For Startups: insights from people who build products

What a startup CTO does at each stage, five ways to get one with real costs, and the signs that it's time for a full-time hire.

What AI changes when you start a startup in 2026, where it doesn't help, and a 90-day plan from idea to paying users, with numbers from three products we built.

A step-by-step way to test a startup idea with real customers and real money before you pay for an MVP or pitch investors.

Real app timelines: what fits into a 2-week first release, what eats the calendar, and when 2 weeks is the wrong promise.

What you pay for when you build an AI app, what the AI costs to run after launch, and two AI apps we took to the App Store in 2 weeks each.

Early‑stage SaaS pricing is almost always a guess. Most founders pick a low number just to get their first few customers. But as you move post‑MVP, that early ‘founder logic’ starts to break. Whether it was Slack’s $6.67 pricing strategy or Notion’s flat fee, every successful startup eventually hits a wall where suppor...

Most startup founders know this scenario. You have an idea and maybe $10K in savings. No investors or runway yet.  If you waste time or money building the wrong thing, you’re done before you start. Learning how to build a SaaS with no funding means making smart trade-offs. You need to validate a real problem, build the...

Originally posted in May 2021. Updated in February 2026. In the early days of building a product, speed feels like the only thing that matters. I get it, I’ve been there. Investors want traction, users want features, and you want to get something live before the window closes. Ready‑made software looks like the perfect...

Decide when to expand a marketplace using liquidity, repeat transactions, operating capacity and bounded acquisition tests—not traffic alone.

Originally posted in January 2022 and March 2024. Updated in January 2026. Building a niche marketplace is one of the most reliable ways for startup founders to enter a focused, underserved market. Instead of competing with broad platforms, you’re solving a specific problem for a specific group — and that’s where real...

Originally posted in October 2023. Updated in January 2026. Typically, only one in ten app development projects turns out profitable. In 2026, a startup app is rarely “just a product.” Rather, it’s a way to test an idea, attract early users, and see whether a business has a future at all. But app development for startu...

How to build a startup as a non‑technical founder? It’s one of the most common questions in pre-development, early‑stage SaaS startups. Investors want to know if you can lead the business without writing code, and how you’ll manage the risks that come with hiring technical leadership. A strong non‑tech founder investor...