Foundersbase Blog
Practical, founder-tested guides on co-founder matching, early teams, equity and getting startups off the ground.
How to calculate runway and burn rate, what 'default alive' means, when to start raising, and the levers founders use to extend runway before the money runs out.
What a SAFE is, how valuation caps and discounts work, post-money vs pre-money, SAFEs vs convertible notes, and how dilution sneaks up on early founders.
When to make your first startup hire, who to hire first, how to attract talent without a big salary, and the offer and onboarding that set an early team up to win.
A founder's guide to go-to-market: defining your ideal customer, choosing a motion and channel, nailing positioning, and avoiding the spread-too-thin GTM trap.
What startup vesting and the one-year cliff mean, why every founder and early hire needs them, standard schedules, and the acceleration terms worth understanding.
Where the first customers really come from, why unscalable tactics win early, and a channel-by-channel playbook for getting a startup's first 100 customers.
How startup stock options work for early employees: option pools, strike price, vesting, exercising, and what an offer of equity is actually worth before you accept.
What product-market fit really means, the signals that prove you have it, how to measure it, and what to do before you have it — a practical founder's guide.
When to incorporate a startup, how to choose between an LLC and a C-corp, why investors expect Delaware C-corps, and the founder paperwork to get right early.
How to build an MVP that actually tests your idea: scoping the one thing to validate, choosing the lightest build, and the trap of shipping too much too soon.
Angel investors vs venture capital: how they differ on check size, control, speed and expectations, and which is the right fit for your stage and ambition.
A founder's guide to raising a pre-seed round: how much to raise, what investors expect, SAFEs versus equity, valuation, and running the round as a tight process.