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. Dukaan's rupee prices for an online store. The free plan has no subscription and a 4.99% service fee per order, capped at Rs... mydukaan.io Tool · Pricing page Dukaan pricing Dukaan
  2. Etsy's own help page on what it charges sellers: $0.20 a listing, whether or not it sells, and a 6.5% transaction fee on the... help.etsy.com Article · 5 min read Etsy Fee Basics Etsy
  3. Craftybase is now Stocksmith, same team and software. It tracks materials, recipes and the true cost of each handmade item: Pro... stocksmith.io Tool · Pricing page Stocksmith (formerly Craftybase) pricing Stocksmith
  4. The Ministry of Textiles' own online store for handloom weavers and handicraft artisans, built to sell traditional products... indiahandmade.com Tool · Marketplace India Handmade Ministry of Textiles, Government of India
  5. A phone-first GST billing and inventory app built for Indian shops and traders. Plus is ₹3,490 a year billed annually and Pro,... mybillbook.in Tool · Pricing page myBillBook plans and pricing FloBiz
  6. Zoho's shared team drive with team folders, granular access and the Zoho office apps. In rupees, Starter is ₹140 a user a month... zoho.com Tool · Pricing page Zoho WorkDrive pricing Zoho
  7. Dropbox's own plan list. Plus is $9.99 a month for one person with 2 TB; Standard is $15 a user a month for teams, starting at... dropbox.com Tool · Pricing page Dropbox plans Dropbox
  8. Google's personal storage plans in rupees, shared across Drive, Gmail and Photos. 15 GB is free, Lite is ₹59 a month for 30 GB... one.google.com Tool · Pricing page Google One plans (India) Google
  9. A hands-on comparison updated in June 2026 of Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, pCloud and others, with what each... zapier.com Article · 17 min read The 9 best cloud storage apps in 2026 Michelle Martin
  10. AppFlowy is an open-source Notion alternative you can use on its cloud or host yourself. Personal is free; Pro is $12 a member... appflowy.com Tool · Pricing page AppFlowy pricing: cloud and self-hosted AppFlowy
  11. The source code and self-hosting instructions for AppFlowy, which describes itself as the open source alternative to Notion,... github.com Tool · Code repository AppFlowy on GitHub AppFlowy
  12. AFFiNE combines docs, whiteboards and databases, local-first, with an MIT-licensed editor and a self-hostable backend. Free for... affine.pro Tool · Pricing page AFFiNE pricing AFFiNE
  13. A local-first workspace for notes, objects and collaboration where data is encrypted on your device and only you hold the keys,... anytype.io Tool · Product page Anytype Anytype
  14. A hands-on comparison from October 2026 of the two most common answers to 'where do I keep my notes': Obsidian's local Markdown... zapier.com Article · 9 min read Obsidian vs. Notion: Which is best? [2026] Shubham Agarwal
  15. Apple's own guide to Notes, the free app built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac, covering quick notes, checklists, tags, folders... support.apple.com Article · Help guide Notes User Guide for Mac Apple
  16. Google's free notes and checklists app, built into Android and connected to Gmail, Docs and Calendar, with work accounts... workspace.google.com Tool · Product page Google Keep Google
  17. Microsoft's free notebook app for Windows, Mac, phones and the web, where you can click anywhere on a page to type, draw or paste. onenote.cloud.microsoft Tool · Product page Microsoft OneNote Microsoft
  18. The handwriting notes app for iPad and Apple Pencil, also on Android and Windows. Free for 3 files; Essential is $11.99 a year... goodnotes.com Tool · Pricing page Goodnotes plans and pricing Goodnotes
  19. A handwriting and audio-recording notes app for iPad. Starter is free for 5 notes; Lite is $11.99 a year and Plus $15.99 a year... notability.com Tool · Pricing page Notability pricing Ginger Labs
  20. An AI notepad that writes up your meetings from your own device's audio, with no bot joining the call. Basic is free with... granola.ai Tool · Pricing page Granola pricing Granola
  21. A tested comparison updated December 2025 of OneNote, Apple Notes, Google Keep, Notion, Obsidian, Joplin and Evernote, with... zapier.com Article · 19 min read The 7 best note-taking apps in 2026 Harry Guinness
  22. An August 2026 test of notes apps built around AI (Mem, Evernote, Reflect and others) for people who want their notes... zapier.com Article · 11 min read The 4 best AI notes apps in 2026 Miguel Rebelo
  23. The mind mapping app on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad and phones. The free plan covers classic mind maps; Pro is US$4.92 a month... xmind.com Tool · Pricing page Xmind pricing Xmind
  24. A browser-based mind mapping tool built for collaboration. Free for 3 mind maps; Personal is $3.50 and Pro $5.50 a user a... mindmeister.com Tool · Pricing page MindMeister pricing MeisterLabs

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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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