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 is a free, copyable worksheet built on Dunford's method, with a dedicated target market characteristics box so you write... Miroverse Template · Fill-in worksheet April Dunford's Positioning Template (Miroverse) Erwan Derlyn (based on April Dunford's framework)
Once you have found the job and written behavior-based questions, Typeform is a fast, accessible way to field them. Its... typeform.com Tool Typeform Survey Maker Typeform
When a competitor shares no numbers, their own website still leaks signal, and BuiltWith reads it for you. Paste a private... BuiltWith Tool · Free lookup, instant per-site scan BuiltWith Technology Lookup BuiltWith
When you cannot read the code or the spec sheet, real buyers can. G2 lets you pull up any technical competitor, sort to the one... G2 Tool G2 (business software review directory) G2.com
Instead of refreshing competitor pages all day, you set up an alert once per competitor and let the updates come to you in a... Google Tool · A few minutes to set up Google Alerts Google
If your users are on phones outside the big startup hubs, most of them already live inside WhatsApp and have never installed a... WhatsApp (Meta) Tool · product page plus API docs WhatsApp Business Platform Meta
PostHog gives you product analytics and session replay in one place, so you can see both what people did (events, funnels) and... posthog.com Tool PostHog PostHog
This is a concrete way to hit a small budget: use Airtable as your database, Softr to turn it into a real web app, and Zapier... Zapier Tool The 8 best no-code app builders in 2026 Zapier
This is Bubble's reference page on how searches actually execute, and it is the highest-leverage read for your problem because... manual.bubble.io Tool Searches (Optimization checklist) Bubble
When your task volume climbs and Zapier's per-task pricing starts to sting, n8n is the honest next step: it is fair-code and... n8n.io Tool · Ongoing tool n8n (open-source workflow automation) n8n
Before you pay anyone for a full review, point SonarQube at the repository for a cheap, automated first read. It scans over 40... SonarSource Tool · Tool, setup in an afternoon SonarQube Sonar (SonarSource)
Before you invent an onboarding, a paywall, or a settings screen, look at how a few hundred real products already solved it.... Mobbin Tool · Ongoing reference Mobbin Mobbin
You cannot fix what you never feel, and most of us build on fast laptops and office wifi. This is the official doc for... Chrome for Developers Tool · Reference doc, ~10 min to try Throttling (Network and CPU) in Chrome DevTools Chrome DevTools team, Google
This is the design system a solo technical founder can actually ship with this week, no designer needed. You copy the... ui.shadcn.com Tool shadcn/ui shadcn
This is the tool most teams reach for when they want a public roadmap that customers can actually vote on, not just a static... canny.io Tool Canny: Public Roadmap Canny
If you plan to register in India, a free handle and a free domain still will not save you if the name is already a registered... mca.gov.in Tool Check Company/LLP Name on the MCA portal Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India
When you want to make an offer on a domain someone already owns, do it on a real marketplace with escrow, not over a random... Afternic Tool Afternic (GoDaddy domain marketplace) Afternic (GoDaddy)
When you want fast reactions from strangers who match your audience, PickFu is the cheap, no-setup way to do it. You upload 2... PickFu Tool · Poll results in a few hours How to test your brand name with PickFu PickFu
This is a structured, fillable brief you can hand straight to a designer or paste into an AI tool, built around the six things... Holabrief Template Naming Brief Template (Holabrief) Holabrief
Once you have a clear brief, Namelix is the fastest way to turn keywords and a style preference into dozens of short, brandable... Namelix Tool Namelix: AI Business Name Generator Brandmark
This is the free, built-in way to see exactly where your landing page breaks: open DevTools, toggle the device toolbar, and... Chrome for Developers Tool Simulate mobile devices with Device Mode (Chrome DevTools) Google Chrome Developers
Paste your landing page URL and it shows you exactly how the link renders when someone drops it into WhatsApp, Slack, LinkedIn,... OpenGraph.to Tool OpenGraph.to: Free Open Graph Checker and Preview Tool OpenGraph.to
If your landing page is on WordPress, Weglot is the most common way to add a language toggle without touching engineering. This... Weglot Tool · ~10 min read How to add a WordPress language switcher (no code) Weglot
This is the official government register, so if you are building in India this is where you confirm a name is not already... IP India Tool · varies IP India Trademark Public Search Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM)

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 →