A free form from The Hustle newsletter where founders can pitch their business for a chance to be featured to its roughly 1.5 million readers. You answer questions about your pitch, the problem you solve, your origin story and your advice for other founders. Side hustles and full-time businesses are both welcome.
Why I recommend it: Free to apply, but a feature isn't guaranteed and you only find out by reading the newsletter. The Hustle is owned by HubSpot, and the form lets HubSpot email you about its products (you can unsubscribe). Worth ten minutes if you have a clear origin story.
Database of companies, funding rounds, founders and investors.
From the site: Discover private company data, funding insights, and AI-powered predictions with Crunchbase.
Why I recommend it: Free account gives you limited searches and basic company profiles; the deeper filters are paid. Free is enough to check whether a company you are interviewing with has raised money recently.
The actual 2004 pitch deck Reid Hoffman used to raise LinkedIn's Series B, with his annotations explaining each slide.
From the site: At Greylock, my partners and I are driven by one guiding mission: always help entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter whether an entrepreneur is in our portfolio, whether we’re considering an investment, or whether we’re casually meeting for the first time.
Why I recommend it: One of the few real pitch decks published with the reasoning attached. Read the annotations more than the slides — they show what a room of investors was actually asking.
Venture firm's blog on building companies: hiring, product, go-to-market and AI, written by its partners and founders.
From the site: News & insights from Greylock — portfolio news, Greymatter essays, and firm news.
Why I recommend it: Written to attract founders, so it is optimistic about starting things. The operational posts on hiring and early product are the practical ones.
A program from Listen Labs for people who want to start a company: you work on a real idea with support from the Listen team, with no cost to take part.
Why I recommend it: Apply if you already have a company idea you keep coming back to — programs like this reward a specific problem over a polished resume.
An AI design tool for product teams: turn a prompt, product requirement, or screenshot into high-fidelity UI, match existing design tokens, and explore directions before committing engineering time.
Why I recommend it: For founders without a designer: make something visual before you ask anyone to build it. The free tier is enough to test an idea.
An AI platform that designs, builds, and hosts a business website and the full-stack product behind it from a plain description, with hosting on your own domain included.
Why I recommend it: One of several build-by-describing tools now. Try a free project before paying anyone to build a simple business site.
Rolling calendar of free online workshops, AI sprints, and founder sessions run by Google for Startups, covering product, fundraising, marketing, and building with Google AI tools.
Why I recommend it: Check this page monthly. The sessions are free, recorded often, and the AI ones are practical for small teams.
A free, mentor-driven pre-accelerator for early-traction startups, run in chapters across many cities, designed as the last mile before applying to a major accelerator or raising a first round.
Why I recommend it: Worth applying even if you think you are too early — the pitch practice and mentor feedback are the real value, and it takes no equity.
A startup pre-accelerator program in New York City that prepares founders for accelerators, investment, and revenue — applications close September 15, 2026 and the program starts October 1, 2026.
Why I recommend it: A strong option if you are pre-seed and want pitch practice and investor readiness before applying to larger accelerators. Apply before the September 15 deadline.
