📋 12 Most Important Startup Checklists

📧 Email Marketing That Actually Performs

📧 Why Most Newsletters Don’t Get Clicked

Many newsletters lose momentum after the open. Learn what separates high-performing campaigns from the rest—and how to fix the gaps holding yours back.

🔍 Key Takeaways:

• 🧠 How click psychology shapes reader action

• 🎯 Why segmentation will define success in 2025

• 💡 One well-placed CTA can outperform five

• 📱 Mobile tweaks that drive real results

• 🧪 A/B testing methods that boost CTR fast

📈 Ready to turn opens into measurable action? Get the free Email Marketing System that turns strategy into results.

Access the proven playbook now — includes expert tips, templates, and segmentation strategies. 👇️

Email marketing that actually performs

Unlock the strategies that drive $36 in return for every $1 spent.

Learn how to build quality email lists people actually want to join, craft messages that outperform industry benchmarks, implement advanced segmentation that drives conversions, and measure metrics that prove real business impact—all in clear, actionable steps.

Get the full guide—free when you subscribe to the Masters in Marketing newsletter.

Join marketing pros who rely on Masters in Marketing for expert insights delivered straight to their inbox, twice a week.

Download now for free here.

💸 6 Fundraising Mistakes That Cost Founders Millions

💸 6 Startup Mistakes That Cost Millions

Avoidable missteps can derail even the best startup pitch. Arjun Mahadevan, CEO of Doola, raised $13M—but not without setbacks. Here are six critical errors he made that every founder should learn from:

• 🎯 Rejection is math, not failure — Expect 60+ investor conversations per yes. Don’t quit too soon.

• 📈 Raise in tranches — Break up your round to build momentum and create scarcity.

• 🧠 Track investor outreach like sales — Use a CRM to manage conversations and follow-ups efficiently.

• 🎤 Presence > pitch — 93% of communication is non-verbal. Energy sells.

• 🤝 Relationships before asks — Build trust months before you raise.

• 🚫 Don’t obsess over investor “no” reasons — Believe the rejection, not the excuse.

👉 Read how Arjun turned mistakes into momentum and what every founder should do before raising their next round:

📋 12 Most Important Startup Checklists

🔍 Startup Checklist: 12 Things You Must Nail Before Launch

Starting a business without a plan can cost more than just money. This essential checklist breaks down the 12 most critical steps to build a strong startup foundation—from idea to execution.

✅ Validate your idea – Market fit matters more than passion
💡 Plan financially – Estimate costs, forecast profits, avoid surprises
📊 Build your team – Don’t go solo; delegate, communicate, and align
🧑‍🏫 Find a mentor – Experience accelerates success and prevents missteps
🛠️ Setup legally – Avoid future roadblocks with proper registration
📣 Market smartly – Brand identity + sales funnel = growth engine
💼 Track everything – From CRM to accounting, get your systems right
💰 Know your taxes – Location, structure, and timing make a difference

🔽 Download the full checklist to kickstart your startup journey the right way.

🧠 Prompt Engineering Playbook

30+ High-Impact Prompts For Chatgpt, Claude, Gemini, And Copilot

While most professionals are still asking ChatGPT basic questions, the smartest founders are already speaking fluent AI—and it's giving them an unfair advantage.

Our new "Prompt Engineering Playbook" contains 30+ battle-tested prompts that top executives use to:

• Generate million-dollar pitch decks in minutes

• Validate startup ideas with surgical precision

• Create marketing campaigns that actually convert

• Build user personas that drive product decisions

The secret? It's not about having access to AI—it's about knowing exactly what to say to it.

Inside you'll find the exact frameworks used by unicorn founders, plus advanced techniques like Chain of Thought reasoning and ReACT methodology that most people have never heard of.

Download your free copy before we put it behind a paywall.Download the Playbook Now →

Pacaso Is Flipping the $1.3T Market—And You’re Still Early

He’s already IPO’d once – this time’s different

Spencer Rascoff grew Zillow from seed to IPO. But everyday investors couldn’t join until then, missing early gains. So he did things differently with Pacaso. They’ve made $110M+ in gross profits disrupting a $1.3T market. And after reserving the Nasdaq ticker PCSO, you can join for $2.80/share until 5/29.

Invest today for $2.80/share.

_{This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals. Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20%, without requalifying the offering with the SEC.}

📱 a16z’s Best Social Media Advice for Startups

a16z's Top Social Media Advice for Startup Founders

Discover the proven social media strategy top startups like Airbnb, Coinbase, and Instacart use to scale—directly from tier 1 VC a16z. Key takeaways include:

• 🎯 Target precisely: Use a 6-part framework to define your audience

• 🔄 Stay agile & authentic: Adapt to algorithm changes, avoid generic AI content

• 📱 Focus your efforts: Prioritize 1–2 platforms, favor personal accounts over brands

• ✨ Create niche value: Produce authentic content that stands out

• 🎯 Set achievable goals: Align content with measurable business outcomes

• 📊 Measure meaningfully: Track metrics beyond impressions

• ⏰ Build steady cadence: Prioritize quality and evergreen content over volume

Download the full a16z Essential Social Media Advice for Startup Founders ebook now and elevate your startup’s growth strategy with insights that go beyond recycled frameworks.

🛠️ Explore Top Sales Workflow Tools

The Secret AI Sales Workflow That’s Scaling Startups Overnight 🚀

AI Sales Workflow software is transforming startups by automating key sales tasks and optimizing workflows. Key insights include:

• 🤖 Unify and Overloop.ai automate lead management and outreach workflows

• 🎯 Clay and Tiga enhance personalized prospecting with AI-driven tools

• 📊 Artisan and Persana provide analytics software to optimize sales decisions

• 🔗 Zapier and Make integrate multiple sales workflow tools for seamless automation

• ⚙️ Default and Bardeen eliminate repetitive tasks to improve sales team productivity

Harness these AI sales workflow tools to accelerate pipeline management and close deals faster. Ready to upgrade your sales software stack? 👇️ 

📊 ChatGPT’s Rising Traffic vs. Other Top Websites

ChatGPT’s Rising Traffic Versus Other Top Websites

Recent data from SimilarWeb reveals notable shifts in web traffic among the top 10 websites in April 2025:

• 🤖 ChatGPT.com experienced a 13% monthly traffic increase, driven by new features like image generation

• 🔻 Major sites such as Google, YouTube, and Facebook saw declines in visitor numbers

• 📉 Wikipedia traffic dropped sharply by 6.1%, possibly reflecting reduced research activity or competition from AI tools

• 📉 X.com (formerly Twitter) traffic fell by 5.2%, indicating changing user engagement patterns

These trends underscore the growing influence of AI-powered platforms in shaping online user behavior and content discovery.

Explore the full analysis to understand the implications for digital strategy and marketing approaches.

🗣️ Claude (Finally) Gets a Voice

Anthropic Launches a Voice Mode for Claude

Anthropic has introduced a beta “voice mode” for its Claude chatbot, enabling users to engage in full spoken conversations via the mobile app. Powered by the Claude Sonnet 4 model, this feature supports English language interactions, with options to switch between voice and text seamlessly.

Users receive on-screen summaries and transcripts, enhancing usability during hands-free scenarios. While available now to select users, voice mode has usage limits and advanced integrations reserved for paid subscribers.

Discover how this innovation compares to other AI voice assistants and what it means for conversational AI—read the full analysis here.

🎯 WEB PICKS

• 🔐 Sign In With ChatGPT May Be Coming Soon
  OpenAI is testing a feature that could let users log into third-party apps using their ChatGPT accounts. This could mark a major step toward ChatGPT becoming a digital identity layer across the web.

• 🤖 WordPress Forms Official AI Team
  WordPress is assembling top talent from Automattic, Google, and 10up to shape the future of AI in its ecosystem. With over 660 AI plug-ins already live, this move aims to bring structure and innovation to WordPress AI tools.

• 📱 WhatsApp Finally Launches iPad App
  Meta has rolled out a dedicated WhatsApp app for iPad with full support for video calls, multitasking, and more. No more browser workarounds—iPad users can now chat, call, and share screens with ease.

• 🌐 Opera Neon: A Browser That Codes for You
  Opera unveils its next-gen browser designed for AI-first workflows, from coding websites to automating tasks. With features like “Chat,” “Do,” and “Make,” it promises to redefine how you interact with the internet.