Startup Planner: The Steps, Programs & Services for Your Startup
Tell us what you need, your business type and budget, and get the build steps to take with the startup programs, accelerators and founder services for each.
Your plan: 6 steps for revenue
Work through them in order. Every step links to its guide and to the programs and services that help.
Research your competitors and market Easy
Map who already solves the problem, how they charge and where they fall short, so you can pick a gap you can win.
Why this step matters Competitors are proof that a market exists. They have already taught customers what to expect, what to pay and which words describe the problem. Studying them closely tells you where the market is crowded, where customers are frustrated and where a… Read the step →
Choose a business model Medium
Decide who pays, for what and how often, and check that the numbers can work before you build.
Why this step matters A business model answers three questions: who pays, what they pay for and how often. The same product can succeed or fail depending on those answers. A tool sold as a monthly subscription to small businesses needs very different marketing, support… Read the step →
Incorporate your startup Medium
Form the right legal entity in the right place so you can sign contracts, open a bank account, issue equity and raise.
Why this step matters A company separates your personal finances from the business, gives the business its own contracts, bank account and intellectual property, and lets you issue shares to co-founders, employees and investors. Many startup programs, cloud credit offers and banks require a registered… Read the step →
Open a business bank account Easy
Keep company money separate from personal money, get paid by customers and unlock card perks and credits.
Why this step matters Mixing personal and company money is one of the fastest ways to create tax problems and weaken the legal separation between you and the business. A dedicated account makes bookkeeping simple, gives customers and investors a proper place to send money,… Read the step →
Get your first 100 customers Hard
Win your first 100 paying customers by hand through direct outreach, communities and founder-led sales before you try to scale.
Why this step matters Your first 100 customers teach you who buys, why they buy, what they will pay and which channel can bring the next thousand. At this stage you are not optimising a funnel; you are looking for a pattern. Paul Graham's well-known… Read the step →
Price your product Medium
Set a price based on the value you create and what customers will pay, then test and raise it as you learn.
Why this step matters Price is the strongest lever you have on revenue, and it shapes who buys, how they value the product and how much you can spend to acquire each customer. Most first-time founders underprice: they fear rejection, anchor on their own costs… Read the step →
How the planner works
Each build step carries what it gets you, a typical cost and the kinds of startup it matters most for. The planner scores every step against your answers, drops anything your budget cannot fund, and shows the best programs, accelerators and services for each step that remains. It is a starting point: read each step, then claim the credits you qualify for before you spend money.