TLDR; Essential Resources

From Staff Platform Engineer to a16z Founder

Everything mentioned in the talk, plus extras.

📚 Essential Books

Startups 101

The Lean Startup — Eric Ries
Why read: Build–measure–learn foundation
Key insight: Validated learning > opinions

Secrets of Sand Hill Road — Scott Kupor

Why read: learn how VCs and how founders can make the most of their relationships with VCs
Key insight: “[…] products that often have massive advantages over the status quo are aspirins; VCs want to fund aspirins.”

After the Idea — Julia Austin

Why read: A no-bs manual on how to build a rock-solid founding team.
Key insight: The differentiator between the startups that succeed and those that fail is operational excellence.

Customer Validation

The Mom Test — Rob Fitzpatrick
Why read: Learn to ask questions that extract truth, not polite lies
Key insight: Talk about their life, not your idea
Lean Customer Development — Cindy Alvarez
Why read: Step-by-step process for customer conversations
Key insight: Get out of the building and talk to customers

Growth & Network Effects

The Cold Start Problem — Andrew Chen
Why read: Understand how products get sticky through networks
Key insight: Solving the “cold start” is the hardest part of network effects
Traction — Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares
Why read: Systematic approach to finding your acquisition channel
Key insight: Test widely, then double down on what works

Product Management

Inspired — Marty Cagan
Why read: Product management fundamentals
Key insight: Fall in love with the problem, not your solution

Hiring & Culture

Who — Geoff Smart & Randy Street
Why read: Systematic approach to hiring A-players
Key insight: Chronology-based interviews reveal patterns
The Alliance — Reid Hoffman
Why read: Tours-of-duty approach to employment
Key insight: 2–4 year tours align incentives
Radical Candor — Kim Scott
Why read: Give direct feedback with empathy
Key insight: Care personally and challenge directly
Powerful — Patty McCord
Why read: Netflix culture principles
Key insight: Treat people like adults

Founder Psychology

The Founder's Dilemmas — Noam Wasserman
Why read: Data on cofounders, equity, and exits
Key insight: Most founder conflicts are predictable and preventable
The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Ben Horowitz
Why read: Candid playbook for the hard parts
Key insight: There are no recipes, only principles

What You Do Is Who You Are — Ben Horowitx

Why read: The culture of a startup is greatly determined by the founders.
Key insight: That culture matters more than you think. It’s the DNA of the company.

Strategy

Good to Great — Jim Collins
Why read: Long-term excellence drivers
Key insight: Hedgehog concept = focus
Playing to Win — A.G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin
Why read: Clear strategy articulation
Key insight: Strategy is an integrated set of choices

📰 Essential Newsletters & Blogs

Lenny's Newsletter — Lenny Rachitsky

URL: lennysnewsletter.com
Why subscribe: Best tactical startup advice, weekly
Topics: Growth, product, hiring, fundraising
Format: Long-form posts and operator interviews

First Round Review — First Round Capital

URL: review.firstround.com
Why subscribe: In-depth tactical posts from operators
Topics: Hiring, management, product, culture
Format: 3,000+ word deep dives

Y Combinator Startup School — Y Combinator

URL: startupschool.org
Why subscribe: Free startup course with updated content
Topics: From idea to exit
Format: Videos, essays, community

a16z Podcast — Andreessen Horowitz

URL: a16z.com/podcast
Why subscribe: Trends, tech, and startup insights
Topics: Emerging tech, markets, founder stories
Format: Audio podcast

SaaStr — Jason Lemkin

URL: saastr.com
Why subscribe: SaaS metrics, sales, and growth
Topics: B2B SaaS
Format: Blog, conferences, podcasts

🛠️ Essential Tools

Incorporation & Legal

Stripe Atlas — Incorporate, bank account, legal docs (~$500)
URL: stripe.com/atlas
Use for: Fast day-1 incorporation
Carta — Cap table management (free until you raise)
URL: carta.com
Use for: Equity, vesting, SAFEs

Customer Discovery

Calendly — Easy meeting scheduling
URL: calendly.com
Use for: Customer call scheduling
Loom — Async video messages
URL: loom.com
Use for: Demos and async updates
Notion — All-in-one workspace
URL: notion.so
Use for: Notes, docs, and wikis

Product Analytics

PostHog — Open-source product analytics (free tier)
URL: posthog.com
Use for: Feature usage, funnels, retention
Amplitude — Product analytics (free tier)
URL: amplitude.com
Use for: Advanced analytics, cohorts
Mixpanel — Event tracking (free tier)
URL: mixpanel.com
Use for: User behavior tracking

Payments & Billing

Stripe — Payments, subscriptions, invoicing
URL: stripe.com
Use for: Accept payments and track MRR

Metrics Dashboards

ChartMogul — Subscription analytics
URL: chartmogul.com
Use for: MRR, churn, LTV
Baremetrics — Stripe analytics
URL: baremetrics.com
Use for: Real-time SaaS metrics
ProfitWell — Free retention metrics
URL: profitwell.com
Use for: Retention cohorts

Communication

~~Slack — Team communication~~
~~URL: slack.com~~
~~Use for: Internal communication~~
Discord might be a better option.
Linear — Issue tracking
URL: linear.app
Use for: Roadmap and bug tracking
Superhuman — Email client
URL: superhuman.com
Use for: Fast email (useful when fundraising)

Design

Figma — Design collaboration
URL: figma.com
Use for: Design, prototyping, collaboration

Pitch Deck

Pitch — Presentation software
URL: pitch.com
Use for: Beautiful pitch decks
Google Slides — Free presentations
URL: slides.google.com
Use for: Start here; everyone can comment

📊 Key Blog Posts & Essays

“SaaS Metrics 2.0” — David Skok (For Entrepreneurs)
URL: forentrepreneurs.com/saas-metrics-2
Read for: CAC, LTV, burn multiple, unit economics
“16 Startup Metrics” — Andreessen Horowitz
URL: a16z.com/2015/08/21/16-metrics
Read for: What VCs measure
“The Only Metric That Matters” — Josh Elman
URL: news.greylock.com/the-only-metric-that-matters-ab24a585b5ea
Read for: Why retention > growth
“Default Alive or Default Dead?” — Paul Graham
URL: paulgraham.com/aord.html
Read for: Runway calculations
“Startup = Growth” — Paul Graham
URL: paulgraham.com/growth.html
Read for: Growth rate fundamentals
“How to Get Startup Ideas” — Paul Graham
URL: paulgraham.com/startupideas.html
Read for: Idea validation
“Do Things That Don't Scale” — Paul Graham
URL: paulgraham.com/ds.html
Read for: Manual processes are fine early

🎓 Free Courses & Resources

Y Combinator Startup School
URL: startupschool.org
Duration: Self-paced
Topics: 0 to 1
Why take: Free, comprehensive, from YC partners
Google for Startups
URL: startup.google.com
Offerings: ~$100K GCP credits
Why use: Free infrastructure for 1–2 years
AWS Activate
URL: aws.amazon.com/activate
Offerings: Up to ~$100K AWS credits
Why use: Free infrastructure (esp. if VC-backed)
Stripe Atlas Guides
URL: stripe.com/atlas/guides
Topics: Incorporation, fundraising, scaling
Why read: Practical guides from Stripe

🏢 Accelerators & Communities

Y Combinator
URL: ycombinator.com
Batch: Twice per year (Winter, Summer)
Investment: ~$500K for ~10%
Why apply: Network, advice, Demo Day
Techstars
URL: techstars.com
Programs: 40+ worldwide
Investment: ~$120K for 6–10%
Why apply: Mentor-driven program
a16z Speedrun
URL: a16z.com/speedrun
Program: 12 weeks, ~$1M investment
Why apply: Fast-track to Series A readiness
On Deck
URL: beondeck.com
Programs: Founder fellowship, cofounder matching
Why join: Community and connections

📝 Templates & Frameworks (This Collection)

All 12 templates: sanscourier.ai/qconsf-2025

VALK Frameworks (1–5)

1. Mapping Matrix — Platform skills → startup decisions

2. Due Diligence Checklist — Customer validation framework

3. Portfolio Allocation — Scaling yourself (hiring framework)

4. Pitch Deck (10-slide) — Investor presentation template

5. One-Pager Memo — Investment memo format

Operations (6–8)

1. Metrics Dashboard — Board-ready startup metrics

2. 30–60–90 Day Plan — Your first 90 days

3. Legal Checklist — Day-1 legal requirements

Culture & Team (9–11)

1. MVV Workshop — Mission, Vision, Values framework

2. Cofounder Questions — The 5 essential conversations

3. Validation Template — 12-week sprint to PMF

Resources (12)

1. This Library — Complete resources list

💰 Fundraising Resources

SAFE Documents

YC SAFE templates
URL: ycombinator.com/documents
Use for: Pre-seed and seed docs (free)

Pitch Deck Examples

Sequoia Capital pitch deck template
URL: sequoiacap.com/article/writing-a-business-plan
Use for: Structure inspiration
Airbnb original pitch deck
Tip: Search “Airbnb pitch deck 2009”
Use for: Real example before product–market fit

Investor Databases

Crunchbase
URL: crunchbase.com
Use for: Research investors and portfolios
Signal
URL: signal.nfx.com
Use for: Warm intro paths

🎯 Platform Engineering → Startup Parallels

| Platform engineering | Startup | Template |

🧠 Mental Models

For Platform Engineers Becoming Founders

1. Optimize for learning speed

Startups are learning machines
Speed of learning = survival
Ship → measure → learn → repeat

2. Retention > revenue > growth

Keep customers before you grow
Leaky bucket problem
90%+ retention = fundable

3. Repeatability precedes scalability

Prove repeatable acquisition
Then scale what works
VCs fund repeatability signal

4. Build painkillers, not vitamins

Painkiller = urgent, budgeted
Vitamin = nice-to-have
Painkillers get budgets

5. Give away your LEGOs

Hire when you’re the bottleneck
Hand off your job every 3–6 months
Find bigger LEGOs to build with

💬 Where to Get Help

Founder Communities

YC Startup School — Forum for founders
Indie Hackers — Community for solo founders
On Deck — Curated founder network
Reddit r/startups — Active community

Legal Help

Wilson Sonsini — Top startup law firm
Cooley — Startup-friendly
Gunderson Dettmer — Tech-focused
Tip: Ask for “deferred fees” (pay when you raise)

Mental Health

Founders Pledge Therapy — Free therapy for founders
Peer groups — YC forums, On Deck
Advisors — Find 2–3 experienced founders

📧 Stay Connected

Get updates

Email: [Your contact]
LinkedIn: [Your profile]
Twitter/X: [Your handle]

Download all templates

All 12 templates: sanscourier.ai/qconsf-2025

DM me

Happy to help with:

First-week checklist feedback
Pitch deck reviews
Platform engineering + MCP discussions
Startup framework questions

⏭️ Next Steps (Monday actions)

Pre-idea stage

[ ] Read: The Mom Test
[ ] List 20 problems you’ve personally experienced
[ ] Pick the most painful one
[ ] Talk to 5 people who have that problem

Idea stage (no customers yet)

[ ] Use: Due Diligence Checklist
[ ] List 50 people to talk to this week
[ ] Send 20 outreach messages
[ ] Schedule 5 customer calls

Built something (no paying customers)

[ ] Use: Validation Template (12-week sprint)
[ ] Ask current users: “Would you pay $X?”
[ ] Get 3 LOIs or pilot agreements
[ ] Start charging money

Have paying customers

[ ] Use: Metrics Dashboard
[ ] Calculate: MRR, retention, LTV:CAC
[ ] If metrics good: Use Pitch Deck template and start fundraising
[ ] If metrics bad: Fix product before growing

Ready to raise capital

[ ] Use: One-Pager Memo + Pitch Deck templates
[ ] Get warm intros, not cold emails
[ ] Target 20 investors for conversations
[ ] Expect 3–6 months to close

🙏 Acknowledgments

This talk and these resources wouldn’t exist without:

a16z — For taking a bet on platform engineers becoming founders
Every engineer who’s thought “I could build this better”
The founders who shared their failures so we could learn
You — for showing up and wanting to learn

*Download all 12 templates: sanscourier.ai/qconsf-2025*

*From the QCon SF 2025 talk “From Staff Platform Engineer to a16z Founder: What I Wish I’d Known” by Gonzalo (Glo) Maldonado. Views expressed are my own, not my employer’s.*