Every resource founders actually use, in one library.

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

1. This is the spreadsheet to actually model your cap table forward three rounds before you sign the first term sheet. It adds... Foresight Template · spreadsheet template · Starting Up Cap Table and Exit Waterfall Modeling Tool (Foresight) Foresight (Taylor Davidson) In 2 answers
2. A slide-by-slide walk through Airbnb's actual 2009 seed deck (the one that raised $600K), covering all 14 slides from cover to... Slidebean Article · 15 min read · Starting Up Airbnb Pitch Deck: Teardown and Redesign Caya (Slidebean) In 2 answers
3. This is the worked dilution example, actual numbers, not a hand-wave: a $100k SAFE with an $8M cap and a 15% discount... FundersClub Article · 6 min read · Starting Up Numerical Example: SAFE, Cap and Discount FundersClub In 2 answers
4. This is the India-specific piece the global guides cannot give you: it names the exact ROC and MCA filings investors reconcile... Treelife Article · 18 min read · Starting Up Legal Due Diligence Checklist for Indian Startups: What Investors Actually Check Treelife In 2 answers
5. This is the canonical case for splitting close to equal, written by a YC group partner. It arms you with the exact four reasons... Y Combinator Essay · 5 min read · Starting Up How to Split Equity Among Founders Michael Seibel In 2 answers
6. A clean, mechanics-first explainer on why every founder, including you, goes on a 4-year vest with a 1-year cliff. It spells... Rho Article · 9 min read · Starting Up Vesting 101: Structuring Equity for Founders and Employees Pia Mikhael In 2 answers
7. This is the one term sheet to benchmark your own against. YC wrote out the fairest single-page term sheet they could from... Y Combinator Template · 20 min read + Word template · Starting Up A Standard and Clean Series A Term Sheet (with downloadable template) Jason Kwon and Aaron Harris In 2 answers
8. If you decide against VC, this is the concrete India-specific menu of non-dilutive money: it lists the actual schemes, amounts,... IncorpX Article · 18 min read · Starting Up Government Grants and Subsidies for Startups in India 2026 IncorpX editorial team In 2 answers
9. This is the discipline your title slide lives or dies by: Seibel's rule is to name the company and say what it does in the... Y Combinator Article · 12 min read · Starting Up How to Pitch Your Company (Michael Seibel / Y Combinator) Michael Seibel In 2 answers
10. This is the canonical slide-by-slide template from the person who has read more pre-traction decks than almost anyone. Seibel's... Y Combinator Article · 12 min read · Starting Up How to Build Your Seed Round Pitch Deck Michael Seibel In 2 answers
11. Nine companies you already trust (Slack, Instagram, Shopify, Twitter, YouTube) laid out as before-and-after: what each one... CB Insights Article · 12 min read · Starting Up From Instagram to Slack: 9 Successful Startup Pivots CB Insights Research In 2 answers
12. This is the canonical source on the highest-stakes 30 seconds in startups, from the people who coach hundreds of founders... Y Combinator Article · 12 min read · Starting Up A Guide to Demo Day Presentations Y Combinator In 2 answers
13. This is the worked walkthrough the question demands, not theory. It runs the exact scenario you fear: two SAFEs at different... Kruze Consulting Article · 18 min read · Starting Up How SAFE Notes Impact Founder Dilution and Startup Equity Kruze Consulting In 2 answers
14. This is the piece that makes the SAFE-vs-priced question concrete for an Indian founder, where a US SAFE has no legal standing... Dealplexus Article · 14 min read · Starting Up Convertible Notes vs SAFE vs Equity: Which Instrument Fits Indian Seed Rounds Dealplexus In 2 answers
15. Concrete proof that the absence of a written agreement is what turns a friendship into a lawsuit. The Zipcar story (a casual... Vestd Article · 12 min read · Starting Up Startup horror stories: when co-founders fall out Vestd In 2 answers
16. This is the cleanest map of the three ways co-founders actually decide things: consensus, functional expertise (your domain,... edbatista.com Essay · 12 min read · Starting Up On Co-Founder Decision-Making Ed Batista In 2 answers
17. This is the counterweight to the "solo founders get penalized" folklore, built on Carta's cap-table data rather than vibes. It... Solo Founders (citing Carta) Article · 10 min read · Starting Up Fundraising as a Solo Founder: The Data Proves You Won't Pay a "Solo Tax" Ari Dutilh In 2 answers
18. YC is openly skeptical of a remote co-founder (they discount the plan if a linchpin is distant), which makes this the most... Y Combinator Video · 35 min · Starting Up Best Practices for Managing a Remote Team Y Combinator In 2 answers
19. Written by one of India's top corporate law firms, this is the authoritative read on what your co-founder's current employer... India Corporate Law (Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas) Article · 12 min read · Starting Up Moonlighting: Legal Considerations and Contractual Regulation Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas In 2 answers
20. The honest India price tag on a Private Limited Company you incorporated too early. It itemizes what a company costs you every... IncorpX Article · 12 min read · Starting Up Annual Compliance Cost for Startups in India: Realistic Breakdown for 2026 IncorpX In 2 answers
21. This is the honest side-by-side you want before spending a rupee on a Delaware C-corp: Atlas at $500 one-time (files your 83(b)... Rho Article · 12 min read · Starting Up Stripe Atlas vs. Clerky: 2026 Incorporation Guide for Startup Founders Rho editorial team In 2 answers
22. Written for Indian founders hiring right after a seed round, it argues your first employees should be hustlers who can figure... Quartz (qz.com/india) Article · 8 min read · Starting Up A Guide for Early-Stage Indian Startups to Lure the Right Talent Quartz India In 2 answers
23. This is the honest-framing playbook the answer describes. It tells you to target people who want to learn and grow with a... First Round Review Article · 18 min read · Starting Up A Primer for Startups and Job Seekers to BOTH Win the Talent War First Round Review In 2 answers
24. The discipline half of the answer. When cash is tight the reflex is to over-give equity to close the gap, and this piece pushes... First Round Review Article · 20 min read · Starting Up What Early Stage Founders Should Know About Comp: The Rules To Break (And A Few You Should Actually Follow) Kaitlyn Knopp (Pequity), via First Round Review In 2 answers

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