Essential Websites Every Startup Founder Should Know
TL;DR
Global platforms like Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, and Hacker News offer valuable learning from thousands of founders worldwide. Use them to understand markets, learn tactics, and see what works. But if you're in Colchester, join Colchester.Dev to find teammates and build locally.
Building a startup means learning fast and making smart decisions. Thousands of founders worldwide share what they've learnt: revenue numbers, growth tactics, what worked and what failed.
Here are the biggest global platforms that can speed up your learning and help you build smarter.
Community & Learning
Indie Hackers
Bootstrapped founders post their revenue. Not vague growth metrics—proper numbers. You'll see everything from "£10,000 MRR from a Chrome extension" to "£200 MRR but growing fast."
Great place to learn from people building businesses the same way you are.
Hacker News
Y Combinator's news site. The comments section often beats the articles. Post your "Show HN" around 3 pm for decent visibility.
The community has strong views on everything from React vs Vue to SaaS pricing models.
Product Hunt
Daily product launches ranked by community votes. Weekend launches face less competition, but they also get less traffic. Weekday launches are the opposite.
Plan accordingly—your server logs will spike either way.
SaaStr
600,000 B2B software founders. Their conference sells out fast because speakers are founders who've scaled past $100M.
Different game if you're selling to enterprises. These people know it.
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Accelerators & Funding
Y Combinator
The accelerator behind Airbnb, Stripe, and Coinbase. They invest $500,000 and spend three months helping founders build companies that can raise more funding.
Understanding how they think is useful even if you're building without VC money.
Launch & Validation
BetaList
Early adopters are looking for new products to test. They understand your software isn't finished and want to help shape it.
Good for getting feedback before a bigger launch on Product Hunt.
Research & Intelligence
Crunchbase
Database of startup funding, investors, and company movements. See who's raising money, which investors are active, and when competitors last fundraised.
The free tier handles most research. Useful for understanding your market.
Planning & Tools
Upmetrics
Business plan software with AI to structure your plan and build financial models. Most founders skip this step until an accelerator demands one, at which point they scramble.
This makes the scramble less painful.
Learning From Others
Starter Story
Founders explain how they built their businesses—revenue, mistakes, tactics. One person details their $50,000/month Etsy shop. Another explains why their SaaS failed after two years.
The failures often teach more than the successes.
GrowthMentor
Book calls with founders who've solved your problem. Someone three steps ahead can save you months of trial and error.
Where to Start
If you're in Colchester, apply to join us. We'll help you find teammates, learn the skills you need, and build something profitable together.
Colchester.Dev is the best place to start if you're local. These global platforms are useful for learning from founders worldwide, understanding your market, and staying connected to the broader startup community.
Use them to learn faster, but build locally.