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. The same free editor on Android, with more than 100 million downloads. play.google.com Tool Edits: Video Editor (Google Play) Instagram
  2. Adobe's free phone editor for Shorts and Reels, with no ads or watermarks, also on Android. apps.apple.com Tool Adobe Premiere AI Video Editor (App Store India) Adobe
  3. A free multi-track phone editor with no watermark, No. 2 in Photo and Video on India's App Store, with a Mac version too. apps.apple.com Tool VN: Photo and Video Editor (App Store India) Ubiquiti Labs
  4. One of the most downloaded editors in India, with more than 500 million installs on Android, for quick trims, music and text on... play.google.com Tool InShot: Video Editor (Google Play) InShot
  5. A free editor in the browser and on Windows for quick edits, with AI tools and watermark-free exports. clipchamp.com Tool Microsoft Clipchamp pricing Microsoft
  6. The free professional editor for Mac, Windows and Linux, with editing, colour, effects and audio in one app. blackmagicdesign.com Tool DaVinci Resolve 21 Blackmagic Design
  7. Apple's free editor for the Mac, also on iPhone and iPad, the simplest way to cut and title a video on Apple devices. apps.apple.com Tool iMovie (Mac App Store India) Apple
  8. Apple's professional editor for Macs with Apple silicon, a one-time purchase of ₹29,900 on India's Mac App Store, and part of... apps.apple.com Tool Final Cut Pro (Mac App Store India) Apple
  9. The professional standard on Windows and Mac, priced in rupees with GST on Adobe's India page, with a seven-day free trial. adobe.com Tool Adobe Premiere (India) Adobe
  10. A tester who put more than 90 editors through their paces for this update picks Premiere as the best professional editor,... zapier.com Article The best video editing software in 2026 Tim Brookes
  11. The record of the 2020 ban that keeps CapCut off Indian phones, the reason it is missing from this list. inc42.com Article CapCut among 47 Chinese apps banned by India Kritti Bhalla
  12. Hosted WordPress, the blogging and website platform behind a large share of the web. The page lists Personal at US$4 a month... wordpress.com Tool WordPress.com pricing Automattic
  13. FlutterFlow is a visual builder for native mobile apps that go to the App Store and Google Play. The page lists a free plan to... flutterflow.io Tool FlutterFlow pricing FlutterFlow
  14. An Indian creator platform for courses, communities and cohorts. The page lists Basic with zero fixed fee and 10% commission... tagmango.com Tool TagMango pricing TagMango
  15. A step-by-step guide from a course platform on choosing a topic, validating demand, outlining, recording and launching a course. teachable.com Article · 20 min How to create an online course Teachable
  16. Free, open-source software for recording your screen, your camera and slides together on Windows, Mac or Linux. obsproject.com Tool OBS Studio OBS Project
  17. A quick screen-and-camera recorder. The page lists a free Starter plan with up to 25 videos and 5-minute recordings, enough for... loom.com Tool Loom pricing Loom (Atlassian)
  18. The original Business Model Canvas from Strategyzer, the firm of its creator Alexander Osterwalder, with the official template... strategyzer.com Template The Business Model Canvas (official template) Strategyzer
  19. Video · ~2 min Business Model Canvas Explained Strategyzer
  20. The book that introduced the canvas, co-created by 470 practitioners from 45 countries, with worked examples of business models... strategyzer.com Book Business Model Generation Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
  21. A current Indian guide that goes clause by clause through an SHA (reserved matters, ROFR and ROFO, drag-along and tag-along,... lawsikho.com Article · 30 min Shareholders Agreement (SHA): Clauses and Guide 2026 LawSikho
  22. A legal commentary on why Indian courts have refused to enforce SHA restrictions against a company when they were not written... indiacorplaw.in Essay Shareholders' Agreements: Clauses and Enforceability IndiaCorpLaw
  23. Molly Graham, who scaled teams at Facebook, on what changes for founders and early employees as a company grows: handing off... review.firstround.com Article · 15 min Give Away Your Legos and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups Molly Graham
  24. Elad Gil's handbook for the stage after product-market fit, free to read online: hiring executives, managing a board,... growth.eladgil.com Book High Growth Handbook Elad Gil

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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
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