Starting Up

A place to start when you have a real question, like "how do I validate this?", "how do I sell to the government?", or "how do I split equity?". We point you to podcasts, articles, videos, and books founders have found useful, and say a little about why each one is here.

Start here

I want to start a startup but I don't have an idea. Where do I even begin? Stop hunting for a billion-dollar idea and start collecting problems. The best ideas come from noticing things that annoy you or people around you ... Beginner 3 resources → How do I come up with startup ideas that aren't just 'Uber for X'? Don't sit in a room brainstorming ideas on purpose; that's how you get derivative junk. Ideas that matter show up organically as a byproduct of liv... Beginner 3 resources → Should I solve a problem I personally have, or chase a bigger market? Start with a problem you personally have or deeply understand. Founders who live the problem move faster, ask better questions, and can smell a fak... Beginner 3 resources → How do I know if my idea is a real problem or just a 'nice to have'? A real problem is frequent, painful, and expensive enough that people are already hacking together ugly workarounds for it. If nobody has spent tim... Beginner 3 resources → What does 'validating an idea' actually mean? Validation is gathering real-world evidence that a specific group of people has a painful problem AND will change their behaviour (pay, sign up, sw... Beginner 3 resources → How do I know if my idea is any good? Judge it on the problem, not the solution: is it a real, frequent, painful problem for a reachable group of people, and are you unusually well-plac... Beginner 4 resources →

Follow a path

From idea to first customers The idea-stage spine: find a problem, prove it, talk to customers, and land the first ten. Build and launch your first product Turn a validated idea into something real people can use. Get your first customers The scrappy, unscalable work of going from zero to your first paying users. Raise your first round Understand the game before you pitch: whether to raise, from whom, and on what terms. Build in India The India-specific playbook: schemes, government, enterprise, and the local market.

Where are you starting from?

The Aspiring Founder I want to start up, but I don't have an idea yet. The Idea-Stage Founder I have an idea, is it any good? The Builder It's validated, now I'm building v1. The Launcher It's built, how do I get customers? The Grower I have traction, how do I scale it? The Student Founder I'm starting up while studying. The Indie Hacker Nights-and-weekends, bootstrapped, profitable. The Technical Solo Founder I can build it, I need to sell it. The Non-Technical Founder I have the vision, I can't code it. The Domain Expert Deep industry expertise, new to startups. The Women Founder Building with networks and funding built for me. The Tier-2/3 India Founder Building outside the metro ecosystems. The Corporate Switcher Leaving a job to build my own thing. The Repeat Founder I've done this before, failed or exited.

Or browse by where you are

Ideas & Opportunity

Finding & shaping ideas Find a problem worth years of your life. 6 questions Validating your idea Get evidence before you write code. 9 questions Market size & timing Is it big enough, and why now? 6 questions Founder-market fit Why you, and why this problem? 5 questions Spotting trends & opportunities Live in the future and build what's missing. 6 questions

Customers & Research

Talking to customers & user research Learn the truth without leading the witness. 6 questions Defining your ideal customer Know exactly who you're for (and who you're not). 6 questions Finding your niche / beachhead Win a tiny market completely before going wide. 5 questions Understanding the problem (JTBD) People hire products to do a job, find the job. 5 questions Competitive & market research Know the landscape better than the incumbents. 6 questions

Building the Product

Building your MVP Build the smallest thing that tests the biggest risk. 6 questions No-code & low-code building Ship a product without writing code. 6 questions Finding & working with developers Get it built when you can't build it yourself. 6 questions Product design & UX basics Make it obvious, not clever. 6 questions Shipping, iterating & roadmap Ship weekly, learn constantly, prioritise ruthlessly. 6 questions

Brand, Web & Presence

Naming your startup & domains A name you can spell, say, and own. 6 questions Website & landing page Look real, load fast, ship today. 6 questions Branding & visual identity Look like a company people trust. 6 questions Copywriting & messaging Say what it is in words a customer would use. 6 questions Content & SEO foundations Get found by the people already searching. 6 questions

First Customers (GTM)

Getting your first 10 customers Do things that don't scale to get to ten. 6 questions Launching (again and again) A launch is a tactic you repeat, not an event. 6 questions Founder-led sales Nobody sells your product better than you, yet. 6 questions Cold outreach & email Start conversations with strangers who need you. 6 questions Distribution & channel strategy The channel is the strategy. 6 questions

Growth & Marketing

Growth fundamentals & metrics Measure what matters, grow what compounds. 6 questions Paid acquisition basics Buy customers profitably, or don't buy them. 6 questions Social media & personal brand Build an audience before you need one. 6 questions Community-led growth Turn users into a movement. 6 questions Retention, referral & virality Keep them, and let them bring friends. 6 questions

Money, Pricing & Model

Business models explained How the money actually flows. 6 questions Pricing & packaging Charge money. Charge more. Here's how. 6 questions Unit economics & modeling Know what a customer costs and earns. 6 questions Bootstrapping & profitability Grow on customer money, keep control. 6 questions Startup finance & accounting Keep the books, watch the runway. 6 questions

Fundraising & Investors

Should you raise? VC vs bootstrap Raise only if the fuel buys escape velocity. 6 questions Angel & seed fundraising Get your first believers to write cheques. 6 questions Pitch deck & storytelling Ten slides that make investors lean in. 5 questions Valuation, SAFEs & term sheets Understand the paper before you sign it. 6 questions Investor updates & relations Turn investors into your unfair advantage. 5 questions

Team, Co-founders & Legal

Finding a co-founder Pick a partner as carefully as a spouse. 6 questions Co-founder agreements & equity Split fairly, vest always, write it down. 6 questions Incorporation & legal setup Set up the entity right (US & India). 6 questions Hiring your first employees Your first ten hires are your culture. 6 questions Culture, remote & operations Build how you work before it breaks. 6 questions

Founder & Scenarios

Founder mindset & resilience The founder is the first product to keep alive. 6 questions Productivity & time for founders Spend your hours on what only you can do. 6 questions Founder mental health & burnout Run the marathon without breaking. 6 questions Failure, pivots & shutdowns Change direction, or stop, with grace. 6 questions Solo founder survival guide Build alone without being alone. 6 questions

Real-World Scenarios & Access

Making the leap Quit smart: runway, timing, and family buy-in. 9 questions Grants & non-dilutive funding Free money: schemes, grants, and competitions. 9 questions Incubators, accelerators & competitions Get in, get funded, get connected. 9 questions Selling to government GeM, tenders, and the public-sector playbook. 9 questions Selling to enterprises (B2B) Land your first big logo. 9 questions IP, licenses & regulatory Protect your idea, stay legal to sell. 10 questions Mentors, advisors & network Find the people who accelerate you. 9 questions