Starting Up

The resources founders actually use.

Every essay, video, podcast, book and tool behind 1,327 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. A free, author-written summary of the positioning framework for founders who want the core idea before buying the book, perfect... aprildunford.com Article · ~8 min read My Positioning Book 'Obviously Awesome' Launches Today April Dunford In 4 answers
  2. YC is the canonical authority on early-stage team formation, and this is their direct playbook for the exact problem a... YC Startup Library Article · ~12 min read How to Find a Technical Co-Founder Y Combinator In 4 answers
  3. Julian Shapiro's deeply practical framework for landing pages, including the desire-minus-friction conversion model, a... julian.com Article · 25 min read How to build a landing page (Startup Handbook) Julian Shapiro In 4 answers
  4. 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
  5. Harry Dry's core copywriting rules distilled with dozens of real examples, the fastest way to level up your writing from vague... Marketing Examples Article · 8 min read How to write copy that sells (three rules) Harry Dry In 4 answers
  6. India's best long-form podcast with B2B SaaS founders who cracked global GTM from India, hosted by a 2x founder and Neon Fund... The Neon Show (formerly 100x Entrepreneur) Podcast · podcast series (200+ episodes) The Neon Show (Indian SaaS founders on GTM & sales) Siddhartha Ahluwalia In 4 answers
  7. Based on studying 100+ consumer companies, Lenny shows that lasting growth comes from becoming world-class at one growth... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~20 min read The Growth Engine: Kickstarting & Scaling a Consumer Business (Step 6) Lenny Rachitsky In 4 answers
  8. Concrete retention benchmarks and cohort-analysis methods gathered from dozens of top companies, so you can tell a healthy... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~20 min read How the Best Companies Measure and Improve Retention Lenny Rachitsky In 4 answers
  9. The definitive framework for building products people return to without paid nudges, the Hook Model, backed by a million-plus... Portfolio / Penguin (nirandfar.com) Book · Book (~256 pages) Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products Nir Eyal (with Ryan Hoover) In 4 answers
  10. Battle-tested referral advice from the person who turned Airbnb's host referral program into its biggest driver of supply... Lenny's Newsletter Article · ~20 min read Building a Referrals Program Lenny Rachitsky In 4 answers
  11. A primary-source, founder-written account of how India's largest and most profitable brokerage actually makes money and thinks... zerodha.com Article · blog post Z-Connect: Business Updates & Why We Do What We Do Nithin Kamath In 4 answers
  12. A focused a16z piece on the single ratio that most captures a business's efficiency and drives its valuation. Great for... a16z.com Article · article Why Do Investors Care So Much About LTV:CAC? Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) In 4 answers
  13. A concise video lecture that walks through the key concepts and mechanics of running a fundraising process, from a YC partner... Y Combinator Startup Library Video · 40 min Fundraising Fundamentals (Startup School) Geoff Ralston In 4 answers
  14. A modern, tactical fundraising and pitch playbook aggregating advice from top operators and investors. Strong on how to build... Lenny's Newsletter Article · 25 min read A Playbook for Fundraising (and building your pitch) Lenny Rachitsky In 4 answers
  15. A behind-the-curtain playbook for the partner meeting, from a First Round partner and former founder. It explains the internal... First Round Review Article · 20 min read What You Can Really Expect When Pitching Your Seed-Stage Startup at a VC Partner Meeting Liz Wessel, First Round Review In 4 answers
  16. The official Indian government primer on structuring ESOPs for startups, a primary source on the rules that most blog posts... startupindia.gov.in Article · Official primer Employee Stock Options for Startups (Startup India) Startup India / DPIIT In 4 answers
  17. The clearest distillation of Naval's philosophy on wealth, leverage, and, crucially, inner peace. Free to read online, it... navalmanack.com Book · medium The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness Eric Jorgenson (curating Naval Ravikant) In 4 answers
  18. The definitive case that undistracted, focused work is both increasingly rare and increasingly valuable, a direct competitive... calnewport.com Book · long Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World Cal Newport In 4 answers
  19. A thoughtful investor-authored take on the real risks of solo founding, isolation and the echo chamber, and how to engineer the... newsletter.angularventures.com Article · medium Solo Founder Syndrome (Even If You're Not Alone) Angular Ventures (The Angle) In 4 answers
  20. AICs are India's flagship government-backed incubation network, deliberately spread across the country so founders outside the... AIM / Government of India Article · Program overview page Atal Incubation Centres, Atal Innovation Mission Atal Innovation Mission (NITI Aayog) In 4 answers
  21. A 25-year-old, university-anchored incubator that runs distinct tracks by stage and by founder type, including strong... NSRCEL / IIM Bangalore Article · Program directory site NSRCEL, Incubation Centre, IIM Bangalore NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore In 4 answers
  22. The definitive research-backed case for 'give before you ask', Grant shows that generous givers, not takers, build the biggest... adamgrant.net Book · long Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success Adam Grant In 4 answers
  23. The uncomfortable truth of enterprise sales in one line: the shorter the sales cycle, the likelier the win, and this piece... First Round Review Article · ~20 min read The Most Surefire Way I've Found to Win Enterprise Deals Anand Chopra-McGowan In 4 answers
  24. 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

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

What are good startup ideas in India right now? The ideas Indian investors are backing in 2026 sit in a few places: AI built into one industry's daily work (vertical AI for B2B, where software fu... Beginner 5 resources → How do I find product-market fit? Narrow until a small group cannot do without you, then widen. Pick the segment where usage is strongest, talk to those people every week, and chang... Intermediate 9 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 → How do I build an MVP for my startup, step by step? Write down the one assumption that kills the idea if it is wrong, then build the cheapest thing that tests it and get it to real users within weeks... Beginner 9 resources → Which tool should I use to analyse qualitative data like interview notes? For a founder with a dozen interviews, Gemini Notebook, which is free, or Claude, free or $20 a month on Pro: load the transcripts, ask for the rec... Beginner 6 resources → How do I get my first client as a freelancer? Your first client is most likely someone who already knows you or someone they know, so start there before marketplaces. 1) Pick one service for on... Beginner 6 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 →