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. 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
  2. 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
  3. The official front door for the most common sector licence founders need, food, plus a reminder that regulated sectors each... Government of India (foscos.fssai.gov.in / rbi.org.in) Tool · portal FoSCoS, Apply for FSSAI Licence / Registration & Sector Regulators FSSAI (and RBI for fintech) In 4 answers
  4. This is the primary channel for selling products and services to the Indian government, a Section 8 company under the Ministry... gem.gov.in Tool · self-serve portal + onboarding modules Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Official Seller Portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM) In 4 answers
  5. The single-point access to tenders published across central ministries and departments, the tender side of government selling... eprocure.gov.in Tool · live tender portal Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP), Government Tenders National Informatics Centre / Ministry of Finance In 4 answers
  6. A concrete, copyable Google Sheet (no paywall, no credit card) that builds your number bottoms-up from customer segments and... Visible.vc Template · ~15 min to fill in Total Addressable Market Template (free Google Sheet) Mike Preuss In 4 answers
  7. Before any of your outreach copy matters, you need the right person's actual email, and Hunter is the most widely used,... Hunter.io Tool Hunter (Email Finder and Verifier) Hunter In 4 answers
  8. This is the tool for the exact fight you are having: it scores each founder across Idea, Business Plan, Domain Expertise, and... Carnegie Mellon University Tool · 15 min read The Founders' Pie Calculator Frank Demmler In 4 answers
  9. If launching is a repeated habit rather than one event, you need a low-stakes place to keep launching, and Product Hunt is the... Product Hunt Tool · Web platform Product Hunt Product Hunt In 4 answers
  10. This is the original Sequoia template that put "Why now" on the map as a named slide investors expect. It states the test... Sequoia Capital Template · 10 min read Writing a Business Plan Sequoia Capital In 4 answers
  11. The fastest way to mine real customer complaints and comparisons about your competitors, the negative reviews are a free... G2 Tool · ongoing G2, software reviews and competitive comparison G2 In 3 answers
  12. 100X.VC pioneered the iSAFE, India's answer to the US SAFE, and offers the standardized document plus a plain explanation.... 100X.VC Tool · template + explainer iSAFE: The Founder-Friendly Fundraising Instrument for Early-Stage Founders 100X.VC In 3 answers
  13. The most popular guided path to a Delaware C-corp for global and first-time founders, with Cooley-drafted templates, EIN,... stripe.com/atlas Tool · Guided incorporation service Stripe Atlas: Incorporate your startup (Delaware C-corp) Stripe In 3 answers
  14. For anyone building in biotech, healthtech, agritech, or life sciences, BIRAC is the single most important non-dilutive funder... BIRAC (birac.nic.in) Tool · Scheme directory BIRAC, Non-Dilutive Grants for Biotech & Life-Sciences Startups (BIG, E-YUVA, SITARE) Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Dept. of Biotechnology In 3 answers
  15. NIDHI is the DST umbrella that funds ideas and prototypes through campus incubators, the most realistic path for student and... NIDHI, DST (nidhi.dst.gov.in) Tool · Programme directory NIDHI, DST's Umbrella for Student & Early-Stage Grants (PRAYAS, Seed Support, EIR) Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India In 3 answers
  16. The official government registry that lets you filter incubators by sector, stage and location, the fastest way to find a... Startup India / Government of India Tool · Searchable directory Startup India, Find an Incubator (DPIIT registry) Startup India (DPIIT) In 3 answers
  17. The single primary source for all Indian IP filing and search, patents, trademarks, designs, and links to copyright. Skip the... Government of India (ipindia.gov.in) Tool · portal IP India, Official Portal (Patents, Trademarks, Designs, Copyright) Office of the CGPDTM In 3 answers
  18. The free, official first step before you commit to any brand name, logo, or domain. Ten minutes here can save you a rebrand, it... Government of India (tmrsearch.ipindia.gov.in) Tool · tool IP India Public Trademark Search Trade Marks Registry, CGPDTM In 3 answers
  19. The Test Card is a one-page worksheet that forces a vague market-size belief into four fields: what we believe, how we will... Strategyzer Template · one-page worksheet Test Card Strategyzer (Alexander Osterwalder) In 3 answers
  20. Reading 20 transcripts in your head is where patterns get lost. Dovetail lets you import interview transcripts, tag the moments... Dovetail Tool · Ongoing tool, free tier available Dovetail Dovetail In 3 answers
  21. Once you launch, feedback arrives scattered across email, calls, Slack, and support tickets, and it quietly disappears. Canny... Canny Tool · Free plan, paid tiers from $19/mo Canny: Customer Feedback Management Canny In 3 answers
  22. This is a ready-to-run interview script written for the exact moment you have an idea but nothing to show, so a non-technical... Deploy Empathy Template · One page, full script Customer Interview Script: Discovery Phase (before you've built anything) Michele Hansen (Deploy Empathy) In 3 answers
  23. Typography is the fastest way to stop looking like a template, because every no-code builder ships one default font that... fontpair.co Tool Fontpair fontpair.co In 3 answers
  24. This is a ready-to-fill IP assignment and confidentiality agreement hosted on the government's own Startup India portal, so it... Startup India (startupindia.gov.in) Template · 6-page fillable template Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement Template (India) Startup India (Invest India) In 3 answers

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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