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. Dunford (author of Obviously Awesome) breaks positioning into concrete steps, and the segmentation step is the one this... aprildunford.com Essay · ~10 min read A Quickstart Guide to Positioning April Dunford In 4 answers
  2. This is a founder team telling on themselves: they grew for years without a defined ICP and it caused real damage to their... PostHog Article Defining our ICP is the most important thing we ever did PostHog In 4 answers
  3. An ICANN-accredited registrar's domain search with Indian prices. It lists a .in domain at ₹899 for the first year (₹1 on a... hostinger.com Tool Hostinger domain search and .in prices Hostinger In 4 answers
  4. Framer is a designer's website builder with AI that writes and lays out pages. The pricing page lists a free plan on a Framer... framer.com Tool Framer pricing Framer In 4 answers
  5. Lovable is an AI app builder: you describe the website or app in plain words and it builds, hosts and publishes it. Its plans... docs.lovable.dev Tool Lovable plans and credits Lovable In 4 answers
  6. Google's free listing that puts your business on Search and Maps with photos, hours, reviews and a link to your site. The page... business.google.com Tool Google Business Profile Google In 4 answers
  7. The SBA's planning guide, with a break-even analysis calculator and sections on market research, competitive analysis and... sba.gov Tool · Guide and calculator Plan your business: startup costs and break-even calculator U.S. Small Business Administration In 4 answers
  8. Google's page on generating a review link or QR code from your profile, with where to use it: receipts, thank-you emails, the... support.google.com Article · Help page Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews Google In 4 answers
  9. An email marketing and messaging platform priced by emails sent rather than contacts. The free plan sends up to 300 emails a... brevo.com Tool · Pricing page Brevo pricing Brevo In 4 answers
  10. Jonathan Stark's short book for consultants and freelancers on pricing by value instead of by the hour: why hourly billing caps... jonathanstark.com Book · Short book Hourly Billing Is Nuts Jonathan Stark In 4 answers
  11. The DGFT's own portal page for applying for, updating and managing an Import Export Code, needed by anyone importing goods for... dgft.gov.in Tool · Official portal DGFT: Import Export Code (IEC) Directorate General of Foreign Trade In 4 answers
  12. Amazon's own page for registering as a seller in India, with its fee calculator, Fulfillment by Amazon and the seller... sell.amazon.in Tool · Seller portal Sell on Amazon India Amazon In 4 answers
  13. DPIIT's current list of what recognition opens, updated for the Income-tax Act 2025: a three-year 100% tax exemption on profits... startupindia.gov.in Article · PDF playbook Startup Playbook: Exclusive Benefits for DPIIT-Recognised Startups (April 2026) Startup India (DPIIT) In 4 answers
  14. The Ministry of Labour's 21 November 2025 release bringing the four Labour Codes into force, with the before-and-after table:... pib.gov.in Article Government Makes the Four Labour Codes Effective Press Information Bureau In 4 answers
  15. Antler's India page, for founders at day zero, including solo founders still looking for a co-founder. It sets out the AI... antler.co Tool · Program page Antler India Antler In 4 answers
  16. Razorpay's payroll for Indian companies, which pays salaries and calculates, pays and files statutory compliance. Prime covers... razorpay.com Tool · Pricing page RazorpayX Payroll pricing Razorpay In 4 answers
  17. The former Intel CEO's book on management as leverage, where OKRs began. It covers planning, one-to-ones, meetings and... penguinrandomhouse.com Book · Book High Output Management Andrew S. Grove In 4 answers
  18. Vyapar's own plan page. Vyapar is GST billing and inventory built for shops, traders and small manufacturers who bill from a... vyaparapp.in Tool · Pricing page Vyapar plans and pricing Vyapar In 4 answers
  19. ClickUp's plans for tasks, docs, goals and dashboards in one tool. Free costs nothing, Core is $9 a user a month and Business... clickup.com Tool · Pricing page ClickUp pricing ClickUp In 4 answers
  20. Figma's plans: the free Starter plan with unlimited drafts and 150 AI credits a day (up to 500 a month), then Professional at... figma.com Tool · Pricing page Figma pricing Figma In 4 answers
  21. Video · ~15 min Companies That Grow Without Ads (Delta-4 Theory) Kunal Shah (Founder, CRED) In 3 answers
  22. A grounded India-specific feature with hard-won lessons from BigBasket, Razorpay, BrowserStack and Instamojo on understanding... Inc42 Article · ~15 min read Defining, Measuring And Solving Product-Market Fit Puzzle For Startups Inc42 In 3 answers
  23. A PM-turned-founder's playbook that treats defining the right customer and problem as a sequence of concrete hurdles, not... First Round Review Article · ~18 min read 8 Product Hurdles Every Founder Must Clear First Round Review In 3 answers
  24. A high-signal, battle-tested framework for evaluating engineering talent from a leader who's done it hundreds of times.... First Round Review Article · ~20 min read My Lessons from Interviewing 400+ Engineers Over Three Startups Marco Rogers In 3 answers

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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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