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. Apple's page for enrolling in the Developer Program, which you need to put an app on the App Store. It states the fee is 99 USD... developer.apple.com Article · 5 min Apple Developer Program enrolment Apple In 3 answers
  2. A course and digital-product platform popular with Indian creators. The page lists Launch at ₹24,999 a year plus a 10%... graphy.com Tool Graphy pricing Graphy In 3 answers
  3. A leading global course platform. The page lists Starter at $39 a month with a 7.5% transaction fee, Builder at $89 a month... teachable.com Tool Teachable pricing Teachable In 3 answers
  4. A course platform built for course businesses that want commerce tools from day one. The page lists Start at $109 a month or... thinkific.com Tool Thinkific pricing Thinkific In 3 answers
  5. Product analytics with experiments, feature flags and session replay in one tool, with a free allowance that renews every month... posthog.com Tool · Pricing page PostHog pricing PostHog In 3 answers
  6. Google's guidance on asking for reviews and replying to them, including how to answer a negative review without making it worse. support.google.com Article · Help page Tips to get more reviews and write better replies Google In 3 answers
  7. How to read, reply to, edit and share reviews from your profile, and what happens after you reply. support.google.com Article · Help page Manage customer reviews (Google Business Profile Help) Google In 3 answers
  8. A simple email marketing tool with automations and landing pages. Free for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month; paid... mailerlite.com Tool · Pricing page MailerLite pricing MailerLite In 3 answers
  9. Zoho's mail and office suite from an Indian company. The Forever Free plan hosts email on one domain for up to 5 users;... zoho.com Tool · Pricing page Zoho Workplace pricing (India) Zoho In 3 answers
  10. The official fee schedule for trademark filing: TM-A costs ₹4,500 per class online for an individual, startup or small... ipindia.gov.in Article · Official fee schedule Trade Marks: forms and official fees (IP India) Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks In 3 answers
  11. A current (July 2026) guide to starting a home tiffin or dabba service: the Rs 100-a-year FSSAI Registration is the one... calcguru.in Article · 10 min read Tiffin service in India 2026: what you legally need CalcGuru In 3 answers
  12. The government portal where goods movements above the threshold are documented with e-way bills and where transporters enrol... ewaybillgst.gov.in Tool · Official portal E-Way Bill System GST Network In 3 answers
  13. An October 2026 explainer of when a service counts as an export under GST, how the Letter of Undertaking lets you invoice... calcguru.in Article · 12 min read Export of services and the LUT: zero-rating and refunds CalcGuru In 3 answers
  14. India's national drug regulator under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1945. It sets the rules; state licensing... cdsco.gov.in Article · Official site Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) CDSCO In 3 answers
  15. Zoho's invoicing app, which its own pricing page lists at ₹0 for Indian businesses, forever. It makes GST-compliant invoices,... zoho.com Tool · Pricing page Zoho Invoice pricing: free for Indian businesses Zoho In 3 answers
  16. Explains who must e-invoice: businesses with annual turnover above ₹5 crore since 1 August 2023, and the rule from 1 April 2025... cleartax.in Article · ~12 min read What is e-Invoicing Under GST? Applicability, Limit, Rules ClearTax In 3 answers
  17. The notification that now defines a startup in India: up to 10 years from incorporation with turnover within ₹200 crore, a Deep... startupindia.gov.in Article · Gazette PDF DPIIT startup notification of 4 February 2026 (Gazette) DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry In 3 answers
  18. Where a registered employer logs in to file the monthly ECR, pay PF contributions and manage employees' UANs. epfindia.gov.in Tool · Government portal EPFO Employer Portal (Unified Portal) EPFO In 3 answers
  19. Confirms that a domestic company files ITR-6, other than companies claiming exemption under section 11. incometax.gov.in Article · Help page Domestic Company (AY 2026-27) Income Tax Department In 3 answers
  20. The WhatsApp Business app gives a business a profile with its details in one place, a way to show products and services, and... whatsappbusiness.com Tool · Product page WhatsApp Business app Meta In 3 answers
  21. Varsity's line-by-line reading of an Indian company's profit and loss statement: revenue, other income, expenses and how they... zerodha.com Course · 20 min read Understanding the P&L Statement (Part 1) Karthik Rangappa, Zerodha Varsity In 3 answers
  22. The directory of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) chapters, the founder and investor network with chapters across Indian cities... tie.org Tool · Chapter directory TiE chapters TiE Global In 3 answers
  23. A Chennai chartered accountancy firm's April 2026 comparison of eight Indian packages (TallyPrime, Zoho Books, Vyapar,... pkcindia.com Article · 17 min read Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses in India (2026): Comparison and Pricing PKC Management Consulting In 3 answers
  24. Refrens' own pricing page. Refrens is an Indian invoicing, quotation and bookkeeping tool popular with freelancers, agencies... refrens.com Tool · Pricing page Refrens pricing Refrens 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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