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. Reid Hoffman's case for prioritising speed over efficiency when a market is winner-takes-most, and the costs that choice brings. hbr.org Article · 15 min Blitzscaling Reid Hoffman
  2. Verne Harnish's practical system for growing a company on four decisions: people, strategy, execution and cash, with one-page... scalingup.com Book Scaling Up Verne Harnish
  3. A plain guide to what a cap table tracks, how to read one, spreadsheet versus software, how it differs from a balance sheet,... pulley.com Article · 15 min What is a cap table? Pulley
  4. A startup law firm on when a company should move its cap table from a spreadsheet to a platform, and what to look for in one. cooleygo.com Article Choosing the Right Cap Table Platform Cooley GO
  5. Awfis is one of India's largest coworking chains. Its day pass page puts the price at about Rs 300 to Rs 500 a day depending on... awfis.com Tool Awfis day pass Awfis
  6. A monthly membership that lets you work from any WeWork India centre. The page lists ₹11,999 a month, or ₹10,199 a month on a... wework.co.in Tool WeWork India All Access WeWork India
  7. A marketplace for booking coworking desks, day passes and meeting spaces across Indian cities without brokerage, useful for... gofloaters.com Tool GoFloaters GoFloaters
  8. A coworking network known for its community events and member perks, in several Indian cities. 91springboard.com Tool 91springboard 91springboard
  9. Zoho's step-by-step help for proving you own your domain by adding a TXT or CNAME record at your registrar, the first step of... zoho.com Article · 5 min Zoho Mail: domain verification Zoho
  10. How to add the SPF record that tells other mail servers Zoho is allowed to send for your domain, so your mail is not marked as... zoho.com Article · 5 min Zoho Mail: SPF configuration Zoho
  11. A pricing guide built from verified client reviews of development firms. Its 2026 figures put custom software development in... clutch.co Article Software Development Pricing Guide Clutch
  12. The regulator that registers every insurer and insurance intermediary in India, and publishes the registration regulations,... irdai.gov.in Tool Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) IRDAI
  13. PRS's neutral summary of the 2025 insurance law: foreign investment in Indian insurers raised from 74% to 100%, foreign... prsindia.org Article The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, 2025 PRS Legislative Research
  14. A section-by-section note on the Act, notified on 21 December 2025, including the FEMA changes effective 2 May 2026 that let... vinodkothari.com Article The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha Insurance Act: the 2047 vision in action Vinod Kothari Consultants
  15. An explainer on what the 2025 law leaves out: no composite licence (a life insurer still cannot sell non-life insurance), and... vajiramandravi.com Article New Insurance Bill 2025 Explained Vajiram and Ravi
  16. The brokers' association's walk-through of the broker regulations: capital of ₹75 lakh for a direct broker (₹4 crore... ibai.org Article IRDAI (Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2018: an overview Insurance Brokers Association of India
  17. IRDAI's public lists of licensed brokers, corporate agents, web aggregators and other intermediaries, the quickest way to see... policyholder.gov.in Tool List of insurance brokers (IRDAI) IRDAI
  18. The government's statement that the MCA charges no fee to incorporate any company with authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh, under... pib.gov.in Article Zero fee for incorporating companies with authorised capital up to Rs 15 lakh Ministry of Corporate Affairs (PIB)
  19. Adobe's logo maker, free for everyone, which downloads your logo as PNG or JPG (a 500px square by default). adobe.com Tool Adobe Express free logo maker Adobe
  20. The official MUDRA site for loans to non-corporate, non-farm micro and small enterprises: up to ₹10 lakh, and up to ₹20 lakh... mudra.org.in Tool Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana MUDRA (Ministry of Finance)
  21. The SBA's guide to the two kinds of business plan, traditional and lean startup, with what goes in each section of a... sba.gov Article · 15 min Write your business plan U.S. Small Business Administration
  22. A public sector bank's startup account with its full schedule of charges: the quarterly average balance is waived for the first... iob.bank.in Tool · Scheme page IOB Startup Current Account Indian Overseas Bank
  23. A clear walkthrough of how to run a SWOT analysis with a team, with a worked example and a template, and the step most people... mindtools.com Article · Guide SWOT Analysis Mind Tools
  24. A concise definition with examples of each quadrant and the framework's limits, useful for writing the SWOT section of a... corporatefinanceinstitute.com Article · Guide SWOT Analysis Corporate Finance Institute

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 →