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. Peak XV's early-stage program, the most selective seed program run from India. Its page states it invests from $500,000 up to... surge.peakxv.com Tool · Program page Surge by Peak XV Peak XV Partners In 2 answers
  2. IIM Bangalore's flagship five-month incubation program for idea, prototype and MVP stage founders, mostly online with two... nsrcel.org Tool · Program page NSRCEL Launchpad NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore In 2 answers
  3. Zerodha Varsity's chapter on profitability ratios, worked on a real Indian company's results. It defines EBITDA as operating... zerodha.com Course · 20 min read Financial Ratio Analysis (Varsity, Fundamental Analysis) Karthik Rangappa, Zerodha Varsity In 2 answers
  4. Varsity's explanation of the cash flow statement in three parts, operating, investing and financing, and why profit and cash... zerodha.com Course · 20 min read The Cash Flow Statement (Varsity) Karthik Rangappa, Zerodha Varsity In 2 answers
  5. Google's own guide to the method it uses: ambitious objectives, key results graded on a 0 to 1.0 scale, a target of 0.6 to 0.7,... rework.withgoogle.com Article · Guide Set goals with OKRs (Google re:Work) Google re:Work In 2 answers
  6. A short definition of an OKR with worked examples of objectives and key results, from the Measure What Matters team. whatmatters.com Article · Article What is an OKR? Meaning, definition and examples What Matters In 2 answers
  7. Techstars' Startup Weekend: a three-day, 54-hour event where people pitch ideas, form teams and build a startup by Sunday. A... techstars.com Tool · Programme page Techstars Startup Weekend Techstars In 2 answers
  8. A clear walk-through of David Allen's Getting Things Done method: capture everything in one trusted list, decide the next... todoist.com Article · Guide Getting Things Done (GTD): a step-by-step guide Todoist In 2 answers
  9. A free daily newsletter explaining one business or finance story in plain English in under three minutes, read by more than... finshots.in Article · Daily newsletter Finshots Finshots In 2 answers
  10. Long conversations with Indian founders and investors about how they built their companies, from Neon Fund's Siddhartha Ahluwalia. youtube.com Podcast · Video podcast The Neon Show (YouTube) Siddhartha Ahluwalia In 2 answers
  11. Indian business case studies explained on YouTube: how companies make money, why some fail, and what policy changes mean for... youtube.com Video · YouTube channel Think School (YouTube) Think School In 2 answers
  12. A subscription publication of one deeply reported business story a day on Indian companies, with subscriber newsletters on... the-ken.com Article · Subscription publication The Ken: plans The Ken In 2 answers
  13. Zoho's email marketing tool, priced in rupees from India: a Forever Free plan for up to 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails a... zoho.com Tool Zoho Campaigns pricing Zoho In 2 answers
  14. Mailchimp's plan page, shown in rupees in India: the Free plan is limited to 250 contacts, and Essentials, Standard and Premium... mailchimp.com Tool Mailchimp pricing Intuit Mailchimp In 2 answers
  15. Klaviyo's plan page: a free plan for 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month, with paid email plans priced by active... klaviyo.com Tool Klaviyo pricing Klaviyo In 2 answers
  16. Beehiiv's plan page: free up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, paid plans from $49 a month, a 0% take on paid... beehiiv.com Tool beehiiv pricing beehiiv In 2 answers
  17. Buffer's plan page: a Free plan connecting up to 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel, Essentials at $5 a month per... buffer.com Tool Buffer pricing Buffer In 2 answers
  18. Meta's own tool for a business's Facebook Page and Instagram account in one place, where you can create or schedule posts,... facebook.com Tool Meta Business Suite Meta In 2 answers
  19. Google's web and app analytics, free of charge for small businesses: where visitors come from and which marketing brings sales. marketingplatform.google.com Tool Google Analytics Google In 2 answers
  20. Tally's own pricing page. The free plan gives unlimited forms and submissions within fair use, with conditional logic,... tally.so Tool Tally pricing Tally In 2 answers
  21. Google's page for Forms: surveys and quizzes with logic that shows questions based on earlier answers, automatic charts of... workspace.google.com Tool Google Forms Google In 2 answers
  22. Microsoft's free tool for online surveys, forms, polls and quizzes, the natural choice for a team on Outlook and Microsoft 365. forms.cloud.microsoft Tool Microsoft Forms Microsoft In 2 answers
  23. Zapier's tested roundup from 15 September 2026: Google Forms as the 100% free pick, Jotform for templates, Typeform for... zapier.com Article · 20 min read The 11 best online form builder apps in 2026 Kiera Abbamonte, Zapier In 2 answers
  24. Interakt's rupee plans for WhatsApp Business messaging. Growth is ₹2,799 a month plus taxes with unlimited agents, a shared... interakt.shop Tool Interakt pricing Interakt 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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