Start Smart: Tools, Tips, and Support for Founders

Startups aren't just building a product; they're building a learning engine to determine the right solution. Only about 10% make it through the tough road to success. Founders face countless critical decisions, like building the right team and choosing the right tools and software to move forward. 

With the right tools at your fingertips, tackling startup challenges becomes much more manageable, and you’ll be better positioned to set your business up for success. Founders can leverage a few tools to enhance communication and foster better collaboration within their startup teams. 

Essential Tools for Founders

As a founder, you must use multiple tools and software to manage your projects successfully. Here ars some essential project management tools categorized into their different functions for founders

Productivity & Project Management Tools

Onesuite

OneSuite is an all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs and founders to help them run their businesses more smoothly. It keeps everything in one easy-to-use place, including leads, projects, clients, documents, and invoices. 

With helpful tools like lead tracking, task templates, and a secure client portal, OneSuite helps you stay organized, save time, and grow your business faster.

Whether you run a startup, an agency, or work solo, OneSuite fits your workflow and grows with you. It’s a smart way to manage projects and build strong client relationships.

Jira

Jira Software is a project management tool built for agile teams to efficiently plan, track, and release software. It supports different workflows, such as Scrum, Kanban, and hybrid methods, and can be customized to fit your team’s process.

With Jira, you can create detailed project roadmaps to keep track of ongoing work. Its drag-and-drop board makes it easy for teams to manage tasks and progress visually.

The platform lets you create user stories, track issues, organize sprints, and assign tasks to team members. It also integrates with thousands of business tools from design and monitoring apps to coding and productivity platforms, making it a flexible choice for managing software projects.

Notion

Notion is a flexible tool that helps individuals and teams stay organized in a way that works best for them.

It’s simple to learn and makes it easy to manage your time and tasks. With Notion, you can keep track of notes, documents, to-dos, and more all in one place. Organizing your workspace is as easy as dragging and dropping items exactly where you want them.

Communication and Collaboration Tools for Startups

Clear communication and strong teamwork are essential for a startup to succeed. When everyone stays aligned and works together effectively, it’s easier to solve problems, move faster, and build a positive work culture.

Below are some tools founders can use to boost team communication and collaboration. 

Slack

Slack is a widely used communication platform trusted by tech companies of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises. It’s known for its real-time messaging, easy file sharing, and ability to connect with other tools.

Startups especially love Slack for its simplicity and the ability to organize conversations into channels. Teams can also create smaller, focused channels for specific projects or departments, making communication more efficient and organized.

Design & Prototyping Tools

Design and prototyping tools might not seem as critical initially, but trust me, while running your startup, you’ll use one or more of them regularly.

Figma

Figma is a robust cloud-based design tool that offers many of the same features as Sketch. Figma is a great first choice if you're unsure which design tool to use. It simplifies the design process and is often more efficient than other options.

Canva

Canva was created as an online graphic design tool to simplify the complex task of creating digital graphics. Thus, signing up is simple, and once an account has been set up, users may access their data from any iOS or Android device with just a web browser. 

Many individuals and small businesses rely on it to create visual content for online platforms. This includes Twitter and blog headers, Facebook and Instagram ads, and other graphics. 

Nowadays, designers are making their stock photos and images available to the public for a small fee.

Adobe XD

Adobe XD is a handy tool for designing websites and mobile apps. It comes with customizable UI tools, templates, and artboards, making the design process smooth and flexible. Plus, it integrates seamlessly with other Adobe Creative Cloud products, allowing you to import assets quickly and easily.

Payment Software and Tools for Startups

In today’s business landscape, using payment tools is a must. But which ones are most popular among startups? Let’s explore some of them:

Stripe

Stripe is an online payment processing platform designed to simplify transactions for digital businesses. It’s an excellent solution for handling credit card payments and other e-commerce needs.

Whether you're running a SaaS business that needs subscription billing, a marketplace that wants to split payments, or an online store that enables in-app purchases, Stripe offers the tools to support your payment workflow.

PayPal

PayPal is the most popular and widely utilized third-party payment platform for businesses, freelancers, shoppers, and individuals. It allows users to send and receive money quickly in seconds. Furthermore, PayPal facilitates online payment while keeping information secure. You can establish an account for free by providing your email address and basic information. Moreover, you may link it to your bank account, credit card, and debit card to make transactions more convenient.

Tips to Navigate Early Challenges

1. Turn Challenges into Opportunities: Inspire readers to view difficulties as chances to grow, innovate, and become stronger, rather than as obstacles to success.
 

2. Lifelong Learning: Promote a mindset of continuous improvement through education, self-directed learning, and hands-on experience.
 

3. Be Adaptable: Stress the importance of staying flexible and open to change to navigate new situations effectively.
 

4. Build Resilience: Encourage perseverance through setbacks by viewing failures as valuable personal and professional development lessons.
 

5. Stay Proactive: Emphasize the value of taking initiative and preparing to handle future issues, needs, or transitions. 

Support for Founders

At the heart of every successful startup is a strong support system and The Hive delivers just that through a powerful blend of mentorship, training, networking, and access to resources.

1. Mentorship:

Founders receive weekly one-on-one mentorship sessions and cohort-wide check-ins that help them navigate challenges, make informed decisions, and grow with clarity and confidence.

2. Training:

 Structured workshops and classes equip founders with the skills and knowledge they need to build, launch, and scale their businesses, covering everything from business models to growth strategies.

3. Networking:

The Hive connects founders to a vibrant network of entrepreneurs, investors, domain experts, and advisors. This access opens doors to opportunities, partnerships, and insights that are critical in the early stages.

4. Access to Markets and Capital:

Through its accelerator, The Hive offers seed funding in exchange for equity empowering founders to take their ideas to the next level with capital and strategic support.

Conclusion

Building a startup is no small feat, but with the right tools, mindset, and support system, you don’t have to do it alone. From project management and design software to payment solutions and communication platforms, today’s founders have more resources than ever to launch and grow smarter.

But tools alone aren’t enough. What truly makes the difference is being part of an ecosystem that guides, challenges, and grows with you.

That’s where the Hive Hub comes in. The Hive offers weekly mentorship, structured training, access to markets and capital, and a vibrant founder community, all designed to support you through every stage of your entrepreneurial journey. It’s more than just a hub; it’s a thriving ecosystem where innovation is nurtured and every founder’s success is a shared win.