10 Step Business Startup Checklist For Bootstrapped Founders

Most startup checklists waste your time and make starting your new business feel like a nightmare. This one shows you what to prioritise, giving you a complete roadmap you can follow to a tee to get your new business up and running.

You don’t need another list telling you to write a business plan, register an LLC, and “define your mission.” You need a business checklist that moves the needle. One that shows you what to do and how to do it with the exact tools, scripts, and strategies to get there, while also understanding the specific requirements for opening a bank account or registering your business.

This startup checklist will walk you through step by step on:

• How to validate your idea and start collecting payments today

• How to build a real MVP and get a marketing strategy to find your first users as fast as possible (and exactly what software you need to use)

• What to ignore until you’re profitable (and what to do once you are)

P.S., the first tool we recommend? ValidateMySaaS. It’s the fastest way to uncover your competitors, what they charge, who they target, and what gaps you can own. All in one click.

Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Research, Research, Research

Before you write a single second on product, ask:

• Who’s already doing something similar? Not just direct clones. Look for adjacent tools solving the same pain, differently (an example of this would be a 1-1 weight loss coach vs a digital weight loss course).

• What are they actually offering? Features, pricing, copy, onboarding. What’s inside the box?

• How are they positioned? Who are they targeting? Startups? Agencies? Freelancers?

• Where are they falling short? Reviews, Reddit threads, user comments. Find the pain behind the pain.

This is the part most people rush. Don’t.

You need to see the space clearly before you build anything. That means checking competitors, pricing, positioning, reviews, and SEO demand.

You can do that manually (read our guide on how to do market research with ChatGPT’s deep research) or use a tool like ValidateMySaaS to get it all in one place. Your report will include competitor data, breakdowns, and an SEO report all delivered within 2 hours without you having to do anything.

“VMS saved me a ton of time validating my startup idea.” - Nolan Makatche, Founder of Shadow Note Mindfulness Journal, “Building without market validation is like building with the lights off. You could be wasting your precious time building a project that has no market, or instead you can quickly use VMS to provide you the insights you need. It’s a no-brainer.”

Step 2: Set Up Banking & Payment Infrastructure

Your idea isn’t validated when someone joins a waitlist. It’s validated when someone pays you.

Waitlists feel good. They give you numbers to screenshot. But most of the time, those people never convert because it’s easy to type in an email. It’s much harder to hand over a card.

So here’s the move:

You want to give people a real way to buy even if it’s just a $5 pre-order or early access link.

This section walks you through two things:

• How to open a business-friendly bank account for your new business

• How to accept payments online without overcomplicating it

But what about taxes and paperwork?

Here’s the part most people stress about.

They think: If I start collecting money, am I breaking some law? Do I need to register a company first?

Short answer: No. You can operate legally in the beginning without registering a business in the beginning.

You’re allowed to accept payments as a solo creator. You’ll just report any income during tax season (like any freelancer or contractor would).

You don’t need to incorporate or open a U.S. LLC just to start testing an idea.

Once money starts coming in consistently, then you can sort out the legal structure and taxes properly which we’ll cover in this section too. But right now? You’re just validating.

2.1: Open a digital bank account (Time taken: 20 minutes)

You can either use Mercury or Wise Business.

Both give you:

• Virtual cards

• International support

• Easy Stripe/Paddle integrations

• No need for U.S. citizenship if you use Mercury via a platform like Firstbase (later)

You can sign up with your personal ID and start using it solo.

Here’s a quick comparison of both so that you can choose the one best fit for you right now. Don’t spend more than 20 minutes on this.

Final Recommendation: Who Should Use What

Use Mercury if you are incorporated in the United States or plan to be soon. It offers deeper financial workflows, credit card access, and integrations built for high-growth startups. If you're raising funds, hiring, or need to manage team expenses, Mercury is the stronger option.

Use Wise if you are an international or solo founder who wants to move quickly without registering a US entity. Wise makes it easy to collect money in multiple currencies, convert at real exchange rates, and pay global contractors or suppliers. It is simpler, cheaper, and effective for early-stage validation and lean operations.

2.2 Setting up your payment processor (Time taken: 15 minutes)

Okay. Now that you have your company bank account set up, let’s connect a payment processor.

This is what allows people to pull out their card and pay you and how you can set up subscription automations, automated invoicing, etc.

As a side note, if you sell physical products, you will need to obtain a sales tax permit to collect and remit sales tax in states that impose it. Make sure to register for the necessary forms to stay compliant.

We recommend Stripe. Despite other processors such as Paddle or LemonSqueezy being used widely, we think that it's always better to opt for industry standard banking. Especially when it won't cost you anything extra and you can always switch.

Now that you have Stripe set up, you can now:

• Add a “Buy now” or “Pre-order” button to your landing page

• Accept international customers

• Use checkout pages with zero code

Your final setup might look like this:

• Banking: Mercury account

• Payments: Stripe

• Landing page: Framer or Carrd with a checkout button

This gives you everything you need to start collecting payments ASAP. Don't worry about accounting software at this point. We'll cover those later in the article.

Step 3: Build Your MVP with what you know from step 1 (Time taken: 2 - 3 weeks)

By now, you should already have a clear idea of what features your competitors offer and where they fall short (if you don’t, you can generate a VMS report to find out).

Use that data to build out a quick, focused features list that make up the core of your product. This is just the bare minimum that lets you ship, collect feedback, and charge money. This step is quite literally just brain dumping a bullet list on Google Docs or Notion.

Don’t overcomplicate it.

Once you have your MVP feature set, here are the tools that will help you build it out (assuming you’re a SaaS founder):

Cool, you have your MVP list, and the tools you need to use. To complete this step:

• Open a Notion or Google Doc

• Write down a short list of 3–5 core features your MVP needs to function

• Focus on what differentiates you from competitors (from Step 1)

• Choose 2–3 tools from the list above to bring it to life

If you’re technical, this can be done in 2 weeks. If you’re not, expect to spend closer to 3 weeks as you’ll need time to learn the tools, figure out how they connect, and work through bugs. That’s fine. Just keep moving.

This step takes much longer than the rest, so what do you do while you’re still building out your MVP?

Step 4: Day 1 Marketing Strategy: The Power of a Personal Brand (Time taken: 7 hours a week)

Most people assume marketing starts after the MVP is done. Bad take. You should be marketing before, during, and after you build. Establishing a robust online presence, including setting up social media accounts and cold email setup is essential for your marketing strategy. This helps in branding and engaging with potential customers when launching a business.

Why?

Because it actually answers the questions:

• Who actually wants this?

• What angle makes them buy?

• Where are these people hanging out?

This section gives you a lean, 3-part marketing plan you can run in just 7–10 hours a week. It’s simple, repeatable, and effective - especially when you’re solo and have no employees.

The Day 1 Flywheel

We’ll focus on 3 levers that do different jobs:

Cold Email – Fast feedback and paying users (days)\ Twitter (Personal Brand) – Trust, authority, audience building (weeks), low shelf-life content\ YouTube – Long-tail discovery and conversions (months)

Cold Email: Land Your First Paying Customers

Cold email is the fastest, cheapest way to validate your idea with real people.

But 90% of people screw up cold email by doing one of three things:

1. Sending from unverified accounts that go straight to spam

2. Buying bad lead lists

3. Writing generic emails that don’t get replies

Let’s fix all that.

Your job is to send messages that:

• Land in inboxes

• Reach the right people

• Lead to actual calls (and ideally, revenue)

Watch this video for a full length walk through of how to perform the next steps.

1. Set up your infrastructure (don’t skip this)

Use Smartlead to manage all your email sending.

• Built-in warm-up

• Inbox rotation

• Custom tracking

• Handles everything under one roof

Email account setup:

• Get 2 Google Workspace accounts + 2 Microsoft 365 accounts for each domain

• Start Smartlead warm-up before sending anything

• Ramp up 5 emails/day, warm for 14 days

Skip this and your emails go to spam. No exceptions.

2. Build a clean, qualified list

Don’t buy random email lists. Build one yourself:

Start with:

• Apollo: Find your niche (title, industry, tech stack)

• Clay: Enrich leads with company size, tech used, job changes

• MillionVerifier or Listmint: Check if emails are valid before sending

How to do it well:

1. Build a base list of 500–1,000 leads in Apollo

2. Enrich using Clay automations

3. Verify all emails

4. Segment into mini-lists (e.g., HR at 10–50 person SaaS)

3. Send emails like a human, not a copy-paste robot

Watch this video to learn how to create cold email scripts for your business.

Writing cold email scripts is a skill in and of itself. Once you master it, you can effectively generate sales out of thin air.

4. Track replies, follow-ups, and meetings

Use Close CRM to:

• Track replies

• Auto-create deals when people book

• Sync with Smartlead for performance insights

Don’t rely on memory. Every missed follow-up = a missed deal.

Your Cold Email Workflow (Week 1)

• Set up 4 email accounts

• Start Smartlead warm-up (takes 2 weeks)

• Build first 500 lead list in Apollo

• Enrich in Clay, verify with MillionVerifier

• Write 1-2 short scripts

• Begin sending 20–30/day once warm-up is done

Time commitment: 1 hour/week

Content Ecosystem

You’re here to grow your startup, not become a full-time content creator.

But here’s the thing - if you’re not building in public or showing people how you think, you’re invisible.\ No distribution = no feedback, no trust, and no leverage.

The goal isn’t to “go viral.” It’s to:

• Build trust

• Get seen by early users

• Make sales easier by the time you actually launch

We're part of the trust economy which means people buy from those they like and trust. Building a brand identity around yourself is a non-negotiable now.

“But what do I even post?”

Trying to figure out your first ever video idea is a confidence killer.

Content feels overwhelming because:

• You don’t want to sound cringe

• You’re not sure what actually gets buyers to care

• And you’re (rightfully) scared of wasting time talking to the wrong people

That’s why we’re skipping the "document your journey" fluff and going straight into buyer-driven content.

We’re making how-to videos - content that attracts people with buying intent, not other founders just browsing YouTube.

Use this prompt with ChatGPT to get 15 YouTube video ideas that are:

• Based on search behavior

• Focused on your target market's pain

• Easy to repurpose into Twitter threads

I’m a solo founder building a SaaS product for [insert niche — e.g. Shopify store owners, B2B sales managers, online teachers].

The product does [insert your value proposition — e.g. “automates product reviews”] and solves [insert core problem — e.g. “low customer trust”].

I want to start making YouTube videos. I want all of them to be how-to videos.

But I want to make sure the topics are based on what people with buying intent are searching not what my competitors are searching, or what other founders care about.

The target viewer should be someone who:

- Is already aware they have this problem

- Is looking for ways to solve it fast

- Could eventually buy a solution like mine

Can you suggest 15 high-intent how-to video ideas that target this person?

Include a short description for each video idea.

By now, you should have 15 high intent video ideas. Now let's actually start creating them.

Twitter/X + YouTube Flywheel (for Busy Founders)

Why YouTube?

• One solid video ranks, gets recommended, and keeps working while you sleep.

• Great for breaking down your offer, showing how it works, and handling objections.

• Perfect for buyers who want to see that you know your stuff.

Why Twitter/X?

• It’s the platform where your early users, collaborators, and peers actually hang out.

• Use it to build connections, validate ideas, and stay top of mind with potential customers.

• Get feedback on your product and feature set from other skilled founders.

Here's what you do:

Record 1 YouTube Video per Week

Pull from one of the ChatGPT generated ideas.

Keep it simple:

• Use Loom or OBS to record

• Edit with Descript

• Use vidIQ to choose a clickable title & tags

• Upload. Done.

Each video is a trust-building asset that ranks, sells, and works without you having to spend another second on it.

The Twitter/X Flywheel (Simple & Effective)

1. Make 5 short posts from your latest YouTube script

   • Pull 5 insights, takeaways, or tips.

   • Schedule them across the week with a tool like Hypefury or Typefully.

2. Comment on 10 posts a day

   • Prioritize people in your niche (marketing, SaaS, indie hacking, etc).

   • Be helpful, not performative. Just focus on providing your actual thoughts or takes on someone's tweet.

3. Reply to everyone who comments

   • Start real conversations.

   • Click into their profile and comment on their latest post too.

   • This is how relationships start.

Your goal with Twitter/X is to build friendships. Be genuine, show up daily, and be helpful. These friends will later become your first users, give you feedback, and be your early supporters.

Weekly Content Routine (Max 7–10 hours/week)

Final action steps:

This section was chunky. Here is a summarise checklist of what you need to do to set up these systems:

1. Set up your cold email infrastructure

   • Watch this video

   • Create 2 Google + 2 Microsoft email accounts.

   • Set up Smartlead and start warming up emails (5/day for 14 days).

   • Choose Close or another CRM for reply tracking and deal follow-ups.

2. Build a qualified lead list

   • Use Apollo to find your target market.

   • Enrich the list with Clay (company size, tech stack, etc.).

   • Verify emails with MillionVerifier or Listmint.

   • Segment leads by role, company size, or use case.

3. Draft your first cold email script

   • Watch this video

4. Set up your YouTube content system

   • Use the prompt from this brief to generate 15 how-to video ideas with ChatGPT.

   • Pick one idea each week, record it with Loom or OBS, edit in Descript, and upload.

   • Use vidIQ for SEO optimization (title, tags, description).

5. Turn each YouTube video into Twitter content

   • Write 3–5 short tweets from your video script (use Hypefury to schedule).

   • Focus on insights, frameworks, and buyer pains.

   • Post one per day to stay active with minimal effort.

6. Engage and build your network on Twitter

   • Comment on 10 posts per day. Provide unique takes, and be helpful

   • Reply to anyone who engages with you. Build relationships

Learn more about building your personal brand by watching this video.

Step 5: Once You're Gaining Traction... Formalize the Business (Time taken: 3-4 hours)

By now, if you’ve followed the steps correctly and validated your offer, built your MVP, and started your content + cold outreach flywheel you’re probably making $1,000–$2,000 MRR (or at least closing early deals).

This is when things shift from “fun project” to real business.

Why this matters:

• You’re taking payments. That means taxes, liability, and legal risk now exist.

• You’re building momentum. You don’t want technicalities to slow you down.

• Choosing the right legal structure is crucial for protecting your business and personal assets.

Additionally, if you decide to hire employees, you will need to register with state agencies and obtain necessary insurances to ensure compliance with legal requirements.

So let’s break this down by what matters at each stage of traction:

5.1: Register Your Company

If you’re still below $2K/month and working solo, registering a business is optional.

But once you’re:

• Closing consistent B2B deals

• Handling client money through contracts

• Hiring team members or freelancers

• Planning to raise money

…you need a legal entity. Understanding the legal requirements is crucial, as specific regulations may vary by location and industry. This ensures you limit liability, keep clean books, and avoid chaos when it’s time to scale.

This section walks you through how to set up your business properly and services that can handle the process for you.

What structure should you choose?

If you’re a solo builder with no plans to raise soon, go with an LLC.

If you’re already talking to VCs or doing equity splits, go C-Corp.

Tools to Register

What happens after you incorporate?

Once you’re legal, you can:

• Obtain your employer identification number (EIN), which is necessary for business activities like opening your company bank account, paying taxes, and hiring employees.

• Sign contracts and agreements properly

• Set up accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks

• Start prepping for tax compliance

5.2: Set Up Basic Accounting + Tax Handling

Once you cross $2–3K/month, money’s moving fast enough that you need a system.

What you’re building now is a real business. That means it’s time to tighten up your finances so you don’t lose track, get blindsided at tax time, or waste hours untangling receipts later.

Here's your business finance checklist:

1. Track all revenue\ Whether you’re using Stripe, Creem, or Mercury every dollar needs to be logged. Your accounting software should auto-sync this data.

2. Separate Personal and Business expenses\ Create a personal bank account through Mercury or a local bank for personal transactions. Using your company bank account for personal purchases exposes you to taking on any legal liabilities.

3. Categorize every expense\ Use your business bank account for all business activity. Log tools, subscriptions, contractors, and one-off services.

4. Set aside 20–30% of income for taxes\ Not even Joker messes with the IRS.

Tool to use:

Use Xero for your accounting software. Alternatives like Quickbooks are more powerful, but they can be easy to mess up.

Xero is far more intuitive when you want to build this system by yourself initially. Here's a tutorial that can get you started within 30 minutes

5.3: Add Legal Infrastructure (Don’t skip this)

You don’t need to spend $3,000 on a lawyer but you do need baseline legal protection because by now you should have a decent userbase.

What you need to set up:

• Terms of Service\ Clarifies what you’re responsible for and what you’re not. Covers bugs, refunds, usage limits, etc.

• Privacy Policy\ If you collect any user data (emails, behavior, analytics), you need one. Non-negotiable for trust and compliance.

• GDPR + CCPA Clauses\ Required if you have users from California or the EU.\ Even if you’re small, they’ll expect it.

• Professional Liability Insurance\ Especially relevant for B2B or enterprise tools. Covers you if a bug, delay, or oversight causes financial harm to a customer.

To get all of this live without hiring a lawyer, use Iubenda or Termly.

Both platforms give you plug-and-play templates for Terms of Service, Privacy Policies, and GDPR/CCPA compliance without copy pasting from other sites.

You just answer a few guided questions about your business, and they’ll generate the docs for you.\ You can embed them directly into your site or link out from your footer.

They also update your policies automatically as laws change, so you’re not scrambling every time a new regulation drops.

5.4: Hiring (As you approach $10K/month)

By now, you're still doing everything. Sales, customer support, product, content, ops and you're the only thing holding it together. But to grow, you need to stop being the bottleneck.

The goal here isn’t to just hire employees. It’s to start buying back your time so you can focus on high-leverage work.

Here's how you identify your first hire:

Step 1: Run a 72-Hour Task Audit

• Log what you do every 30 minutes for 3 days

• Mark each task as Energy-Giving or Energy-Draining

By the end, you’ll know exactly what to keep and what to delegate.

Step 2: Delegate the Drainers

Anything that repeats and drains you = hire for it.

Step 3: Hire Fast, Not Perfect

Use Upwork, Onlinejobs.ph, or your Twitter network to find help.

Keep your focus on sales, product, and growth. Let others handle the rest.

Ready To Go Build Your Business?

You just walked through the only startup checklist that cuts through the fluff and shows you how to get paying users fast.

What you learned:

• How to validate your idea without wasting months building

• What tools to use to set up banking, payments, and your MVP

• How to run a lean, effective cold email + content marketing flywheel

• When and how to formalize your business legally and operationally

Ready to turn your idea into something real?

Run a ValidateMySaaS report now and get clarity on your market, your SEO strategy, and your competitor's blind spots so that you can start building out your business using the startup checklist.