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.

The statutory patent fee schedule, with a column for natural persons, startups, small entities and educational institutions and... ipindia.gov.in Article The First Schedule: patent fees (IP India) Office of the CGPDTM
The Patent Office's own description of filing: Form 1 with Form 2 as a provisional or complete specification, the complete... ipindia.gov.in Article Patents: Filing Process (IP India) Office of the CGPDTM
A guide to when each patent fee falls due, including the request for examination deadline cut to 31 months for applications... intepat.com Article Patent Cost in India (2026): Official Fees and Charges Intepat
A short employer-employee agreement template from the Startup India templates library, to adapt as a starting point and have... startupindia.gov.in Template Basic Hiring Contract (template) Startup India
MeitY's November 2025 release on the notified DPDP Rules: an 18-month phased timeline and standalone, clear consent notices... pib.gov.in Article Government notifies DPDP Rules to empower citizens and protect privacy Press Information Bureau
A law firm's timeline of the DPDP Rules with the dates that matter: full compliance due 13 May 2027, and what to build in 2026. fisherphillips.com Article India's New Data Privacy Rules Are Here: 8 Steps for Businesses Fisher Phillips
A free generator that builds a privacy notice under section 5 of the DPDP Act from your organisation's details. dpdpa.com Tool DPDPA Privacy Notice Generator dpdpa.com
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs' release on the e-commerce rules: what every e-commerce entity must show before purchase and... pib.gov.in Article Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 Press Information Bureau
A guided generator for website and app terms and conditions; one policy is free with no credit card. termly.io Tool Free Terms and Conditions Generator (Termly) Termly
Shopify's free generator for privacy, refund and terms of service policies, usable whether or not your store runs on Shopify. shopify.com Tool Free Privacy Policy Generator (Shopify) Shopify
Atlassian's guide to a lean PRD: goals, assumptions, user stories, design, and what is out of scope, written with the team... atlassian.com Article Product requirements documents (Atlassian) Atlassian
Figma's explainer of what a PRD covers (features, purpose and scope) with a free template to start from. figma.com Template How to create a product requirements document + free template (Figma) Figma
The home of Indian Angel Network, one of India's best-known angel groups, now IAN Group with its own funds alongside the angel... iangroup.vc Tool · Website IAN Group (Indian Angel Network) IAN Group
LetsVenture is one of India's oldest online platforms where founders list a round and angels and syndicates invest together;... letsventure.com Tool · Platform LetsVenture: raise from angels and syndicates online LetsVenture
The scheme's own FAQ, which sets out what a startup could get through an incubator: up to Rs 20 lakh as a grant for proof of... seedfund.startupindia.gov.in Article · FAQ page Startup India Seed Fund Scheme: FAQs DPIIT, Government of India
The scheme document for Fund of Funds 2.0, a Rs 10,000 crore corpus that SIDBI puts into SEBI-registered Alternative Investment... startupindia.gov.in Article · Scheme document (PDF) Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 Scheme DPIIT, Government of India
The free calculator Paul Graham's 'Default Alive or Default Dead?' essay links to: put in your cash, monthly expenses, revenue... growth.tlb.org Tool · Calculator Default Alive or Default Dead? (calculator) Trevor Blackwell
Sets out the three margins with their formulas (gross profit margin, operating profit margin and net profit margin, each as... corporatefinanceinstitute.com Article · ~10 min read Profit Margin: Definition, Formula, Types and Examples Corporate Finance Institute
Explains the ROI formula, works an example, shows how to annualise ROI so investments of different lengths compare fairly, and... corporatefinanceinstitute.com Article · ~10 min read Return on Investment: Formula, Meaning, and How to Calculate It Corporate Finance Institute
A product seller's guide to gross, operating and net profit margin with the formula for each and ways to raise them, linked to... shopify.com Article · ~12 min read Profit Margin: How to Calculate It and Raise It Shopify
A free calculator: enter your cost and either a price or a target margin and it returns the other, which is the fastest way to... shopify.com Tool · Calculator Profit margin calculator Shopify
A clear explainer of working capital as current assets minus current liabilities, with a worked example, what positive and... corporatefinanceinstitute.com Article · ~10 min read Working Capital Formula Corporate Finance Institute
Explains the cash conversion cycle as days inventory outstanding plus days sales outstanding minus days payable outstanding:... corporatefinanceinstitute.com Article · ~8 min read Cash Conversion Cycle Corporate Finance Institute
RXIL runs one of India's TReDS platforms, where an MSME seller can get invoices raised on large buyers discounted by banks and... rxil.in Tool · Platform RXIL: a TReDS platform for MSME invoice discounting Receivables Exchange of India

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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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