Starting a business can be a challenging experience for anyone.
That’s why we’ve brought you a collection of some amazing tech tools to help you navigate the planning phase of your startup.
Are you worried about where to get funds, how to get started, what to name the business? Don’t worry; you’re going to find everything you need here.
Bear in mind, though, that not all these tools are free. To use some, you may have to pay a few bucks. But then, what’s a few bucks compared to the success of your startup?
Important tools you need in the planning phase of your startup
We’re going to categorize these solutions based on what they can do for your startup. So, let’s go.
Best Startup Tools for:
- Ideation
- Launching
- Marketing
- Fundraising
- CRM
Best Startup Tools for Ideation
Do you have an idea of the scope of the business? Do you know which products to start with? Do you know what name to give the startup? Do you know who to talk to for expert advice and insights? What about the business guidelines; do you have an idea of the step-by-step moves you need to make to avoid mistakes?
Questions like these are what ideation tools help you with.
- Squad Help: This tool helps you with the naming of your business. Talk about naming a brand, naming individual products/projects, or naming apps and websites; Squad Help has just about everything you need.
- Clarity: It’s normal to feel confused at the startup phase of a business. Most entrepreneurs suffer from this syndrome, too. To get off the ground when you’re stuck, you need expert advice from industry experts – people who have seen it and done it. Finding and networking with these kinds of people is what Clarity does for you.
- Germ.io: What if you run out of ideas on what to do next at any point during the planning phase? For instance, let’s say you’ve gotten a business name, and decided on the product/service to offer; what is the next thing to do? Get an MVP, do market research, or begin marketing? This is where Germ.io comes in. The tool provides you with useful insights on the ‘next steps’ you need to take at every point.
- Zen Mind Map: There will be so much to do when launching a startup. To make sure the entire process doesn’t overwhelm you, you can use a mind mapping software like Zen Mind Map to present your ideas and next steps in an easy-to-digest format. This way, you’ll be able to see clearly what you’ve touched and what you haven’t, how to delegate tasks, how the various aspects of the business are connected, etc.
Best Startup Tools for launching
Now that you’ve successfully settled the first part, what are the tools you need to go LIVE?
- Product Hunt: Product launching means showcasing your offerings to the world. In this light, Product Hunt helps you by displaying your product to a willing group of testers. The platform has thousands of users in its community – people who are enthusiastic about experiencing new products.
- Press Kite: One of the fastest ways to get the word out about your startup launch is to use a press kit. Press kits help the media houses discover your brand and showcase you to a wider audience. One such tool that lets you create Press kits fast is Press Kite. With it, you can create a press kit for your launch in five minutes.
Best Startup Tools for marketing
Marketing is the heart and soul of any startup. No matter how great your product ideas are or how impactful your offerings promise to be, you need to invest first in marketing. Without marketing, no one will hear about your brand.
Luckily, some tools can help you sail the waters of startup marketing easily.
- Mailchimp: Mailchimp is an email marketing tool that helps you send curated emails to prospects. With it, you can also schedule, track, or organize emails before and after sending.
- Buffer: Social media marketing is another crucial element in digital marketing. And to cater to that, you need a tool like Buffer. Buffer lets you schedule posts to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Instagram Stories, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. It also helps you track and analyze the performances of your posts on these platforms.
- Mangools: According to reports, around 93% of all web traffic is via a search engine. What does that tell you? That you need to invest in SEO to get customers in today’s world. Mangools is one such tool that helps you manage your business SEO. The tool provides you with lots of SEO solutions, including keyword search, competitor analyses, SERP analyses, and backlinking, to name a few.
- Google Analytics: This tool helps ensure you don’t make mistakes (and invariably lose money) with your marketing efforts. With Google Analytics, you can tell which of your marketing strategies are working and which aren’t working.
Best Startup Tools for fundraising:
- Foundersuite: This tool helps you raise funds for your startup. It connects you with investors and venture capitalists who are willing and ready to do business with you. It also offers you a bundle of extras like pitch deck templates, founders’ agreement templates, etc.
- Gust: Gust is a financial ecosystem that connects startupreneurs with existing business owners and professional investors. If you’re looking for funding and guidance for your startup, this is a good place to look.
- Fresh Books: Fresh Books is your online accounting officer. It helps you with everything relating to your business accounting, from bookkeeping to invoicing, taxation to payment tracking, and everything else in between.
Best Startup Tools for CRM:
CRM refers to customer relationship management. If you want your startup to grow into a successful establishment, you have to ensure you’re offering the best customer service. The following tools can help with that.
Hubspot Startup CRM: This tool has everything you need to increase leads, accelerate sales, and streamline your customer service. At its core, you’ll find exciting features like contact management, customer data, email tracking & notification, live chat, meeting scheduling, and prospect tracking, to name a few.