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. If you already incorporated abroad (Delaware, Singapore) and now want to build in India, this is the practical map for bringing... India Briefing Article · 14 min read Startups Reverse Flipping in India: What's Behind the Re-Domiciling Trend India Briefing (Dezan Shira & Associates) In 2 answers
  2. If your manager will not grant a sabbatical, the notice period is your fallback runway, and in India that is a contract... Business Today Article · 7 min read Did you quit your job without serving notice period? Here's what the Indian law says Business Today Desk In 2 answers
  3. The official BIG page, not a blog paraphrase: up to 50 lakh grant-in-aid over 18 months, calls opening 1 January and 1 July... BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council) Article · 10 min read Biotechnology Ignition Grant Scheme (BIG) BIRAC In 2 answers
  4. This is the founder-perspective answer to your exact question, delivered as an interview rather than a listicle. The clearest... Feel the Boot Podcast · 35 min Non-Dilutive Startup Fundraising: When SBIR Grants Help and When They Distract Feel the Boot (with Caroline Arzoo) In 2 answers
  5. This is the authoritative government listing of live Indian grand challenges and national competitions, filterable by... Startup India Tool · browse, filterable Startup India: Programs and Challenges (live directory) DPIIT, Government of India In 2 answers
  6. This is a curated, actively maintained list of 448+ Indian and India-open competitions with the prize size, deadline, and stage... Startup Grants India Tool · browse, filterable StartupGrantsIndia: Competitions and Hackathons directory Nexora Technology In 2 answers
  7. The equity math lands differently in India, and this piece shows why. Because Indian startups raise at lower valuations than US... Inc42 Article · 8 min read YC's 500K standard deal: what it means for Indian founders Inc42 Staff In 2 answers
  8. SIDBI's own page lays out how its Fund of Funds machinery actually works: it does not write you a cheque directly, it... SIDBI Tool · 8 min read SIDBI Fund of Funds and technology development schemes overview Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) In 2 answers
  9. This is the one scheme built for the exact moment you describe: an idea and no company. NIDHI-PRAYAS funds up to 10 lakh to... NIDHI, Government of India Tool · portal page NIDHI-PRAYAS: Proof-of-Concept Grant for Young Innovators (DST) Department of Science and Technology (NIDHI Programme) In 2 answers
  10. The clearest breakdown of what the founder video is actually for: not a pitch deck read aloud, but proof that you and your... Pilot Article · 8 min read How to Prepare for Your YC Application Video Pilot team In 2 answers
  11. This is the source of truth, not a blog's guess about it. YC says plainly that the batch is in-person in San Francisco with a... Y Combinator Article · 10 min read Frequently Asked Questions (Y Combinator) Y Combinator In 2 answers
  12. The scheme's own guidelines, the primary source on what SISFS gave: up to 20 lakh as a non-repayable, zero-equity grant for... Startup India (startupindia.gov.in) Article · 14-page PDF Guidelines for Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) In 2 answers
  13. This is the clean-cap-table companion to the dilution math: it names the six specific things that scare a first lead investor,... StartupBOS.org Article · 8 min read Cap Table Mistakes to Avoid When Preparing to Raise Your Next Round StartupBoston In 2 answers
  14. It walks a worked example where an '$8M exit' headline collapses to roughly $1.9M net in the founder's pocket once you run the... Value Add VC Article · 12 min read Acqui-Hire Deals: How They're Structured and What Founders Actually Get Value Add VC In 2 answers
  15. A repeat founder who sat on both sides of the table lays out how to run a lightweight seller-led process at early stage, and... First Round Review Article · 25 min read How to Sell Your Startup: The Complete Guide to Running an M&A Process as a Founder First Round Review (with Daniel Debow) In 2 answers
  16. Our advice about protecting yourself with clean renewal and termination terms only works if the paper is right, and Indian... Bhavya Sharma and Associates Article · 15 min read SaaS Customer Contract Checklist for Indian Founders: MSA, Payment Terms, Renewal and Termination Bhavya Sharma and Associates In 2 answers
  17. Most privacy policy generators are US-shaped (GDPR or CCPA) and bolt India on as an afterthought. PriView is built India-first... IDfy Tool · 15 min to generate PriView: Free Privacy Notice Generator (by DSCI and Privy/IDfy) DSCI and Privy by IDfy In 2 answers
  18. This is the exact question, answered in Indian law. It draws the line most founders get wrong: a Privacy Policy is mandatory... Growth Gurukul Article · 12 min read Terms of Service and Privacy Policy: Do You Really Need Them? Growth Gurukul editorial In 2 answers
  19. This is the template to start from instead of copy-pasting a big-company policy. It walks all 13 sections a DPDP-compliant... DPDPA.com Template · 25 min read How to Draft a DPDPA-Compliant Privacy Policy: Template and Section-by-Section Guide DPDPA.com editorial In 2 answers
  20. This walks the full SPICe+ (INC-32) flow the way you will actually do it on the MCA portal: DSC for each director, DIN folded... ClearTax Article · 15 min read Private Limited Company Registration Online in India, Step by Step Process ClearTax In 2 answers
  21. This explains the single biggest reason to register on day one: input tax credit lets you reclaim the GST you pay on your own... ClearTax Article · 15 min read Input Tax Credit (ITC) under GST: Meaning, Conditions and How to Claim ClearTax Editorial Team In 2 answers
  22. This is the one guide that ties each cosmetic license (CDSCO manufacturing or import registration, LMPC label certificate, BIS... CosmeticsRegulatory.com Article · 12 min read Licenses You Need to Sell Your Own Cosmetic Brand on E-Commerce Platforms (CDSCO, LMPC, BIS) CosmeticsRegulatory.com editorial team In 2 answers
  23. Once you know cosmetics fall under CDSCO, this is the step-by-step of actually getting the license: the two routes... PharmaRegulatory.in Article · 18 min read Indian Cosmetics Regulatory Framework Explained: CDSCO Rules, Licensing, and Compliance PharmaRegulatory.in editorial team In 2 answers
  24. A founder describing his actual peer group, not a coach selling a framework. Klenk ran a group that met every one to two months... Medium (Passbase CEO) Essay · 7 min read The importance of a founder peer group Mathias Klenk In 2 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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