solid point, but I'd push back slightly — the real issue isn't Laravel vs MERN, it's picking a stack you actually know well. a dev who lives in React will still ship faster with MERN than fumbling through Blade templates.
that said, the "one language across the stack" argument for MERN is honestly overrated. you're still context-switching between client state and server logic, just in the same language. Laravel's batteries-included approach removes a whole class of decisions that don't need to be made at MVP stage.
bottom line: boring and familiar beats trendy and complex every time when you're trying to validate fast