- Entrepreneurship doesn't come with a rule book.
- If you're planning to start your first business in 2020, these guides will help you launch a startup, raise capital, and dominate the market.
- They include tips from successful founders like Liz Wessel of WayUp, and seasoned VCs like Patrick McGinnis of Dirigo Advisors.
- Business Insider regularly interviews entrepreneurship experts about the different stages of building a company. You can read them all by subscribing to BI Prime.
2020 could be the year you pursue your dreams.
Below is a list of guides to help first-time founders through every stage of building a startup, featuring advice from successful founders and investors.
- Deciding to become an entrepreneur: The ultimate guide to figuring out how (and if) you should start your own company
- Crafting your startup's story: The first-time founder's ultimate guide to building a winning pitch deck
- Persuading VCs to back you: The first-time founder's ultimate guide to pitching a VC
- Nailing the investor meeting: Top VCs reveal what they want to hear in a startup pitch — and what you should avoid saying
- Proving the integrity of your pitch: The VC's ultimate guide to sniffing out risky healthcare startups — and not getting tricked into backing them
- Closing the deal: The first-time founder's ultimate guide to navigating a term sheet and avoiding common pitfalls, according to founders, lawyers, and investors
- Building your first team: The ultimate guide to hiring the first 5 employees at your startup and making sure they're stars, from founders and investors who have done it
- Winning over new hires with equity:The first-time founder's ultimate guide to understanding stock options
- Transitioning to leadership:The ultimate guide to becoming a better boss in 30 days
- Making difficult staffing decisions:The startup founder's guide to letting people go efficiently and compassionately
- Growing your business: Founders and investors reveal the ultimate guide to scaling a startup — and common pitfalls to avoid
- Selling your startup:The ultimate guide to selling your startup for a boatload of cash, from founders who sold their startups for billions
- Avoiding startup death:The most common ways startups die and how to avoid them, from founders and investors who have failed
SEE ALSO: PITCH-DECK LIBRARY: The pitch decks that helped hot startups raise millions