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How to start a startup

Customer evidence before code, a narrow MVP before incorporation, and manual sales before fundraising — then the legal and operating mechanics once the company has earned them.

68 sources·13 rooms·1 learner

Published by Pathsmith · 1h ago

startupsentrepreneurshipcompany buildingproductsales
You get your own copy — yours to change, and to take notes on.

Stage 1 · Decide whether one problem deserves years of work

video

A problem worth starting for

5
  1. 1Should You Start A Startup? | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  2. 2How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  3. 3Pick One Idea and Go Deepyoutube.com
  4. 4Before the Startup with Paul Graham (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 3)youtube.com
  5. 5Ideas, Products, Teams, and Execution with Dustin Moskovitz (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 1)youtube.com
video

Talk to people before you solve for them

5
  1. 6How To Talk To Users | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  2. 7How to Run a User Interview with Emmett Shear (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 16)youtube.com
  3. 8Steve Blank: Acting on Customer Discoveryyoutube.com
  4. 9The Customer Development Processyoutube.com
  5. 10Value Props: Create a Product People Will Actually Buyyoutube.com
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Turn guesses into an interview plan

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  1. 11How to Get Startup Ideaspaulgraham.com
  2. 12Plan your businesssba.gov
  3. 13Census Business Buildercensus.gov
  4. 14Principles of effective survey designstripe.com

Stage 2 · Assemble a team around one narrow promise

video

Choose co-founders before choosing titles

6
  1. 15How To Find A Co-Founder | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  2. 16Noam Wasserman: A Co-Founder Dilemmayoutube.com
  3. 17Hiring and Culture with Patrick and John Collison and Ben Silbermann (HtSaS 2014: 11)youtube.com
  4. 18Networking Persistence is the Key to Finding Co-Foundersyoutube.com
  5. 19Team and Execution with Sam Altman (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 2)youtube.com
  6. 20How to Be a Great Founder with Reid Hoffman (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 13)youtube.com
video

Build the smallest credible product and launch it

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  1. 21Building Product, Talking to Users, and Growing with Adora Cheung (How to Start a Startup 2014: 4)youtube.com
  2. 22The Best Way To Launch Your Startup | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  3. 23How to Build Products Users Love with Kevin Hale (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 7)youtube.com
  4. 24Harvard i-lab | Creating Your Minimum Viable Product with Abby Fichtneryoutube.com
  5. 25Harvard i-lab | Discovering the Right Product for Your Startup with Abby Fichtneryoutube.com
  6. 26How to Build a Product that Scales into a Companyyoutube.com
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Know what an MVP is proving

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  1. 27The Real Product Market Fitycombinator.com
  2. 28How to Find Product Market Fit - Peter Reinhardtycombinator.com
  3. 29The SaaS business modelstripe.com
  4. 30The 18 Mistakes That Kill Startupspaulgraham.com

Stage 3 · Win the first customers by hand

video

Sell before there is a sales department

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  1. 31How to Get Your First Customers | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  2. 32How to Get Your First 10 Customersyoutube.com
  3. 33How To Convert Customers With Cold Emails | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  4. 34The Sales Playbook For Founders | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  5. 35Enterprise Sales | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  6. 36Steve Blank: Engineers and Founders: The First Sales Teamyoutube.com
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Position, price, ask, repeat

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  1. 37Your first 10 customersstripe.com
  2. 38Pricing low-touch SaaSstripe.com
  3. 39Writing copy for landing pagesstripe.com
  4. 40Do Things that Don't Scalepaulgraham.com
  5. 41Manage your businesssba.gov

Stage 4 · Form and fund only what the evidence requires

video

Equity, incorporation, and money with consequences

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  1. 42Starting A Company? The Key Terms You Should Know | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  2. 43How Startup Fundraising Works | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  3. 44How to Raise Money with Marc Andreessen, Ron Conway, and Parker Conrad (HtSaS 2014: 9)youtube.com
  4. 45Fundraising for Engineersyoutube.com
  5. 46Minnie Ingersoll: Formulas for Fundraising and Valuationyoutube.com
  6. 47Legal and Accounting Basics for Startups with Kirsty Nathoo and Carolynn Levy (HtSaS 2014: 18)youtube.com
  7. 48Doug Leone: VC Support for a Startupyoutube.com
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Current mechanics, not legal folklore

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  1. 49Launch your businesssba.gov
  2. 50Employer identification numberirs.gov
  3. 51Starting a businesscanada.ca
  4. 52Set up a businessgov.uk
  5. 53Equity for foundersstripe.com
  6. 54LLC vs. C Corporation: What's the difference?stripe.com
  7. 55Capital-raising building blockssec.gov
  8. 56Offering pathwayssec.gov

Stage 5 · Run the company by retention, cash, and pace

video

Measure what customers keep choosing

7
  1. 57How To Keep Your Users | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  2. 58Consumer Startup Metrics | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  3. 59B2B Startup Metrics | Startup Schoolyoutube.com
  4. 60Growth with Alex Schultz (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 6)youtube.com
  5. 61The Startup Playbook for Hiring Your First Engineers and AEsyoutube.com
  6. 62How to Manage with Ben Horowitz (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 15)youtube.com
  7. 63How to Operate with Keith Rabois (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 14)youtube.com
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The courses these videos come from

4
  1. 64Y Combinator: Startup School (30 videos)youtube.com
  2. 65Y Combinator: How to Start a Startup (2014 Lectures) (20 videos)youtube.com
  3. 66Stanford eCorner: Playlist: Advice for First-Time Founders (9 videos)youtube.com
  4. 67Harvard Innovation Labs: "Best of Startup Secrets" - featuring Michael Skok (17 videos)youtube.com
notebook

How to use this path

1
  1. 68Conversations are the work until strangers pay
How to start a startup · learnthings