The resources founders actually use.

What founders use most, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

1. This is a working copywriter's breakdown of what actually goes into a launch message that lands, including the parts founders... Copyhackers Article · 15 min read How to write launch emails that sell out your next launch Copyhackers
2. This compact guide gives you rules for writing plain, persuasive prose that you can apply the same afternoon: sentence length,... Julian Shapiro Course Writing Well Julian Shapiro
3. This is a practical swipe file for the one line that decides whether anyone reads your launch post at all, built around... Copyhackers Template 65 Headline Formulas Copyhackers
4. Figma spent years building quietly before a genuinely coordinated launch, and this piece walks through how that transition was... First Round Review Article · 20 min read How to Launch Your Startup Out of Stealth, from Figma's First Marketer First Round Review
5. Video · 20 min watch Y Combinator's Michael Seibel: You Are Nothing Until You Launch Michael Seibel
6. Gary Vaynerchuk's core argument, document your actual work instead of manufacturing polished content from scratch, is the... garyvaynerchuk.com Essay · 6 min read Document, Don't Create: Creating Content That Builds Your Personal Brand Gary Vaynerchuk
7. Pieter Levels wrote up, in public, exactly how he built and launched a project while narrating each step on Twitter, and this... levels.io Essay · 10 min read Building a startup in public: from first line of code to frontpage of Reddit Pieter Levels
8. Buffer's live public hub, real revenue, real decisions, real posts, is a working example of what a company sounds like when it... Buffer Tool Buffer Open Buffer
9. This gives you the actual email skeletons, teaser, launch day, update, follow-up, that map directly onto the five-beat sequence... HubSpot Blog Template · 10 min read How to Create a Product Launch Email [Outlines + Templates] HubSpot
10. Ship is a landing page and waitlist tool built specifically for the pre-launch teaser stage of a campaign like the one in the... Product Hunt Tool Ship by Product Hunt: A toolkit for makers to ship awesome products Product Hunt
11. This is a direct, practical answer to the flatline problem: specific things to do in the days after your launch day,... Product Hunt Article · 6 min read 4 strategies to keep momentum going post-launch Product Hunt
12. Justin Jackson built this course specifically for technical founders who are good at shipping but go quiet on marketing right... justinjackson.ca Course · self-paced course Marketing for Developers Justin Jackson
13. A short, concrete framework for the actual first message you send someone you don't know: lead with something useful, not with... justinwelsh.me Essay How to Write a (Successful) Cold DM Justin Welsh
14. Ferrazzi's whole thesis is that networking works when it's generosity-first and ongoing, not a favor you cash in only when you... Keith Ferrazzi Book Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time Keith Ferrazzi
15. Bohns' research shows founders usually get the psychology backwards: people underestimate how much sway an ask has and how... Vanessa Bohns Book You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power of Persuasion, and Why It Matters Vanessa Bohns
16. Flynn's research found people underestimate by as much as 50% how often others will say yes to a direct ask, which is useful... Stanford Graduate School of Business Article · ~7 min Francis Flynn: If You Want Something, Ask For It Marguerite Rigoglioso
17. A short, blunt essay that names the exact problem in your question: treating social capital like an infinite chit you can cash... Rachel Mazza Essay · ~5 min Burning Through Social Capital Rachel Mazza
18. The book's whole argument is that the founders with the most useful networks aren't the ones who ask the most, they're... Scott Gerber and Ryan Paugh Book Superconnector: Stop Networking and Start Building Relationships Scott Gerber, Ryan Paugh
19. A practical guide built around one idea worth sitting with: network before you need something, so you're not always showing up... First Round Review Article Networking First Round Review
20. If you're going to spend a big ask on a launch that really matters, this research tells you how to spend it well: in-person or... Harvard Business Review Article · ~6 min Need a Favor? Research Suggests It's Best to Ask In Person Mahdi Roghanizad and Vanessa Bohns
21. A fast, watchable version of the giver/taker/matcher framework if you don't have time for the full book. It's a good gut-check... TED Video Adam Grant: Are you a giver or a taker? Adam Grant
22. A short, no-nonsense walkthrough of which handful of numbers actually matter at your stage, straight from YC's own coaching... Y Combinator Startup Library Article · 10 min read Key Startup Metrics Y Combinator Startup Library
23. This is the piece that pushes you to write down your success number before you launch, exactly the discipline our answer asks... Y Combinator Startup Library Article · 8 min read Setting KPIs and Goals Y Combinator Startup Library
24. Balfour argues that a big, splashy launch to everyone actually hurts you: it buries the signal you need under noise from people... Brian Balfour Essay · 15 min read How To Launch A Product or Feature To Maximize Growth Brian Balfour

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