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. The mirror image of the India breakdown, and just as itemized: Delaware filing fee 289 (with 10M authorized shares), registered... SpryTax Article · 12 min read Cost of Delaware C-Corp: Complete Fee Breakdown 2025-2026 SpryTax
  2. The side-by-side an Indian founder actually needs: a compliance matrix and a 5-year cost table for both entities, written from... IncorpX Article · 18 min read US LLC vs India Pvt Ltd for Indian Founders: Tax and Compliance Comparison IncorpX
  3. This is the piece that settles the 'do I really need an auditor from day one' question with a hard yes: it states plainly that... Razorpay Rize Article · 12 min read Auditing Requirements of a Private Limited Company in India Razorpay Rize
  4. This is the single checklist that tells a first-time founder every recurring ROC and MCA filing a Pvt Ltd owes each year and in... ClearTax Article · 15 min read Annual Compliance Checklist for Startups ClearTax
  5. This is the guide that tells you to decide before you raise, not after. Its core line, 'structure the decision around your... Treelife Article · 22 min read Delaware Entity Setup for Indian Businesses and Startups: Complete Guide Treelife (startup legal and finance advisory)
  6. This is the exact playbook for a Pvt Ltd founder: the eight sequential approvals in order, from checking your AoA permits... EquityList Article · 18 min read ESOP Scheme in India: Definition, Structure, and Filing Guide EquityList
  7. Founders always ask two questions: how big should the pool be, and how much does one hire get. This answers both with hard... Index Ventures Article · 15 min read Rewarding Talent: Option Grant Allocation Considerations and Benchmarks Index Ventures
  8. 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 Stripe Atlas vs. Clerky: 2026 Incorporation Guide for Startup Founders Rho editorial team
  9. The India-specific counterpart to the Delaware question, from Razorpay's own founder-incorporation arm. It confirms a Pvt Ltd... Razorpay Rize Article · 9 min read Do You Need a CA to Register a Company in India? Razorpay Rize
  10. Jose Ancer is a working startup lawyer, and this is his clear line between what a filing tool handles and what needs actual... Silicon Hills Lawyer Article · 15 min read Startup Founders Using ChatGPT and Gemini for Legal (and where a real lawyer is non-negotiable) Jose Ancer
  11. Founders conflate two very different things: non-competes while employed (usually enforceable) versus after you quit (usually... Anirudh Associates Article · 10 min read Section 27 and Post-Termination Non-Compete Clauses: How Far Can Employers Go? Anirudh Associates
  12. This is the canonical explainer on the exact mechanism that closes your ownership gap: founders assign pre-incorporation IP to... Stripe Atlas Article · 20 min read Equity for Founders Stripe Atlas
  13. This is the one checklist that names the exact triggers, not just the list of registrations. It spells out EPF at 20+... MPVD & Associates (Chartered Accountants) Article · 12 min read Compliance Checklist After Company Registration in India MPVD & Associates
  14. Most GST explainers stop at the 40 lakh / 20 lakh threshold. This one is written for founders who need to decide whether to... Treelife Article · 15 min read GST Compliance for Startups: ITC, IMS, Registration, Deadlines Treelife
  15. For the US side of a two-entity setup, this is the canonical founder-facing reference on the EIN (your federal tax ID), federal... Stripe Article · 20 min read Business taxes: A Stripe Atlas Guide Stripe Atlas
  16. This is the India-specific FEMA reality check almost every cross-border founder gets wrong. It is written by a practicing CA... CA Abhinav Gulechha Article · 18 min read Indian Resident Individual Planning to Incorporate in US? Ensure Compliance with Indian FEMA Law Abhinav Gulechha
  17. This is real India data, not a US survey with an Indian byline: 46 percent of Indeed India postings disclosed salary in 2023,... Indeed India (Hiring Insights) Article · 10 min read The Importance of Pay Transparency in India Indeed Editorial Team
  18. Elaine Wherry posted a fake engineer profile, got hit by 382 recruiters, and dissected every message, so this is a real... First Round Review Article · 20 min read The Inside Story of How 382 Recruiters Pursued an Imaginary Engineer First Round Review
  19. This is the single best playbook for the exact call you are dreading: the candidate has a bigger offer and you have to close... First Round Review Article · 18 min read Make Stronger Offers to Engineering Candidates and Boost Your Closes Adil Ajmal (CTO, LendingHome), via First Round Review
  20. This is the mechanics-and-speed piece: it makes the case that your unfair advantage against a big company is turnaround time,... Gem Article · 15 min read Startup Hiring 101: A Founder's Guide, Part 19, Selling and Closing Gem (recruiting team, drawing on Y Combinator talks)
  21. This is the operational manual, not a theory piece: it lists the exact paper trail Indian courts look for (appointment letter,... Corrida Legal Article · 18 min read Probation and Confirmation Policy for Indian Companies: A Practical Drafting Guide for Employers Corrida Legal
  22. A plain-language read on the legal footing itself: it explains that a probationer has no lien on the job, so termination during... IndiaFilings Article · 10 min read Understanding Probation Period in Employment Services IndiaFilings
  23. Section 8 (Flubbing the onboarding process) names the exact failure mode in the question: founders assume a strong hire is a... a16z Article · 18 min read 10 hiring mistakes early stage founders make (and how to avoid them) a16z crypto talent team
  24. Written for the Indian startup reality where most onboarding stops after day one and the hire quietly checks out in weeks two... Springworks Article · 14 min read Employee Onboarding Best Practices: What Actually Works for Growing Indian Startups Springworks

Show the next 24

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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