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.

Hyderabad's startup hub, backed by the Telangana government, hosting programs for startups and corporates plus an Atal... t-hub.co Tool · Organisation page T-Hub T-Hub
Google's three-month equity-free accelerator for AI-first startups in India from seed to Series A, pairing founders with Google... startup.google.com Tool · Program page Google for Startups Accelerator: India Google
The application page for Surge, Peak XV's seed program. The form is where to start once you have a team and something built. surge.peakxv.com Tool · Application page Apply to Surge Peak XV Partners
IIT Bombay's technology business incubator, with an open incubation application on its home page and seed fund calls such as... sineiitb.org Tool · Organisation page SINE, IIT Bombay SINE IIT Bombay
A clear explainer of the gross margin ratio with the formula, (Revenue minus COGS) divided by revenue, a worked income... corporatefinanceinstitute.com Article · 8 min read Gross Margin Ratio: formula and example Corporate Finance Institute
The second half of Varsity's P&L walkthrough, covering finance costs, depreciation, tax and profit after tax, with reader... zerodha.com Course · 20 min read Understanding the P&L Statement (Part 2) Karthik Rangappa, Zerodha Varsity
A complete EBITDA reference: both ways to calculate it, why analysts use it, its limits (it is not cash flow) and how the... corporatefinanceinstitute.com Article · 10 min read What Is EBITDA? Definition, Formula and Examples Corporate Finance Institute
A free calculator with the formula, worked examples and the rules: (last drawn salary x 15 x years) / 26 for employers covered... cleartax.in Tool · Calculator Gratuity Calculator: formula, rules and examples ClearTax
A plain explainer of the Labour Codes' single definition of wages: basic pay, dearness allowance and retaining allowance must... businesstoday.in Article · 6 min read Labour codes 2025: how the 50% wage rule resets salaries, tax and retirement savings Basudha Das, Business Today
Microsoft's free business budget templates for Excel, structured for monthly budgets, operating costs and cash flow checks,... excel.cloud.microsoft Template · Templates Business budget planner templates for Excel Microsoft
Zoho Books' help page on building a budget inside your accounts: pick a financial year, a monthly, quarterly or yearly period,... zoho.com Article · Help page Budgets in Zoho Books Zoho
Varsity's line-by-line reading of an Indian company's balance sheet, starting with the liabilities side: shareholders' funds,... zerodha.com Course · 25 min read Understanding the Balance Sheet Statement (Part 1) Karthik Rangappa, Zerodha Varsity
The second half of Varsity's balance sheet walkthrough, covering the assets side: fixed assets, investments, inventory,... zerodha.com Course · 20 min read Understanding the Balance Sheet Statement (Part 2) Karthik Rangappa, Zerodha Varsity
A thorough plain-English course on the balance sheet: current and long-term assets and liabilities, equity, and how it connects... accountingcoach.com Article · 30 min read Balance Sheet (Explanation) Harold Averkamp, AccountingCoach
One of India's main revenue-based financing providers, focused on e-commerce and D2C brands, which states it has disbursed more... velocity.in Tool · Product page Velocity: revenue-based financing for e-commerce brands Velocity
Tally's own step-by-step help on the first thing you do in TallyPrime: create the company with its financial year, address and... help.tallysolutions.com Article · 4 min read Create a Company in TallyPrime Tally Solutions
A free, patient course on double-entry bookkeeping: accounts, debits and credits, the general ledger and how transactions roll... accountingcoach.com Article · 30 min read Bookkeeping (Explanation) Harold Averkamp, AccountingCoach
The SBA's page on its microloan program: loans of up to $50,000, averaging about $13,000, made by nonprofit intermediary... sba.gov Article · 5 min read SBA Microloans U.S. Small Business Administration
Kiva's US lending program: 0% interest loans with no fees, no collateral and no minimum credit score, crowdfunded first from... kiva.org Tool · Program page Kiva U.S.: 0% interest small business loans Kiva
The SBA's free matching tool: describe your business and financing need once and SBA-approved lenders who are interested get in... sba.gov Tool · Tool SBA Lender Match U.S. Small Business Administration
The SBA's page on 7(a), its main loan program, with a maximum of $5 million, the uses it covers and the eligibility factors... sba.gov Article · 8 min read SBA 7(a) loans U.S. Small Business Administration
The largest online marketplace for buying and selling small startups and online businesses, mostly SaaS and e-commerce, where... acquire.com Tool · Marketplace Acquire.com Acquire.com
The 2013 essay that coined the word unicorn for a startup valued at over $1 billion, by Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures, with the... techcrunch.com Essay · 15 min read Welcome To The Unicorn Club: Learning From Billion-Dollar Startups Aileen Lee
Inc42's running tracker of every Indian startup to reach a $1 billion valuation, updated through 2026 with funding, valuation,... inc42.com Article · Tracker Indian Unicorn Tracker Inc42

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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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