I know it is not an easy task to start a company, ever. However, it is not impossible either, specially if you are trying to get a tech startup off the ground. You see, tech startups have the advantage to start companies without the need of retail space, inventory, employees or a real office, at least not in the beginning.
If yours is a tech startup, then there are a large number of resources available to you, these resources are high quality services and products and many of them are offered free or at very affordable prices. These resources can be anything from books, software, communication tools, hosting, mentoring, office space, etc…
It almost seems some times that all you really need to start your own company these days is just passion and consistency, it also helps (a lot!) not being a realistic person, because “being realistic is the most commonly travelled road to mediocrity“. That is one of my favorite quotes by one of my favorite actors Will Smith. I mean, what person with a realistic mind would even dream of starting a company, right?
If you are one of these unrealistic people starting tech companies, and if you are bootstrapping your startup, the following tools and resources are essential to you. I know that many of you are aware of most of these resources, but there is always someone somewhere who has been under a rock and it is not aware of these great tools.
I have been wanting to write this post since I commented here suggesting some of these resources, and many others were suggested by other great members of the Answers.OnStartups.com community – thanks!
Books
- Getting Real
- Start Small, Stay Small
- Hubspot’s internet marketing eBooks
- 101 Landing Page Optimization Tips
- Using Twitter to enhance, promote and measure your landing page campaigns
- Neil Davidson’s software pricing eBook
- IRS Publications
- The Gutenberg Project
- Best Places to get Free Books – The Ultimate Guide
Blogs
- List of the Top Startup Blogs ranked daily based on traffic, search authority and online buzz by Dharmesh Shah
Software
- Google Apps (Email, document sharing, hosting, forms)
- WordPress (Hosted blogging platform)
- WordPress (Download)
- FreshBooks (Invoicing)
- Wave Apps (Accounting, Invoicing, Payroll)
- MailChimp (Email marketing)
- Unbounce (Landing pages)
- Skype (Video calling, online phone)
- Express versions of Visual Studio and MS SQL (Software development)
- Aptana Studio (Web development)
- SurveyMonkey (Surveys)
- Dropbox.com (storage)
- Markup.io (screen shots)
- Screenr.com (screencasts)
- Trac (Bug tracking)
- BugTracker.NET (Bug tracking)
- BugZilla (Bug Tracking)
- Git (Version control)
- Mercurial (Version control)
- Subversion (Version control)
- Hubspot’s grader tools
- Uservoice and Getsatisfaction
- Google Analytics
- WooRank (SEO rank checker tools)
- Google Voice
Free images
Programs
- BizSpark (Free Microsoft software and support)
- WebsiteSpark (Free Microsoft software)
- Amazon Web Services
Podcasts
Advice / Mentoring
- TechStars
- TechRanch Austin
- Capital Factory
- Bootstrap Network / Bootstrap Austin
- YCombinator
- Comprehensive list of incubators and accelerators
Map your Startup
OnTechies 
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