pennies to run but provides dollars of value per use. That's a winning formula.

> I predict that some of the most capital-efficient startups of the next few years will be built on MCP. You can go from idea to revenue with minimal infrastructure and marketing costs.

### 3. Exploding User Base

Claude and similar LLMs are being adopted at an unprecedented rate. Millions of users are already using these platforms daily, and that number is growing rapidly. Each of these users is a potential customer for your MCP tools.

Enterprises are particularly interesting here. They're adopting LLMs for knowledge work across their organizations, and they're willing to pay for specialized tools that make their employees more productive.

> The platforms that win in AI will be those with the richest ecosystem of tools. And the tools that win will be those available on the most popular platforms. It's a virtuous cycle that MCP enables.

### 4. Perfect Timing

We're at that magic moment where:
- The protocol is mature enough to build on
- User adoption is growing exponentially
- Big players are invested in the ecosystem
- Monetization channels are being established
- But it's still early enough to establish dominance in categories

## How MCP Startups Actually Make Money

Let's talk about the business models that are emerging:

### Premium Tool Providers
Build specialized tools that users access through Claude, charging either per use or via subscription. Examples:
- Legal document analysis tools ($0.50 per document)
- Financial modeling tools ($29.99/month unlimited access)
- Scientific research assistants ($0.25 per query)

### Vertical Solutions
Create industry-specific tool collections that solve common workflows:
- Real estate analysis suite (property valuation, market trends, investment ROI)
- Healthcare research assistant (medical literature search, trial data analysis)
- Marketing optimization tools (copy analysis, market research, competitor monitoring)

### Enterprise Integrations
Build tools that connect Claude to enterprise systems:
- Salesforce data connector ($99/month)
- Internal knowledge base search ($0.10 per search)
- Document management system integration ($199/month)

### Data Access Services
Provide structured access to valuable data:
- Industry databases ($0.15 per lookup)
- Specialized search capabilities ($0.20 per search)
- Real-time information services ($39/month)

## The Claude Integration Effect

What makes this particularly exciting is how Claude is leading the way in MCP adoption. Their approach allows:

1. **Deep integration** - Tools feel like a natural extension of the AI
2. **Contextual invocation** - Users can trigger tools in natural conversation
3. **Seamless authentication** - OAuth flows that respect user privacy
4. **Explanation of results** - Claude can interpret and explain tool outputs

Claude is essentially becoming an operating system for AI-powered knowledge work, and MCP tools are the apps running on that OS.

## Stripe Just Changed the Game

The recent announcement that Stripe now supports direct monetization of MCP tools is a game-changer. This means:

- Users can pay for tools right within their Claude experience
- Developers can implement subscription or per-use billing easily
- The payment flow is smooth and friction-free

Suddenly, the business model is crystal clear. Build valuable tools, integrate with Claude via MCP, set up Stripe, and start generating revenue.

> We're witnessing the creation of a new micro-SaaS economy built around AI tools. While traditional SaaS required complex sales processes, MCP tools can be purchased and used in seconds.

## Why I'm Building for MCP Startups

After exploring MCP through several projects and blog posts over the past few months, I've become convinced this is where the next wave of successful AI startups will emerge. That's why I've created something to help accelerate this ecosystem.

{% include framework/shortcodes/button.html 
  text="View MCP Startup Boilerplate"
  url="https://github.com/f/mcp-startup-boilerplate"
  style="primary"
  size="large"
  icon="github"
  external="true"
%}

## Introducing MCP Startup Boilerplate

To help people jump into this opportunity, I built a complete [MCP Startup Boilerplate](https://github.com/f/mcp-startup-boilerplate). This isn't just a basic template - it's everything you need to launch a real business around MCP tools:

```ruby
class YourPaidTool < PaidTool
  description "Your paid tool description"
  
  # Custom pricing (optional, defaults to $0.05)
  def price_cents
    8 # $0.08 per call
  end
  
  def call
    return { error: "User has no active subscription" } unless charge_user
  
    # Your implementation here after charge
  end
end
```

Here's what's included:

- **Full user authentication** with Devise so users can sign up and log in
- **OAuth2 provider** through Doorkeeper that securely connects your tools to Claude
- **Stripe payment processing** so you can charge for your tools from day one
- **Latest Rails (8.0.2)** with Tailwind CSS and Hotwire for a modern stack
- **Ready-to-use MCP integration** that works with Claude right out of the box

> My goal with this boilerplate is simple: reduce the time from idea to revenue-generating MCP startup from months to days.

Seriously, this saves you weeks of setup work. Just clone it, customize your tools, and you're in business.

## Real-World MCP Startup Opportunities (With Examples)

Let me share some specific startup ideas I think could work really well with MCP:

### 1. Vertical-Specific Tools
Create domain-specific tools for industries like:
- **Legal**: Contract analyzer that finds problematic clauses with explanations ($0.10/contract)
- **Finance**: Investment opportunity scanner that processes SEC filings in real-time ($29.99/month)
- **Healthcare**: Medical research assistant that connects to PubMed and clinical databases ($0.25/query)

### 2. Data Access Services
Build MCP servers that provide access to:
- **Industry databases**: Real estate comps database with pricing trends ($0.15/lookup)
- **Market intelligence**: Competitive analysis tool that tracks pricing across e-commerce sites ($49/month)
- **Research repositories**: Academic paper finder with citation metrics and full-text access ($19.99/month)

### 3. Computational Services
Offer MCP tools that handle complex computations:
- **Statistical analysis**: Advanced statistical modeling tool for research data ($0.20/analysis)
- **3D rendering**: Convert text descriptions to 3D model specifications ($1.50/render)
- **Financial modeling**: Customized financial projection tools for startups ($0.75/model)

> The best MCP startups won't just provide tools - they'll provide superpowers that feel like natural extensions of human capability, delivered through conversation.

## How MCP + Claude Integration Actually Works

Since I've built several MCP servers already, let me explain how the Claude integration works in practice:

1. **Your server exposes tools via MCP**: You define what each tool does and what parameters it accepts
2. **Claude Desktop connects to your server**: Users configure their Claude to connect to your MCP endpoint
3. **Users interact naturally with Claude**: They can ask Claude to use your tools in normal conversation
4. **Your server authenticates the user**: Using OAuth2, your server verifies the user has permission
5. **Tool gets executed and returns results**: Your business logic runs and returns results to Claude
6. **Claude presents results to the user**: The LLM formats and explains the results conversationally

What's cool is that users don't need to learn a new interface - they just talk to Claude like they normally would, and your tools become available as part of that experience.

## How to Get Started Building Your MCP Startup

If you're ready to jump in, here's exactly what to do:

1. **Figure out your niche**: What specific problem can you solve better than anyone else?
2. **Clone my boilerplate**: Run `git clone https://github.com/f/mcp-startup-boilerplate mcp-startup`
3. **Build your core tools**: Create the MCP tools that deliver your core value
4. **Set up payment flows**: Configure subscription plans or per-use pricing
5. **Test with real Claude users**: Get people to connect Claude to your server and try your tools
6. **Iterate based on feedback**: See how people actually use your tools and improve them

Don't overthink it at the beginning. Start with one really good tool that solves a specific problem, then expand from there.

## My MCP Journey So Far

I've been on this MCP journey for a while now, writing about different aspects of the protocol:

- [Building a Hello World MCP Server](/blog/building-hello-world-mcp-server) - Where I started with the basics
- [Building a Filesystem MCP Server in Go](/blog/building-filesystem-mcp-server-in-go) - Exploring different languages
- [Building an App Opener MCP Server for macOS](/blog/building-app-opener-mcp-server-for-macos) - Integrating with OS functionality
- [Introducing MCP Tools CLI](/blog/introducing-mcp-tools-cli) - Creating developer tools for the ecosystem

Each of these projects taught me something new about MCP. Now with the startup boilerplate, I'm focused on helping people build actual businesses on top of this technology.

## The Future of MCP Startups

I truly believe we're just seeing the very beginning of what's possible with MCP startups. As more LLM platforms adopt the protocol and users get comfortable with AI-augmented workflows, the opportunities will explode.

The startups that will win big will be those that:

1. **Solve real problems that are perfect for AI assistance**
2. **Provide unique value** through proprietary data, algorithms or domain expertise
3. **Price fairly** for the value they deliver
4. **Build network effects** by integrating with other tools and platforms

We'll also see acquisitions start to happen as bigger companies realize they need specialized MCP tools to complete their offerings.

## Conclusion

The shift from MCP as a technical specification to a legitimate business opportunity is happening right now. With the MCP Startup Boilerplate and Stripe's monetization support, you have everything you need to start building a real business around AI-powered tools.

I'm ridiculously excited about what's happening in this space and can't wait to see what people build. If you're working on an MCP startup or thinking about starting one, please reach out - I'd love to hear about it and maybe even help!

> Five years from now, we'll look back at 2025 as the year MCP startups went mainstream. The question isn't whether this will happen, but who will build the tools that define this new era.

This is honestly one of the most exciting opportunities I've seen in years, and I'm all in on helping build this ecosystem. Let's make some amazing MCP startups together!

_This article was proofread and edited with AI assistance._