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The Founder
Handbook
Structured advice for early-stage founders. Most of this is the direct distillation of work with hundreds of startups. Read in order if you're starting out. Jump around if you know what you're looking for.
- 01
Always Start Here: Don't Skip Customer Validation
You're gonna hate this and ignore it. But skipping validation will cost you more time and money than anything else.
Read - 02
How to Talk to Customers and Validate Your Idea
The #1 reason startups fail is building something nobody wants. Here's how to avoid that fate before you write a line of code.
Read - 03
Customer Interviews: Questions That Reveal Real Pain
Do not pitch. Investigate. Your job is to understand their life as it exists today, not to convince them your idea is good.
Read - 04
Your First MVP: Build the Smallest Thing That Tests Your Idea
Before you write code, hire a contractor, or spend a dollar, build the ugliest thing that works. Learn first. Polish later.
Read - 05
Your One-Liner: Make People Instantly Understand What You Do
It's not a tagline. It's not a brand campaign. It's the unit of word of mouth. If it can't travel, neither can your company.
Read - 06
Founder-Led Sales: Your First 100 Customers Without Ads
Don't run ads. Don't hire a consultant. Don't build a 'growth engine.' Talk to people. One at a time. Manually. On purpose.
Read - 07
Your Key Metrics: Pick One Number and Track It
If you don't measure the boulder you're pushing up the hill, you can't know if it's moving. Pick one number. Make it unavoidable.
Read - 08
Avoid Premature Optimization: Focus on What Matters Now
Don't try to get into YC. Build a company YC wants to accept. Don't try to raise a round. Build a company investors want to fund.
Read - 09
Startup Events: When to Go and When to Skip
Your default answer is no. Feeling like a founder is not the same as building a company.
Read