The Founder Stack

Build your product

Notion

Docs & wiki

All-in-one workspace for notes, docs, tasks and your startup wiki. Free for individuals; students get Plus free.

Free Plus plan for students Get Notion →

Framer

Website builder

Design and ship a stunning startup site without code - fast, modern, great for landing pages.

Free plan + student discount Try Framer →

Airtable

Database & ops

Spreadsheet-meets-database for tracking users, content, CRM and ops as you scale.

Generous free tier Get Airtable →

Launch & host

AWS Activate

Cloud credits

Up to $100,000 in AWS cloud credits for eligible startups - the standard backbone for early infra.

Up to $100K in credits Claim credits →

Hostinger

Web hosting

Cheap, reliable hosting and domains for your first site - beginner-friendly with one-click setup.

Up to 75% off + free domain Get hosting →

DigitalOcean

Cloud servers

Simple, developer-friendly cloud servers - great when you outgrow basic hosting.

$200 free credit (60 days) Get $200 credit →

Grow & market

HubSpot for Startups

CRM & marketing

CRM, email and marketing automation - startups get steep first-year discounts through partner programs.

Up to 90% off year one Get HubSpot →

Brevo

Email marketing

Send newsletters and automated emails to your waitlist and users - free up to 300 emails/day.

Free plan to start Try Brevo →

Tally

Forms & surveys

Free, beautiful forms for waitlists, user research and applications - no limits on the free plan.

Free, unlimited forms Get Tally →

Incorporate & operate

Stripe Atlas

Incorporation

Incorporate a US company, get a bank account and issue equity - popular path for global founders raising from US VCs.

Flat-fee incorporation Incorporate →

Zoho Books

Accounting

Affordable invoicing and accounting for early-stage teams - free tier for the smallest businesses.

Free plan available Get Zoho →

Calendly

Scheduling

Let investors, mentors and customers book time with you in one click - free plan covers the basics.

Free plan to start Get Calendly →

Learn, market & sell

Semrush

SEO & marketing

All-in-one SEO, content and competitor research suite. One of the highest-paying affiliate programs around.

Up to $200+ per sale (affiliate) Try Semrush

Coursera

Online courses

University and industry courses and certificates. Free to audit many courses; financial aid available.

Free audits + financial aid Browse courses

Skillshare

Creative classes

Thousands of classes on design, marketing, video and business - great for upskilling fast.

1 month free trial Start learning

Grammarly

Writing assistant

Fix grammar, tone and clarity in applications, pitches and emails. Free plan covers the essentials.

Free plan to start Get Grammarly

Fiverr

Freelance services

Hire freelancers for logos, websites, video and more, often from a few dollars. Strong affiliate payouts.

CPA up to $150 (affiliate) Hire on Fiverr

Namecheap

Domains

Affordable domain names with free privacy protection. The easy way to grab your startup's domain.

Cheap domains + free WhoisGuard Get a domain

Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links, which means CanvasIQ may earn a commission if you sign up - at no extra cost to you. We only list tools we'd genuinely recommend to founders and students. Offers and pricing are set by each provider and may change.