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. Video · ~25 min How to Talk to Users Eric Migicovsky In 101 answers
  2. Video · ~13 min How to Plan an MVP Michael Seibel (YC) In 52 answers
  3. Video · ~50 min How to Evaluate Startup Ideas Kevin Hale, Y Combinator In 46 answers
  4. Video · ~25 min How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas Jared Friedman In 34 answers
  5. Michael Seibel, who ran YC, makes the blunt case for shipping something almost embarrassingly simple and learning from real... Y Combinator Startup Library Video · ~10 min video How to Build an MVP Michael Seibel In 29 answers
  6. Video · ~20 min How To Talk To Users | Startup School Gustaf Alstromer In 20 answers
  7. The definitive talk that reframes launching from a one-shot event into a repeatable tactic, exactly this category's thesis. YC... YC Startup Library Video · ~25 min How to Launch (Again and Again) Kat Manalac (Y Combinator) In 18 answers
  8. Video · ~15 min How to Get and Test Startup Ideas Michael Seibel In 16 answers
  9. Pete Koomen took Optimizely from zero to $100M+ ARR, and here he breaks the enterprise funnel down for exactly the person who... Y Combinator Startup School Video · ~35 min Enterprise Sales for Founders Pete Koomen In 15 answers
  10. Video · About 25 minutes How to Get Your First Customers (Startup School) Gustaf Alstromer In 15 answers
  11. A step-by-step, modern YC walkthrough of identifying buyers, starting conversations, and converting them into your first... YC Startup Library Video · ~20 min How to Get Your First 10 Customers Max Kolysh (Y Combinator) In 14 answers
  12. A YC partner and ex-Airbnb growth lead gives a tactical, no-fluff talk on landing early customers for both B2B and B2C. It's... YC Startup Library Video · ~30 min video How to Get Your First Customers Gustaf Alstromer (Y Combinator) In 13 answers
  13. Video · About 26 minutes How to Succeed with a Startup Sam Altman (Y Combinator) In 10 answers
  14. Video Startup Pricing 101 Kevin Hale In 10 answers
  15. Video · ~50 min Peter Thiel: Competition Is for Losers Peter Thiel In 9 answers
  16. Once you have a list of people to reach cold, this shows you how to write emails they actually answer. Seven concrete... Y Combinator Startup Library Video · ~33 min How to Convert Customers With Cold Emails Aaron Epstein In 9 answers
  17. Video · ~20 min How to do customer interviews? | Rob Fitzpatrick, author of "The Mom Test" Rob Fitzpatrick In 8 answers
  18. Video · ~10 min How to get your first ten customers Michael Seibel In 7 answers
  19. Video · 5 min Clayton Christensen: When Only a Milkshake Will Do the Job Clayton Christensen In 7 answers
  20. Video · 35 min Where Do Great Startup Ideas Come From? Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel In 6 answers
  21. A two-minute animation showing why building before talking to customers wastes months. Useful to send a cofounder who wants to... Steve Blank Video · 2 min Customer Discovery: The Search for Product/Market Fit. 2 Minutes to See Why Steve Blank In 5 answers
  22. Video · ~45 min How to Launch an MVP Michael Seibel and Eric Migicovsky In 5 answers
  23. Video · 7 min The single biggest reason why startups succeed Bill Gross In 5 answers
  24. Video · ~35 min How to Pitch Your Startup Kevin Hale In 4 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
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →