Free startup resources

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 I decided to write this, based on questions asked on startup forums, seeking what I would consider basic information required to startup and how one can acquire the skills required to startup. Quite often an aspiring promoter asks for example how he can acquire startup skills, if they are not from a premier college associated with startups, or how one can get knowledge of areas like valuation, or building an app, or a shareholder frugal innovation.

A lot of this info is available online for free. After trawling through various sources, I have compiled this list of courses, podcasts and e-books to help in your startup journey.

Podcast Series – These are intended for people with basic knowledge of startup terms and the Indian startup ecosystem.

1. The Indus Valley report 2025 and its interpretation. This is a fine overview of the Indian market from a VC perspective. Blume venture has put their report in the public domain.

https://blume.vc/reports/indus-valley-annual-report-2025 (pevious reports from the same site)

An analysis of that report:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifTxehrKmOU&t=3s
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdMhJZbyfCo

2. The Asymmetric podcast series.
 A series of (so far) 33 podcasts with founders and VC’s discussing current trends in the market, with
a wealth of data and insights from leading practitioners:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2jsNYPqaIg&t=5109s
This is one of the podcases which take an in depth look at Q commerce.

3. The Barber shop series.
Curated by Shantanu, the founder of the Bombay Shaving company, who has also co-produced the
Asymmetric podcast series. This features interviews with founders. This is a sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdaUYsxVp9k

4. Think school series. Link to sample podcast 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tbJl3rrN78

5. YC root access: Y combinator’s clips on startup life, founder interviews and other odds and ends
about YC startups.

6. The startup club by Slidebean. Explains some basic concepts related to startups in short videos.

7. ISB I-venture series.  A series on startups and entrepreneurship by ISB. 

Free online courses:
I have taken a look at several and suggest these:

Govt of India initiatives:

1. Startup India: startupindia.gov.in offers free courses relevant to startups:
https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/reources/online-courses.html

    Startup India knowledge hub:
StartupIndia knowledge hub
   
2. NPTEL: Courses offered by the IITs. Although most of the hundreds of courses are tech oriented, there are many useful courses on management and those that can help entrepreneurs and startups.

3. Coursera & EdX:  You have the option of `auditing’ courses, which means who can go through the online lectures and study material and (in many cases) be a part of the student discussion forum, without paying for a certificate. These are the courses I’ve shortlisted.

Coursera:
- University of Pennsylvania 5 course series on Entrepreneurship.
- Israel institute of technology. 3 course series on startups.
EdX:
- University of California, Berkeley: Entrepreneurship for all (2 courses).
- University of Maryland series on Innovation and entrepreneurship (4 courses).

Free e-books on startups. These are available free online. You can also message or email me at rp_deans@yahoo.com  for a copy. Please note that since there are legal (copyright) implications from mass distribution of books, I will email a single book, if you introduce yourself and let me know that it is for your personal reading and not for circulation.

1.How to build a billion dollar app. 
2. #skGaryvee. 
3. 77 Failed startup post mortems
4. Art of the start 2.0 – Guy Kawasaki
5. Business of venture capital
6. Chaos monkeys
7. Disrupted. My year in the startup bubble.
8. Hacking growth. How companies drive breakout success.
9. Lost and founder – A painfully honest guide to the startup world 
10. Managing startups – A compilation of the best startups.
11. Marketing 4.0 moving from traditional to digital – Philip Kotler.
12. Marketing your startup – the Inc guide
13. Shark Tank – Jump start your business.
14. The Hard thing about hard things – Ben Horowitz
15. Startup cities.
16. The innovators Dilemma
17. The lean startup – Eric Ries   
18. The upstarts – how companies of the new Silicon valley are changing the world.
19. Venture deals. 
20. Zero to one - Peter Thiel

Other useful books on startups and entrepreneurships in India that I can recommend.

1. Rashmi Bansal’s 10 books on entrepreneurship and success stories of innovative organizations.
     They are about India and written in an easy to understand engaging style.

2. The Golden trap – Kashyap Deorah
3. Failing to succeed – The story of India’s first e-commerce company.
4. Seven Sutras of innovation.
5. Startup compass. Based on the startup program at IIM Ahmedabad.
6. Flight of the Unicorns – Lessons from India’s startup boom

Meetings: Regular startup events in my city Bangalore:

1. eChai Bangalore startup network. This is part of a 30 city network of startup cities. 
2. Startup grind
3, CEDAT Nexus. 

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See the list of article for my other posts on Startups. 
https://rpdeans.blogspot.com/2024/08/list-of-articles.html



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