Build the product

Ship an MVP, work with builders, and iterate toward something people use.

What founders use for build the product, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. This is the structured checklist an investor's technical reviewer runs, covering architecture, code quality, key-person risk,... CTO on Demand Template · checklist Technical Due Diligence Checklist (2026): What Investors Actually Examine CTO on Demand
  2. This is a ready-to-run template for exactly the question you are asking: who is the single decider, and who merely contributes.... Atlassian Team Playbook Template · 10 min read DACI: A Decision-Making Framework Atlassian
  3. A free video series from a designer who spent years teaching developers, walking you from fundamentals to real screens over... DesignCourse (YouTube) Course · Multi-video playlist Learn UI/UX in 30 Days Gary Simon
  4. Instead of guessing hex codes, you pick text, background, primary, and accent colors and see them applied to a realistic... realtimecolors.com Tool · Free web tool Realtime Colors Juxtopposed
  5. Mismatched, blown-up, or clashing icons make a product look amateur fast. Heroicons gives you one consistent, professionally... heroicons.com Tool · Free icon set Heroicons Steve Schoger and the Tailwind Labs team
  6. Give it one accent color and it generates a full range of shades, from very light to very dark, that stay balanced across the... uicolors.app Tool · Free web tool UI Colors: Tailwind CSS Color Generator UI Colors
  7. This is the free hub the short answer points you to. It walks you through frames, shapes, text, and prototyping by building one... Figma Learn Course · Approx. 2 to 3 hours, self-paced Figma Design for beginners (official course) Figma
  8. This turns a written description of your flow into an interactive prototype you can click through and refine. For a founder who... Figma Tool · Tool Figma Make (prompt to prototype) Figma
  9. An India-focused program on going from an idea to a working prototype using AI and modern tools. It is aimed at founders here... Google for Startups Course · Short program, self-paced Startup School: Prompt to Prototype (India) Google for Startups
  10. A running library of design patterns that have actually been A/B tested to lift conversion, with the evidence attached. Instead... Jakub Linowski Tool · Pattern library GoodUI: Design Patterns for Higher Conversion Jakub Linowski
  11. A crisp reference on the research finding that people perceive attractive products as more usable and forgive their small... Laws of UX Tool · 5 min read plus reference library Aesthetic-Usability Effect Jon Yablonski
  12. A searchable library of the biases and principles behind user behavior, each with a short example. It goes wider than the core... Growth.Design Tool · Browse as needed 106 Cognitive Biases and Principles That Affect Your UX Growth.Design
  13. Free, ready-to-use scripts (including a mobile-app version), observer instructions, and a form for noting the top three... Sensible (Steve Krug) Template Usability Testing Scripts, Observer Forms, and Checklists (Downloads) Steve Krug
  14. A ready to use script for running your own usability test, from Krug's book. You do not have to invent how to phrase tasks or... Steve Krug (sensible.com) Template · PDF, a few pages Usability Test Script (from Rocket Surgery Made Easy) Steve Krug
  15. A catalogue of common interface patterns (registration, pricing tables, search, empty states, and more) with several real... UI-Patterns.com Tool · reference library UI-Patterns.com UI-Patterns.com
  16. A free, structured course that takes you from the basics of why pages are slow through images, fonts, JavaScript, and lazy... web.dev (Google) Course · Multi module course Learn Performance Google Chrome team
  17. This runs your site on real devices from real locations at set connection speeds, including Slow 3G, so you get an honest... WebPageTest (Catchpoint) Tool · Web tool WebPageTest WebPageTest
  18. A well curated reference for what good type looks like in the wild, with recommended fonts and pairings. When you are unsure... Typewolf Tool Typewolf Jeremiah Shoaf
  19. This is a ready-made, accessible pattern for error messages with real wording examples you can adapt (it even shows the... GOV.UK Design System Template · reference Error message component GOV.UK / Government Digital Service
  20. Professionally designed, ready to drop in UI blocks and page templates from the makers of Tailwind CSS. It lets you assemble a... Tailwind CSS Tool Tailwind Plus (Tailwind UI) Tailwind CSS
  21. Google's open design system with detailed guidance on layout, color, type, and components, plus ready implementations.... Google Tool Material Design 3 Google
  22. One of the most complete free Figma UI kits, with a large library of components and page examples you can adapt. If you want a... Untitled UI Template Untitled UI (Free Figma UI Kit) Untitled UI
  23. A fast way to check whether a screen reads clearly in the first impression, which is often where clunky starts. Show people a... Five Second Test (Lyssna) Tool Five Second Test Five Second Test (Lyssna)
  24. This is the cheapest way to catch translation problems before you have any translations. Pseudolocalization swaps your text for... Android Developers Tool · 10 min read Test Your App with Pseudolocales Google Android

Show the next 24

The questions

Building your MVP 18

Build the smallest thing that tests the biggest risk.

What actually counts as an MVP, and what's the smallest one I can get away with? 20 → How do I decide which features to cut from v1? 18 → How long should building an MVP take? 19 → Should I build an MVP at all, or can I validate without one? 20 → How do I get my first users for the MVP? 17 → All 18 questions in Building your MVP →
No-code & low-code building 18

Ship a product without writing code.

Which no-code tool should I use to build my first product? 20 → Can I really build a serious business on no-code, or will I hit a wall? 18 → Should I use an AI app builder like Lovable or Replit instead of traditional no-code? 20 → How do I connect payments and handle data if I'm building no-code in India? 20 → What can I build with just a spreadsheet as the backend? 20 → All 18 questions in No-code & low-code building →
Finding & working with developers 18

Get it built when you can't build it yourself.

I'm non-technical, do I actually need a technical co-founder? 18 → How do I actually find a technical co-founder? 19 → Should I hire an agency or a freelancer to build my MVP? 17 → How do I hire good engineers in India when everyone's competing for the same talent? 18 → How do I evaluate a developer's skill if I can't code? 19 → All 18 questions in Finding & working with developers →
Product design & UX basics 18

Make it obvious, not clever.

I'm not a designer, how do I make my product not look terrible? 18 → What are the core UX principles every founder should know? 20 → How do I know if my product is confusing to users? 17 → Should I learn Figma, and how much design do I really need? 19 → Why does good design actually matter for an early-stage startup? 19 → All 18 questions in Product design & UX basics →
Shipping, iterating & roadmap 18

Ship weekly, learn constantly, prioritise ruthlessly.

How do I decide what to build next? 19 → How often should an early-stage startup ship? 19 → How do I build a roadmap without over-planning? 19 → How do I keep talking to users while I'm heads-down building? 18 → How do product teams keep a consistent shipping rhythm as they grow? 18 → All 18 questions in Shipping, iterating & roadmap →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →