I had to start a tech startup in 2026, this is exactly what I would do.

I had to start a tech startup in 2026, this is exactly what I would do. Even if you've never raised a dollar before. First, you need a co-founder. And that is basically the one person that's going to be sitting next to you when everything is on fire at 2:00 a.m. Some beginner friendly places to find one are your last job, your university network, or even founder matching programs like YC's Co-founder Match. I found mine being one of the early users of a product he was building. Step two is picking what you build. Do not pick whatever is trending on Twitter. Pick something that actually is a pain point that you experience, because you're going to be working on it for the next 7 to 10 years. The easiest way I can explain it is you want a technical builder, a seller, and a storyteller on the founding team. A good builder would be the person who can ship a rough product in a weekend, because speed beats polish every time. Your seller would be the person who can sell it to five strangers before the product even works. And a good storyteller, well, that's key, because if you can't explain what you're doing in one sentence, you're never going to raise capital for it. Once you have your team and your problem, I would start setting customer conversations. Block off five times a week, look up your customers on LinkedIn or wherever they hang out, and make sure you keep talking to them even after you have a product built. It's not just about building a great product. It's about solving a pain point a customer will actually pay for. Don't be one of those founders who spent two years positioning the deck, making it really polished, and never even picked up the phone and spoke to one customer. Follow for more startup education content.