Startup Guides

In-depth, actionable playbooks to help you launch, grow, and scale your startup. Each guide is packed with checklists, templates, and real-world examples.

14
In-Depth Guides
700+
Action Items
60+
Templates Included
Free
Always
01

Customer Discovery & Validation

The definitive guide to understanding your customers before you build. Learn the frameworks, questions, and signals that separate successful startups from the 90% that fail.

40%
PMF Threshold
15-20
Min Interviews
Read the guide

What's Covered

  • +Problem interview framework
  • +Solution validation
  • +MVP scoping method
  • +PMF signals & metrics
  • +Interview scripts
  • +Common mistakes to avoid
02

Fundraising Playbook

The complete guide to raising venture capital from Pre-Seed to Series A. Learn how to build your investor list, nail the pitch, negotiate terms, and close your round.

3-6mo
Timeline
50-100
Investors to Contact
Read the guide

What's Covered

  • +Raise vs. bootstrap decision
  • +Investor targeting & tiers
  • +Warm intro strategies
  • +Pitch meeting structure
  • +Term sheet negotiation
  • +Due diligence prep
03

Hiring Your First 10

Build your founding team the right way. From role prioritization to compensation, this guide covers everything you need to make your first critical hires.

3-6mo
Avg Time to Hire
0.5-2%
Early Equity
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What's Covered

  • +Role prioritization framework
  • +Sourcing channels ranked
  • +Interview process design
  • +Compensation & equity guides
  • +Reference check scripts
  • +Onboarding playbook
04

B2B Sales Playbook

Master founder-led sales from discovery to close. Proven frameworks for prospecting, demos, proposals, objection handling, and negotiation.

25-35%
Demo Close Rate
30-90d
Sales Cycle
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What's Covered

  • +Discovery call framework
  • +Demo best practices
  • +Proposal & pricing tactics
  • +Objection handling scripts
  • +Closing techniques
  • +Pipeline management
05

Pricing Strategy Guide

Stop leaving money on the table. Learn value-based pricing, packaging, psychology, and when to raise prices without losing customers.

11%/1%
Profit Impact
10-20%
Value Capture
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What's Covered

  • +Value-based pricing framework
  • +Pricing models compared
  • +Good-Better-Best packaging
  • +Price psychology tactics
  • +How to raise prices
  • +Discounting rules
06

Financial Modeling 101

Build investor-ready financial models. Learn revenue modeling, unit economics, cash flow forecasting, and scenario planning.

3:1
Target LTV:CAC
18mo+
Runway Goal
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What's Covered

  • +Bottoms-up revenue modeling
  • +Unit economics deep dive
  • +Cash flow forecasting
  • +Scenario planning
  • +Fundraising projections
  • +Key metrics by stage
07

Content Marketing Playbook

Build a content engine that drives organic growth. From strategy to distribution, learn how to create content that attracts and converts your ideal customers.

3-6mo
Traffic Growth
10+
Content Types
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What's Covered

  • +Content strategy framework
  • +Finding your unique angle
  • +SEO-driven content creation
  • +Distribution channels
  • +Building email lists
  • +Measuring content ROI
08

Complete SEO Checklist

100+ actionable SEO tasks to boost your organic traffic. From technical foundations to advanced link building strategies.

100+
Action Items
6
Categories
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What's Covered

  • +Technical SEO fundamentals
  • +On-page optimization
  • +Content strategy
  • +Link building tactics
  • +Local SEO
  • +Analytics & monitoring
09

Product Hunt Launch Playbook

The step-by-step guide to launching successfully on Product Hunt. Based on analysis of 500+ successful launches.

400-600
Avg Votes for #1
Tuesday
Best Day
Read the guide

What's Covered

  • +5-phase timeline
  • +Winning strategies
  • +Email templates
  • +Asset preparation
  • +Success case studies
  • +Launch day checklist
10

Startup Legal Basics

The complete legal guide for startup founders. Entity formation, founder agreements, IP protection, employment law, contracts, and fundraising essentials.

$5-15K
Legal Costs Y1
4 Years
Std Vesting
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What's Covered

  • +Entity structure choice
  • +Founder agreements & vesting
  • +IP protection essentials
  • +Employment law basics
  • +Customer contracts & ToS
  • +Fundraising legal (SAFEs)
11

Growth Playbook

Scale your startup from 1 to 100 customers. Master acquisition channels, activation, retention, referrals, and the experimentation framework.

10%
Weekly Target
AARRR
Framework
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What's Covered

  • +The growth mindset & model
  • +Acquisition channels ranked
  • +Activation & aha moments
  • +Retention strategies
  • +Referral program design
  • +Experimentation framework
12

Remote Team Building

Build high-performing distributed teams. Master remote hiring, async communication, culture building, and the tools that make it work.

4hrs
Overlap Hours
2x/yr
Offsites
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What's Covered

  • +Remote-first vs friendly
  • +Hiring for remote success
  • +Async communication
  • +Building culture remotely
  • +Time zone strategies
  • +Remote team rituals
13

Startup Metrics Guide

Master the numbers that matter. Learn unit economics, cohort analysis, SaaS metrics, and how to build dashboards that drive decisions.

50+
KPIs Covered
3:1
Target LTV:CAC
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What's Covered

  • +North Star metrics framework
  • +Unit economics (CAC, LTV)
  • +Cohort analysis deep dive
  • +SaaS metrics & benchmarks
  • +Marketplace metrics
  • +Dashboard building guide
14

Technical Co-Founder Guide

The definitive guide to finding and partnering with a technical co-founder. Where to search, how to evaluate, equity splits, and building a lasting partnership.

15+
Sourcing Channels
25+
Evaluation Criteria
Read the guide

What's Covered

  • +Do you actually need one?
  • +Alternatives to consider
  • +Where to find engineers
  • +Evaluation process
  • +Equity & compensation
  • +Working together

More Guides in the Works

We're working on more comprehensive guides to help you at every stage of your startup journey.

15

Customer Success Playbook

Reduce churn, expand accounts

16

Pivot Decision Framework

When and how to change direction

17

Go-to-Market Strategy

Launch and scale your product