50 Top Apps, SaaS Solutions, Services and Sites for Startups
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I hope you find this list helpful - I'm John Gauch, a consultant with extensive experience in business operations and growth. I specialize in helping startups implement both strategies effectively. As a fractional COO, I work with founders and CEOs through each step, tailoring solutions to your unique needs and objectives.
Updated November 20, 2024.
What started as a list of 50 startup products has grown well past that figure, and I’d love to keep adding to it.
I personally don’t find those lists or infographics of every possible product option for a problem I have super useful. I don’t need another time-sucking To Do, to evaluate all of the choices. I want to know what’s a reasonably safe bet, get started with it and turn back to the business of growing my company.
This list is biased toward Seed to Series A companies because that’s where I spend most of my time, although it also includes some products for brand-new companies (drawn from the venture studio work I do). With regard to each product on the list, I've either used it, and I recommend it, or someone I know and trust has used it, and they recommended it to me. That said, feedback is invited—if you feel like something should be added, or if you have used one of the products and had a negative experience. Email me and let me know.
If you ever need referrals to startup attorneys, message me to chat. As a former lawyer and former General Manager at legal startup Axiom, I know tons of incredible lawyers across specialties and fields, including top-notch solo practitioners as well as members of AmLaw 100 firms like Morrison & Foerster and Perkins Coie, regional players and startup boutiques.
I don’t mention project management tools (e.g., Asana, ClickUp, Monday, Trello) because everyone seems to have a favorite, and they all seem reasonably decent. I use Trello for my personal task tracking. I wouldn’t spin too long trying to ascertain which one of them is “best.”
Again, if your choice of a new web app (etc.) to add to your startup’s tech stack is not going to make or break your business, don’t over-index on it. Do some quick research. Get together a couple or a few ideas. Do a brief analysis and review. Pick one and turn back to the activities that are going to be far more impactful on your organization and its success.
That’s the benefit of having a list like this. I hope it helps.
Top Startup Tools
| Product | Description | Other Options | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Password | Password management and security | |||
| Guideline | 401(k) providers | Human Interest | ||
| Ahrefs | Ahrefs for SEO analysis and backlinks; AlsoAsked for keyword analysis on competitors and search term difficulty | Also Asked | ||
| Airtable | Collaborative work management | |||
| Amazon AWS | Cloud computing | |||
| Apollo | List building from search critera. Send sequences. Consider checking out new kind on the block Unify | Unify | ||
| Arc Tech | Treasury services | |||
| Bill.com | Billing and financial automation | |||
| Brandpad | Brand development and management | |||
| Brixx | Financial forecasting and planning software | |||
| Carta | Equity management and valuation, but watch the latest news about them | Pulley | ||
| ChatGPT | AI platform to help with a little bit of everything | |||
| Clay | Import lists and enrich them (more options than Apollo). Consider also checking out newcomer Unify | Unify | ||
| Clerky | Legal and compliance solutions (company setup) | |||
| Clockify | Time tracking | |||
| DailyBot | Slack stand-ups | |||
| Deel | Global payroll and compliance. Deel is an EOR | |||
| DocSend | Document sharing and tracking (for a fundraising, DocSend + Dropbox or Google Drive + Google Sheets for tracking) | |||
| Docusign | Electronic contracts | |||
| Expensify | Expense management and tracking | Tentative: Float (Canada) | ||
| Figma | Design and prototyping | |||
| Flowster | Workflow automation and processes | |||
| Freshworks | Customer engagement and support software | Zendesk | ||
| GitHub | Software Engineering version control and collaborative software | |||
| Google Analytics | Website analysis | Hotjar | ||
| Google Workspace | Collaboration and productivity tools (email, storage, etc.) | Dropbox (storage only) | ||
| Grammarly | Communication assistant including AI support | |||
| Greenhouse | Recruiting and applicant tracking | Breezy | Recruitee | |
| Gusto | Payroll, benefits, and HR services. Rippling has a PEO option | Humi (Canada) | Rippling (US and Canada) | |
| Hubspot | Customer relations management (CRM) | |||
| Indinero | Bookkeeping service. The Bench recommendation is tentative | Bench | ||
| Intercom | Customer messaging and support | |||
| Jenkins | Open-source automation server for continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) | |||
| Gusto | Payroll, benefits, and HR services | Humi (Canada) | Rippling | |
| Linear | Issue tracking and project management | |||
| Loom | Video messaging | |||
| Mercury | Banking for startups and businesses. Consider Mercury credit card too | Bluevine | ||
| Microsoft Azure | Cloud computing platform | |||
| Microsoft 365 | Productivity apps (still use them as good as Google is) | |||
| Miro | Online collaborative whiteboard | Excalidraw | ||
| NeverBounce | Stand-alone email deliverability solution | |||
| Newfront | Insurance brokerage | Founder Shield | ||
| Notion | Collaborative workspace for your organization | |||
| Okta | Identity and access management | |||
| PaperStreet | Investor updates | |||
| Pave | Compensation information for startups | |||
| PitchBook | Data and research for private investments | |||
| Quickbooks | Cloud accounting software. Also hearing increasingly about Campfire in this category | Xero | ||
| Ramp | Corporate card and services. Brex may not be an option for smaller startups | American Express | Brex | |
| Segment | Customer data platform | |||
| Secureframe | Compliance and security automation | |||
| Slack | Team messaging | |||
| Stripe | Online payment processing and business tools | |||
| Supernormal | AI tool for meetings | |||
| User Interviews | Customer research | |||
| Vouch | Business insurance. Also Embroker | Zen Insurance (Canada) | Hiscox | |
| Voxer | Team audio messaging | |||
| Webflow | Website design and development | |||
| WeWork | Co-working (in bankruptcy but still operating) | |||
| Wise | Foreign exchange | |||
| Yubico | Hardware security keys | |||
| Zoom | Video conferencing |
While the companies aren’t vetted, another interesting place to search for potentially valuable services is the Y Combinator community of companies.
If you’re a startup CEO or founder, and you feel it would be interesting to chat, I’d love to connect. Learn about my services and please reach out.