📌 Business Planning & Validation

• Free

  • Lean Canvas – Simple one-page business model
  • Strategyzer’s Business Model Canvas – Business planning tool
  • Y Combinator’s Startup School – Free courses & community
  • Bplans – Free business plan templates

• Paid

  • LivePlan ($15/month) – Business plan software
  • GrowthHackers Projects ($99/month) – Growth experiment management

💰 Funding & Investment

• Free

  • AngelList – Connect with angel investors
  • SeedInvest – Equity crowdfunding
  • Pitch Deck Examples – Free pitch deck templates
  • Republic – Crowdfunding for startups

• Paid

  • DocSend ($10/month) – Securely share pitch decks with investors
  • Crunchbase Pro ($29/month) – Investor and startup data
  • Gust Launch ($300/year) – Startup legal & investment platform

🛠 Productivity & Collaboration

• Free

  • Notion – Docs & project management (free for personal use)
  • Trello – Kanban project management
  • Slack – Team communication (free for small teams)
  • Google Workspace – Gmail, Drive, Docs (basic free tier)

• Paid

  • Airtable ($12/month) – Advanced database and collaboration
  • Asana Premium ($10.99/month) – Advanced task management
  • Monday.com ($8/month) – Workflow automation

📈 Market Research & Analytics

• Free

  • Google Trends – Track market trends
  • Statista Free Reports – Limited free access to reports
  • Census Business Data – Free demographic & business data
  • SimilarWeb – Free website traffic data

• Paid

  • SEMrush ($129.95/month) – SEO & market intelligence
  • Nielsen Market Research (Custom Pricing) – Industry reports
  • CB Insights ($349/month) – Market trends & startup data

💻 Website & App Development

• Free

  • Webflow – No-code website builder (free tier)
  • WordPress – Open-source website builder
  • Bubble.io – No-code app builder
  • Figma – Free UI/UX design tool

• Paid

  • Shopify ($29/month) – E-commerce website builder
  • Framer ($15/month) – Advanced prototyping and design
  • Adalo ($36/month) – No-code mobile app development

📢 Marketing & Growth

• Free

  • Mailchimp Free Plan – Email marketing (up to 500 contacts)
  • Google Ads Credits – Free ad credits for startups
  • HubSpot CRM – Free CRM and marketing automation
  • AnswerThePublic – SEO and keyword research

• Paid

  • Ahrefs ($99/month) – SEO & backlink analysis
  • Hootsuite ($49/month) – Social media management
  • ActiveCampaign ($39/month) – Email automation

🔧 Legal & Incorporation

• Free

  • Docracy – Free legal document templates
  • Clerky – Legal document automation for startups
  • Stripe Atlas – Incorporation resources

• Paid

  • LegalZoom ($79+) – Incorporation services
  • Clerky Paid Plan ($99+) – Legal compliance & incorporation
  • Firstbase.io ($399) – Incorporation for global founders

📚 Education & Community

• Free

  • Indie Hackers – Founder community
  • SaaStr – SaaS founder resources
  • The Lean Startup by Eric Ries – Book on startup methodology

• Paid

  • Reforge ($1,995/year) – Growth strategy courses
  • Founder Institute ($999) – Startup incubator
  • Y Combinator Startup School Paid Program ($7,500) – Exclusive startup coaching

Startup success comes down to having the right tools, knowledge, and connections. Many free resources can help early-stage founders, while paid tools can provide a competitive edge as the business scales.