The biggest pet peeves of being a startup can be getting things done with limited manpower and finances. While you are doing your best to grow your business, you don’t want to trade off the quality of your work. Here is when having a functional tool handy can work wonders for you.
Although in this era of technology we have plenty of tools available, the challenge here is to find free useful tools.
That goes without saying that as a startup you have your hands full and it can be hard to sit down and try all the tools by yourself. Here is where webcourses come to your rescue.
Here I have put together some of the best tools I have found and used recently.
Upcounsel
Getting legal paperwork done for your projects is something inevitable and can take up a good amount of money. While you are doing your best in order to grow your business, getting stuck in any legal matter is the last thing you need
Upcounsel is an online marketplace where you can get legal advice and hire an attorney.
To receive the proposals from potential attorneys all you have to do is answer a questionnaire and submit it. The main concern I had while trying this out is how will I convey my needs and background over an application. But their prepared questionnaire provided some assurance. It had all the possible questions some of that didn’t even occur to me. It also allows you to describe your requirements in detail that too without minimum letters required.
You must be wondering what if you have something existing going on and just need someone to go over it. You can use it to review your existing agreement without any prior commitment. You can take as much time as you need before deciding to hire someone as they don’t have any minimum duration. If you liked someone’s work before getting assistance from your previous attorney is as easy as hitting the rehire button.
Upcounsel is worth considering if you are wrestling to get your legal things right.
And that’s it! Hopefully, your students will leave your classroom smiling with joy at their new found skill and love of HTML.
WCBProTip: Check out Upcounsel startup law resources. It gives you all the information you need to know about employment law, venture capital, financing, business operation, human resources and so on.
Betalist
At betalist, you can list your startup and spread the word among the tech enthusiasts who might be interested in your product. It’s a fantastic way to put your user testing skills at use and a great place to get easy access to cool new things.
To put it in simple words it’s basically twittering for startups. Betalist posts upcoming startups almost every day and makes it easy to keep track of what’s trending. If you are a startup yourself you can post your startup ideas here and let people comment on it giving you the opportunity to see the potential of your idea.
If you fancy being a part of a startup and help taking it up to the next level, Betalist provides a job portal focused solely on fastest growing technology startups.
As I dig dipper I came to realize that their submission goes through a rigorous screening process. Which makes sure we get our hands on the best things available in the market.
Join Betalist and be up to date on what’s trending.
WCBProTip: Go to their Markets category in navigation. It allows browsing startups by different industries. So you can see what is trending in the industry you are planning to launch your own startup.
Angellist
Angellist is LinkedIn for startups which makes it an ideal hangout place for people with early stage startup. If you are an individual looking for opportunities or a company it works both ways.
Good amount of similarities between Angellist and Linkedin made me wonder is it really worth it to invest time and energy in it? Well, it is. It turned out to be a great place to find out which investors are investing in startups similar to yours. Now let’s have a closer look at how it is done.
As a startup, it can be super hard to get access to venture capital. Angellist makes it accessible for you by joining the capital from smaller investors. As a result, helping smaller startups to get funded. Once you identify your potential investors you can use your LinkedIn profile to make your foundation.
Incubator listing is one of it’s not so widely known feature. “With AngelList you can directly import your LinkedIn profile.”
WCBProTip: Make your Angellist profile with compelling information, make sure you follow all the potential investors, founders and so on. Then you can make a warm introduction using your LinkedIn profile.
Hemingway
The fundamental purpose of any writer is to make their readers happy.
Hemingway editor helps you make your writing bold and clear. You can write directly or just copy and paste your already written content. It highlights complex sentences, passive voices, suggests simple alternatives in different colors and also grades your readability.
You can use Hemingway offline which gives you the liberty to work anywhere. Even if you are not a professional writer you can use it to form your emails or proposals.
#WCBProTip: Buy Hemingway editor 3 to publish directly to WordPress and also for the rest of the web.
Carrd
If you are a startup or a freelancer your digital appearance really matters these days.
Carrd lets you create simple, responsive and functional websites for free.
I have tried Carrd for you and loved it. You can create profiles, one-page sites or even a landing page either by editing their template or you can start from scratch. Their editing process is easy to follow and you can build up to 3 sites per account for free
Their free version offers a lot and you can upgrade to their pro version for just $19 per year. Upgraded version lets you create a page with Carrd using your own domain, as well as getting access to up to 10 Carrd sites per account, domain support, form elements (like MailChimp), widget elements (like a PayPal button or Typeform), Google Analytics, larger images and GIFs, and more.
#WCBProTip: Go to guides on their website and get step by step instructions on how you can use a custom domain and setup google analytics.
Promo
Promo by slidely is an amazing service which offers a huge collection of ready to use promotional videos.
When it comes to advertising we all know that video is a very powerful tool. Their videos are so engaging when I first opened promo I literally spent an hour just watching. Now imagine one of your potential customer watching your product video and not being able to forget it.
To create an advertising video just like the TV commercial, all you have to do is select a premade video, choose the background music from their extensive music library, enter your message, logo and there you go. You have a professional promotional video ready complete with a lifetime license.
Try Promo for free without any credit card required and then you can subscribe to one of their really affordable packages.
If you’re interested in creating high quality videos yourself, you might want to check our Photography Essentials Course or Adobe Premiere Course.
WCBProTip: Promo offers an amazing feature called Calendar. Here you can follow their calendar and use their content suggestions every day. Best to boost your social media presence.
Coverr
Putting a hero image for your homepage is old news now. Now it’s time to shine with cover videos.
Coverr offers a selection of free stock videos that does not look like stock. You can use for it for your projects, facebook cover or even as your website’s homepage cover with no attribution required.
To use it for your website all you have to do is download the video, upload it to your website and copy the given snippet.
WCBProTip: You can use Coverr videos for your next marketing campaign and make an amazing commercial.
Just Good Copy
This is a super simple one-page website and just like the name suggest it includes copies of really good emails.
Emails are a very good way to communicate with customers. But you don’t need to spend money on a copywriter in order to have a professionally written email. You can pick a tag and get inspired by the emails of well-established companies.
If you eager to learn more about digital marketing you will find this article very interesting – How to become a digital marketer .
WCBProTip: Go to their invitation tag. They have a very well formatted email from slack to invite the leads for the free trials.
The Name App
This is kind of a given. The right name for your venture can be something very dear to you.
Just enter the name you wish to keep as your domain or username. You can check its availability on all the major platforms at the same time with just one click.
WCBProTip: Once you find out the availability of your name, by clicking the link below you can purchase the domain.
Real Time Board
For any startup to achieve its success teamwork is really crucial. Everything you work on is interconnected so it is important for your team to be on the same page.
Real Time Board is the online whiteboard where your team can create, collaborate and integrate. It lets your team jot down ideas, leave feedbacks, create mockups, wireframing, sitemaps, business models, product roadmap, project outline, and all collaborative activities.
You can share pictures, videos, google drive or documents. You can add your favorite application or tool as a plugin so there is no need to switch between tabs. Their customizable toolbar allows you to add shortcuts and keep your tool handy. Present directly from Real Time Board or export and save as PDF.
It is updated in real time. It is one whiteboard where you can never run out of space. Real Time Board is very flexible. It works for simply brainstorming with your team or even to plan huge projects. Well optimized for mobile, giving you the liberty to work on the go.
It might look messy at first and will take some getting used to.
WCBProTip: Real Time Board offers integration with trello. Simply go to your trello board menu → go to powerups → enable Real Time Board. Now you can easily attach your boards with trello cards. No need switch between two tools.
WCBProTip: Real Time Board offers integration with trello. Simply go to your trello board menu → go to powerups → enable Real Time Board. Now you can easily attach your boards with trello cards. No need switch between two tools.
Milanote
We have been recommending Milanote to our students for a while now and they love how easy it to use. You can use it for the brainstorming session, the inspiration process and of course showing off your portfolio.
Milanote is a tool for organizing creative projects into beautiful visual boards. By design, it feels a lot like working on the wall in a creative studio – visual, tactile and sometimes a bit messy – Milanote is a great fit for designers who work in teams remotely.
Key Features:
- Write notes & to-do lists, upload images & files and save things you find on the web
- Organize visually using the flexible drag and drop interface.
- Boards by default are a private place to think, but with a single click you can create a shared workspace for collaboration with your team
- Milanote is filled with hundreds of built-in templates to help you get started with a variety of different projects, from creating a mood board to writing that perfect creative brief.
Pricing:
Free version available with no time limit. PRO version $9.99 per month (monthly and annual plans)
So that is it for this month’s selection of tools for startups, creatives, and savvy users. If you find the listed tools and applications helpful please let us know. We would love to know your feedback and it will also inspire the rest of the readers.
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