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.

The free tool for running the how-would-you-feel-without-this survey that underpins the Superhuman method, giving you a... Sean Ellis and GoPractice Tool · Free tool Product/Market Fit Survey Sean Ellis In 19 answers
The fastest way to stand up a fake-door landing page. Build a one-page site in an afternoon, add an email capture, and measure... carrd.co Tool Carrd carrd.co In 18 answers
The deepest no-code stack, database, workflows, and custom UI, for building genuinely complex web apps and marketplaces without... bubble.io Tool · platform Bubble, No-Code Full-Stack App Builder Bubble In 13 answers
The best free on-ramp for founders who feel 'too early' for a funded accelerator, it distils YC's thinking into a structured... Y Combinator Course · ~7-week self-paced course Startup School, Free Startup Course Y Combinator In 13 answers
The de facto global standard for pitch deck structure, straight from Sequoia. The same outline Airbnb's founders used; if you... Sequoia Capital Template · 10 min read Writing a Business Plan (The Sequoia Pitch Deck Template) Sequoia Capital In 10 answers
The primary source for the SAFE itself, plus YC's plain-English primer explaining post-money mechanics. Use the official... Y Combinator Tool · templates + primer YC Safe Financing Documents (Official Post-Money SAFE) Y Combinator In 9 answers
Before you spend a weekend guessing, Google Trends gives you a real, free read on whether interest in your idea is rising,... Google Tool Google Trends Google In 9 answers
The largest and most credible free co-founder matching platform in the world, with vetted founders and 100,000+ matches made.... ycombinator.com Tool · Free platform, ongoing Y Combinator Co-Founder Matching Y Combinator In 7 answers
This is the checklist and the template in one, written for Indian Pvt Ltd reality, not a US Delaware copy-paste. It walks all... iPleaders Template · 25 min read Co-Founder Agreement for Indian Startups: Clauses and Template (2026) iPleaders In 7 answers
A one page template that forces you to write down the problem, the customer, and why you are placed to solve it, all on a... leanfoundry.com Template · one page Lean Canvas Ash Maurya In 7 answers
Airtable is the friendly database that sits under most no-code stacks, and it is where many founders quietly run the first... Airtable (airtable.com) Tool Airtable Airtable (airtable.com) In 7 answers
The fastest path from a spreadsheet to a polished mobile or internal app, used by 100k+ companies. When your data lives in... glideapps.com Tool · platform Glide, Apps From Spreadsheets Glide In 6 answers
This is the single official directory of central and state government schemes for Indian startups, the primary source, not a... Startup India (startupindia.gov.in) Tool · Directory / ongoing Startup India, Government Schemes for Startups DPIIT, Government of India In 6 answers
SISFS is the most accessible non-dilutive cheque for early Indian startups, and this is where you actually apply. It's... Seed Fund Portal (seedfund.startupindia.gov.in) Tool · Application portal Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), Official Portal DPIIT, Government of India In 6 answers
This is the canonical, industry-standard answer to 'how much equity for an advisor', a free, ready-to-sign template used by... Founder Institute (fi.co) Tool · short The FAST Agreement (Founder / Advisor Standard Template) Founder Institute In 6 answers
The dedicated on-ramp for DPIIT startups to list innovative products even without a pre-existing category, and the mechanism... gem.gov.in Tool · program page + onboarding GeM Startup Runway, Sell Directly to Government Buyers Government e-Marketplace (GeM) In 6 answers
This is the most practical way to see search and interest trends climbing before they hit newsletters and everyone's timeline.... Exploding Topics Tool Exploding Topics Exploding Topics In 6 answers
A one-page tool for writing down what you have learned about a customer's jobs, pains, and gains, then checking whether your... Strategyzer Tool · template The Value Proposition Canvas Strategyzer In 6 answers
Project based video courses that take you from idea to a shipped app by rebuilding real products like a marketplace or a... No Code MBA (Seth Kramer) Course No Code MBA Seth Kramer In 6 answers
A ready-to-use version of the update format YC recommends to its founders. Removes every excuse for not sending a clean,... Visible.vc Template · copy-paste template Y Combinator Investor Update Template Y Combinator / Visible.vc In 5 answers
The canonical dynamic-equity framework for fairly splitting ownership based on real contributions before funding, when nobody... slicingpie.com Tool · Framework + software + handbook Slicing Pie: Dynamic Equity Split Model & Calculator Mike Moyer In 5 answers
A living, India-first answer to 'where do I actually meet founders?', eChai has run founder meetups, dinners, demo days and... eChai Ventures Tool · short eChai Ventures, Founder Community & Events Across 25+ Cities eChai Ventures In 5 answers
When you want a more polished, professional-looking site that can grow into multiple pages, Framer's free tier and templates... framer.com Tool · Tool Framer, design-led website builder Framer In 4 answers
Turns the a16z metrics framework into a concrete, reportable template so your investor updates carry the numbers investors... Visible.vc Tool · template a16z Startup Metrics Template (for updates and reporting) Visible.vc (based on a16z metrics) In 4 answers

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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 24 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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