Every resource founders actually use, in one library.

What founders use most, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

1. HN's own posting guidelines tell you plainly what a technical, skeptical audience wants from a launch post: no editorializing,... Y Combinator Article · 5 min read · Starting Up Hacker News Guidelines Y Combinator
2. Nathan Barry walks through the real, unpolished early drafts of the ConvertKit landing page and how a copywriter's feedback... Nathan Barry Article · 20 min read · Starting Up Step-By-Step Landing Page Copywriting Nathan Barry
3. This is a working copywriter's breakdown of what actually goes into a launch message that lands, including the parts founders... Copyhackers Article · 15 min read · Starting Up How to write launch emails that sell out your next launch Copyhackers
4. Figma spent years building quietly before a genuinely coordinated launch, and this piece walks through how that transition was... First Round Review Article · 20 min read · Starting Up How to Launch Your Startup Out of Stealth, from Figma's First Marketer First Round Review
5. Gary Vaynerchuk's core argument, document your actual work instead of manufacturing polished content from scratch, is the... garyvaynerchuk.com Essay · 6 min read · Starting Up Document, Don't Create: Creating Content That Builds Your Personal Brand Gary Vaynerchuk
6. Pieter Levels wrote up, in public, exactly how he built and launched a project while narrating each step on Twitter, and this... levels.io Essay · 10 min read · Starting Up Building a startup in public: from first line of code to frontpage of Reddit Pieter Levels
7. This is a direct, practical answer to the flatline problem: specific things to do in the days after your launch day,... Product Hunt Article · 6 min read · Starting Up 4 strategies to keep momentum going post-launch Product Hunt
8. A short, concrete framework for the actual first message you send someone you don't know: lead with something useful, not with... justinwelsh.me Essay · Starting Up How to Write a (Successful) Cold DM Justin Welsh
9. Ferrazzi's whole thesis is that networking works when it's generosity-first and ongoing, not a favor you cash in only when you... Keith Ferrazzi Book · Starting Up Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time Keith Ferrazzi
10. Bohns' research shows founders usually get the psychology backwards: people underestimate how much sway an ask has and how... Vanessa Bohns Book · Starting Up You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power of Persuasion, and Why It Matters Vanessa Bohns
11. Flynn's research found people underestimate by as much as 50% how often others will say yes to a direct ask, which is useful... Stanford Graduate School of Business Article · ~7 min · Starting Up Francis Flynn: If You Want Something, Ask For It Marguerite Rigoglioso
12. A short, blunt essay that names the exact problem in your question: treating social capital like an infinite chit you can cash... Rachel Mazza Essay · ~5 min · Starting Up Burning Through Social Capital Rachel Mazza
13. The book's whole argument is that the founders with the most useful networks aren't the ones who ask the most, they're... Scott Gerber and Ryan Paugh Book · Starting Up Superconnector: Stop Networking and Start Building Relationships Scott Gerber, Ryan Paugh
14. A practical guide built around one idea worth sitting with: network before you need something, so you're not always showing up... First Round Review Article · Starting Up Networking First Round Review
15. If you're going to spend a big ask on a launch that really matters, this research tells you how to spend it well: in-person or... Harvard Business Review Article · ~6 min · Starting Up Need a Favor? Research Suggests It's Best to Ask In Person Mahdi Roghanizad and Vanessa Bohns
16. This is the piece that pushes you to write down your success number before you launch, exactly the discipline our answer asks... Y Combinator Startup Library Article · 8 min read · Starting Up Setting KPIs and Goals Y Combinator Startup Library
17. Balfour argues that a big, splashy launch to everyone actually hurts you: it buries the signal you need under noise from people... Brian Balfour Essay · 15 min read · Starting Up How To Launch A Product or Feature To Maximize Growth Brian Balfour
18. The Naukri.com founder, using Zomato as the case study, makes the same case as our answer from an Indian boardroom: valuation... Forbes India Article · 8 min read · Starting Up Startups Must Move Away From Vanity Metrics Sanjeev Bikhchandani
19. Rand Fishkin writes with total candor about the mistakes, product failures, and eventual founder exit that shaped Moz, then... Penguin Random House Book · Starting Up Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World Rand Fishkin
20. A tight, practical checklist for the specific call type this question is about: the first real conversation with a prospect. It... Gong Article · ~8 min read · Starting Up 8 Things to Consider Before Your Next Discovery Call Gong Labs
21. Jason Lemkin makes the case that the person who ghosted you almost never made a conscious decision to ignore you, they just got... SaaStr Article · Starting Up VCs Don't Really Ghost You. They are Just Prospects. Treat Them as Such. Jason Lemkin
22. A short, concrete story from Steli Efti about following up with a single unresponsive investor 48 times before finally getting... LinkedIn Article · Starting Up How I followed up with an investor 48 times Steli Efti
23. Gong analyzed tens of thousands of real sales calls and found that deals which felt like sure things often died quietly because... Gong Article · Starting Up Why Deals Fail to Close and How to Succeed Next Time Gong
24. A practical reference you can keep open during calls: real objections, like it's too expensive or I need to think about it,... HubSpot Article · Starting Up Objection Handling: 44 Common Sales Objections & How to Respond Mark Burdon

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