> I don't want everything done for me. I feel like this will inhibit learning and growth rather than encourage it But then you promptly discard a bunch of serv

> I don't want everything done for me. I feel like this will inhibit learning and growth rather than encourage it But then you promptly discard a bunch of services you haven't even evaluated. I would agree that vendor lock-in is bad, but I'd also suggest you take a few hours and get familiar with services and products before dismissing them. I would recommend using the AWS free tier and learn the basics, that's more than enough to get started. You can apply to their startup program for free credits as well if required.