Starting Up

The resources founders actually use.

Every essay, video, podcast, book and tool behind 1,046 answered founder questions, in one place, each with a note on why it is here.

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

  1. A tight, practical checklist for the still-employed co-founder before they write a line of code for you: read the employment... Startup Grind Article · 8 min read Moonlighting a Side Project While Employed Full-Time: Here Are the Dos and Don'ts Startup Grind
  2. This is the single clearest articulation of the exact call you are making: equity is a counterbalance to risk, and someone... Hustle Fund Article · 12 min read Equity for Early Employees (with Elizabeth Yin) Elizabeth Yin
  3. This is the durable reference for the structural line between a co-founder and a hire: co-founders own the company outright on... Index Ventures Article · 20 min read Rewarding Talent: Founders, Investors and Employees Index Ventures
  4. This is the actual Companies Act 2013 mechanics for the thing you want to do: put your co-founder's 5 lakh cheque in as a... Lawyered.in Article · 8 min read Can Startups and Pvt Ltd Companies Accept Loans From Directors or Relatives? Lawyered Legal Team
  5. Most equity-split writing is American and ignores that India has no 83(b) election and its own sweat-equity rules. This chapter... Swimming With Sharks (Indian founder funding guide) Book · 30 min read Co-Founder Equity Splits and Vesting (The Founder's Guide to Startup Funding: Protecting Your Interests in the Indian Ecosystem) Swimming With Sharks
  6. This is the cleanest statement of your core thesis: money in and sweat in are different instruments. Slicing Pie prices cash at... Slicing Pie Article · 7 min read The Magic of Multipliers Mike Moyer
  7. This is the empirical spine for the employee half of your answer, built on Carta data from 50,000 real cap tables, not opinion.... SaaStr Article · 8 min read How Much Equity to Give Your First Employees: The Real Data from 50,000 Startups Jason Lemkin
  8. This is the cleanest answer to why a co-founder should hold shares, not ESOPs, in an Indian Pvt Ltd. It spells out Rule 13 of... Startup Movers Article · 10 min read Can ESOPs Be Issued to Promoters & Founders? Legal Guide Startup Movers
  9. This is the exact CA-firm explainer for the trap in the answer: it walks the two-stage tax on sweat equity, first as a... Treelife Article · 15 min read Sweat Equity in India: Eligibility, Restrictions, Tax Treatment Priya Kapasi Shah
  10. The plain-language, India-specific answer to when you actually owe. It nails the two triggers with worked examples: no tax if... ClearTax Article · 12 min read Getting ESOP as Salary Package? Know about ESOP Taxation ClearTax Team
  11. This is the explainer written for exactly your situation: two founders, 50/50, no tiebreaker. It lays out the full menu you can... SPZ Legal Article · 12 min read How to Resolve Deadlock in 50/50 Co-Founder Situations SPZ Legal
  12. This is the worked mechanics of the buy-sell clause in Indian shareholders-agreement language, not a generic Western template.... Mondaq India Article · 10 min read Deadlock Resolution Mechanism in Joint Venture Agreements Mondaq (Indian corporate counsel)
  13. The cleanest case for the answer's core move: appoint a chairman who holds a casting vote so an even split can still produce a... South Bank Legal Article · 9 min read 50/50 Shareholder Deadlock: Avoiding and Resolving Disputes South Bank Legal
  14. This walks the exact mechanics of moving equity from a 40% founder to a 60% one, and it splits the guidance into two scenarios:... SPZ Legal Article · 12 min read Founder Equity Split: Rebalancing Cap Tables SPZ Legal
  15. This is the exact mechanism that stops a co-founder selling to a stranger, explained by an India and SEA cap-table platform... Qapita Article · 10 min read ROFR vs ROFO: A founder's guide to share transfer rights Qapita
  16. ROFR alone does not finish the job: you still need tag-along so a minority founder is not stranded when the majority exits, and... Qapita Article · 9 min read Transfer of Share Rights: Tag-Along and Drag-Along Explained Qapita
  17. This puts the transfer restrictions in their real home: the Indian SHA, alongside the lock-in, board consent and... IncorpX Article · 15 min read Shareholders' Agreement for Startups in India: Key Clauses You Must Include IncorpX
  18. This is the practical checklist for two founders sitting in different cities: it spells out that you need just one registered... IndiaFilings Article · 15 min read Private Limited Company Registration in India IndiaFilings
  19. ClearTax gives the plain-language walkthrough of the four-step process (DSC, DIN, SPICe+ name reservation, incorporation... ClearTax Article · 12 min read Company Registration in India: How to Register, Types, Documents, Fees ClearTax
  20. Dharmesh Shah (HubSpot co-founder) makes the exact separation your question needs: salary pays for work, equity is ownership,... OnStartups Essay · 10 min read Startup Founder Compensation: The Good, The Bad and The Irrelevant Dharmesh Shah
  21. A startup lawyer names the specific trap in your answer: founders who let unpaid salary pile up as owed salary on the books,... Flux Law Article · 9 min read Founder Salary & Compensation: What's Reasonable and What to Watch Out For Ryan Howell
  22. The India-specific piece your set needs. It spells out exactly how a founder-director who defers salary in the early years... IncorpX Article · 12 min read Director Remuneration in Private Company: Rules & Tax IncorpX
  23. This is the trigger checklist, spelled out: it names the exact moments that force incorporation (bringing on a co-founder,... Capbase Article · 10 min read When Should My Startup Incorporate? Capbase
  24. This is the year-one Indian Pvt Ltd number laid out line by line, in rupees, from a working CA firm: statutory audit 10,000 to... Virtual Auditor Article · 10 min read Company Annual Filing Cost: ROC Fees, Audit Fees & Compliance Package Virtual Auditor

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Playbooks

A goal, and the route through it a step at a time.

Find an idea worth pursuing Spot problems worth solving and find the one that actually fits you. 4 steps Validate before you build Get real evidence people want it before you write a line of code. 4 steps Understand your customers Talk to real users, define who you're for, and read the market clearly. 4 steps From idea to first customers The idea-stage spine: find a problem, prove it, talk to customers, and land the first ten. 4 steps Build an MVP without code Ship a first version with no-code tools before you hire anyone. 4 steps Build and launch your first product Turn a validated idea into something real people can use. 6 steps Find and work with developers Hire, brief, and work with builders without getting burned. 4 steps Name and brand your startup Name it, design an identity, and say what it does in a line. 3 steps Build a landing page that converts A page that loads fast, earns trust, and turns visitors into signups. 4 steps Get your first customers The scrappy, unscalable work of going from zero to your first paying users. 5 steps Sell it yourself, founder-led Reach out, run the conversation, and close before you have a sales team. 4 steps Grow with content and SEO Compound reach with content, search, and a founder audience. 3 steps Grow with paid ads Spend that returns: the channels, metrics, and loops behind it. 4 steps Price and package your product Charge for value, package it right, and check the numbers work. 3 steps Bootstrap instead of raising Fund growth from revenue, and keep control of your company. 4 steps Raise your first round Understand the game before you pitch: whether to raise, from whom, and on what terms. 5 steps Find a co-founder, split equity Find the right partner and split equity without regret. 3 steps Set up the company right Incorporate, split equity, protect your IP, and make your first hires. 4 steps Survive founder life Mindset, burnout, the leap, and the parts nobody warns you about. 5 steps Build in India The India-specific playbook: schemes, government, enterprise, and the local market. 5 steps

The questions founders start with

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 19 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 20 resources → Do I actually need a co-founder, or can I go solo? You don't strictly need one, but the data says teams outlast solos: complementary skills, shared load, and someone to argue you out of bad calls al... Beginner 3 resources → What actually counts as an MVP, and what's the smallest one I can get away with? An MVP is the least you can build (or fake) to test your single riskiest assumption, not a shrunken version of your dream product. Ask 'what's the ... Beginner 20 resources → How do I talk to customers without them just telling me what I want to hear? Stop pitching and start interrogating their past. Ask about what they actually did last time the problem hit, what it cost them, and what they trie... Beginner 23 resources → How do I actually get my first 10 customers when nobody has heard of me? You go get them by hand, one at a time, email people you already know, people your investors/friends know, and strangers in the exact niche you're ... Beginner 19 resources → How do I decide how much to charge for my product? Stop guessing and stop pricing off your costs, price off the value the customer gets and their willingness to pay. Talk to customers about pricing,... Beginner 3 resources → Should I raise venture capital or bootstrap my startup? Raise VC only if your business needs a big pile of cash to reach escape velocity before someone else does, and if a 10x-in-a-few-years outcome is g... Beginner 3 resources →

Questions for your situation

The Aspiring Founder The Idea-Stage Founder The Builder The Launcher The Grower The Student Founder The Indie Hacker The Technical Solo Founder The Non-Technical Founder The Domain Expert The Women Founder The Anywhere Founder The Corporate Switcher The Repeat Founder
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