Startup Basics5 min read
Why Startups Fail: The Top Reasons to Avoid
Why do startups fail? CB Insights data names a few repeat killers — no market need, running out of cash, the wrong team — and how to avoid each.
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Anna Martin · Aug 31, 2026
Product & Growth
From first prototype to first customers: MVP scoping, early distribution, pricing experiments and finding product-market fit with a tiny team.
15 articles
Startup Basics4 min read
Startup Business Models Explained for Founders
The most common startup business models — SaaS, marketplace, transactional, freemium and more — how each makes money, what it takes to work, and how to choose yours.
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Anna Martin · Aug 25, 2026
Startup Basics4 min read
How to Write a Lean Startup Business Plan
Why startups don't need a 40-page business plan, the lean one-page alternative that works, what each section should contain, and how to keep it alive.
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Anna Martin · Aug 22, 2026
Product & Growth4 min read
How to Build a Pre-Launch Waitlist That Converts
How to build a startup waitlist before launch: why most waitlists fail, how to drive real signups, keep them warm, and convert them into paying customers at launch.
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Anna Martin · Aug 19, 2026
Product & Growth3 min read
Startup Metrics: The KPIs That Actually Matter
Which startup metrics actually matter by stage: the few KPIs that reveal whether your business works, vanity metrics to ignore, and how to build a simple dashboard.
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Anna Martin · Aug 16, 2026
Product & Growth4 min read
How to Price Your Product as a Startup
A founder's guide to startup pricing: why value beats cost-plus, how to choose a model, common pricing mistakes, and how to raise prices without losing customers.
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Anna Martin · Aug 13, 2026
Product & Growth3 min read
How to Name Your Startup (A Practical Guide)
How to name your startup: what makes a name work, a step-by-step process, the .com and trademark checks that matter, and why the name matters less than founders think.
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Anna Martin · Jul 29, 2026
Product & Growth4 min read
How to Run Customer Discovery Interviews
How to run customer discovery interviews that reveal real problems: who to talk to, what to ask, the mistakes that fake validation, and how to act on it.
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Anna Martin · Jul 26, 2026
Product & Growth4 min read
How to Build a Go-to-Market Strategy
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.
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Kai Lindemann · Jul 5, 2026
Product & Growth4 min read
How to Get Your First 100 Customers
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.
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Anna Martin · Jun 29, 2026
Product & Growth4 min read
How to Find Product-Market Fit (and Know It)
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.
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Kai Lindemann · Jun 23, 2026
Product & Growth4 min read
How to Build an MVP Without Overbuilding
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.
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Anna Martin · Jun 17, 2026