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.

This Notion template turns the Mom Test's rules into a fill in the blank interview and synthesis workflow, which is useful once... Mari Luukkainen Template Master Customer Interviews with a Mom Test-Based Notion Template for Startups Mari Luukkainen
The switch interview technique here is the deepest version of the live conversation approach: instead of asking what someone... jobstobedone.org Tool Jobs-to-be-Done: The Switch Interview Bob Moesta and Chris Spiek
A free AI notetaker that records, transcribes, and summarizes your calls so you are not scrambling to write notes while also... Fathom Tool Fathom Fathom
A ready made, Mom Test style script you can use as is instead of writing your own from scratch, which removes the improvising... Ideaproof Template Customer Interview Script Template Ideaproof
A free one page canvas built specifically to map what someone was doing before your product, their old solution or workaround,... LeanStack Template The Customer Forces Canvas (Updated) Ash Maurya
This worksheet is built for exactly your situation: choosing one narrow persona to start with when you could plausibly serve... reifyworks.com Template The Initial Ideal Customer Profile (IICP) Worksheet Reify
This blueprint walks through analyzing your existing customer base with a structured framework to find the patterns that signal... Winning by Design Template How to Uncover Your ICP Winning by Design
A practical, runnable four-question survey you can send your current audience this week to find out, empirically, whether they... SurveyMonkey Tool · 10 min read How To Use The Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter SurveyMonkey
An AI agent that builds and deploys full-stack apps with hosting, database, and auth built in, bridging no-code speed and real,... replit.com Tool · platform Replit, Build Apps with AI Replit
A free, well-maintained learning hub from the industry-standard design tool, covering the fundamentals a founder needs to... figma.com Course · self-paced Figma, Learn Design Figma
When two ideas are stuck in a loop of gut feel versus gut feel, the fastest way out is to agree on what actually matters and... Savio Template · ~15 min read + free Google Sheet The Weighted Scoring Model: Guide, Template, and Calculator Kareem Mayan
The answer only works if you actually keep the running idea log, and this is a simple, free place to keep it. Obsidian stores... Obsidian Tool Obsidian Obsidian
When you are selling to businesses outside the big startup hubs, national headline numbers are too coarse to plan against. This... Ministry of MSME, Government of India Tool State-wise Udyam (MSME) Registration Dashboard Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
You do not need to be in anyone's network to see interest rising, you need the search data everyone already generates. Google... Google Tool Google Trends (Explore) Google
For a founder in India collecting money in INR, Razorpay is the default payments stack, and this is the official developer... Razorpay Tool · Reference docs, dip in as needed Razorpay Developer Documentation Razorpay
The essay tells you to find your riskiest assumption, this template shows you how to actually surface it. It is a free,... Figma FigJam Template · Ready-to-use board Assumption Mapping Template (free, FigJam) Figma
This is the concrete insurance step against the shutdown scenario you are worried about. On2Air runs scheduled backups of your... On2Air Tool · Setup in under 30 minutes On2Air Backups: Automated Airtable Backups On2Air
Billing and auth are exactly where no-code SaaS breaks first, so we picked the primary source over any third-party template:... Bubble Manual Tool · Single guide, roughly a 20 to 30 minute read Subscriptions (Bubble official documentation) Bubble
When your UI tool's built-in rules are not enough, or you have outgrown them, Xano is a no-code backend that gives you real... xano.com Tool · About a 12 minute read Securing your Xano APIs Xano
This is the closest thing to a done-for-you starting point for exactly your situation: a marketplace or directory front end... Softr Tool Softr Airtable Freelance Marketplace Template Softr
Cursor is the AI code editor most founders reach for when a no-code tool hits its ceiling and you need real, custom code. You... cursor.com Tool Cursor Anysphere
Before you automate anything, you need one place the data actually lives, and this is where you grab a ready-made base to be... airtable.com Template · Copy-and-use base Airtable Templates (official gallery) Airtable
A rough wireframe answers a question words rarely settle: what the screen and the flow actually look like. Figma's free tier... Figma Tool Figma Wireframe Tool (free online wireframing) Figma
Most contract templates online are US-shaped, and this one is genuinely built for the Indian context: it covers IP assignment... Contract Shield Template · Downloadable Word template Software Development Agreement Template (India) Contract Shield

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

eChai Partner Brands The partnership →