Startup Founder Guides: Tax, Accounting & Compliance

Fundraising

Resources

50 Startup Pitch Decks That Actually Raised Money

See what actually gets funded. Skip the endless searching and learn from real startup pitch decks that helped founders raise capital.

Startup

Resources

Get Your First 100 Customers

This practical, founder-led playbook shares the proven outreach strategies, templates, and repeatable systems Fondo used to land its first paying customers — without a big budget or marketing team.

Fundraising

Resources

Access 1,000+ of Angel Investors

Raising your first round? Use this curated list of angel investors to build a stronger fundraising pipeline and spend less time researching.

Accounting

Resources

Founder Expense Reimbursement Template

A simple expense tracker built for founders. Stay on top of business spending, keep clean records, and make tax season a whole lot easier.

Accounting

Resources

How Strong Is Your Startup's Financial Foundation?

Not sure if your books are in good shape? Take this quick assessment to uncover gaps, reduce risk, and see where your startup stands.

Guide

Resources

Startup Taxes: The Delaware Franchise Tax Playbook

Taxes don't have to be a mystery. This founder-friendly playbook breaks down what startups need to know to stay compliant and make smarter financial decisions.

Guide

Resources

See If You Qualify for the R&D Tax Credit

Don't leave money on the table. This calculator helps startups estimate their R&D tax credit and understand potential savings.

Fundraising

Resources

Investor Readiness Checklist for Founders

Don’t start fundraising without the right foundation. Use this checklist to make sure your startup has the financials, metrics, and materials investors expect.

Fundraising

Resources

A Better Starting Point for Your Fundraise

Stop searching for investors from scratch. Explore a curated database of venture capitalists and find firms that align with your startup’s stage, industry, and goals.

Startup

Resources

How Much Should You Pay Yourself?

Wondering if your founder salary is on track? This report shares real data and insights on how startup founders compensate themselves.

Tax Credits

Guides

Founder's Guide to Tax Credits

Wonder what your bookkeeping should actually look like? Get a behind-the-scenes look at Fondo’s deliverables and how we help founders stay on top of their finances.

Accounting

Guides

What do my deliverables look like with Fondo?

Fondo makes it easy to get your bookkeeping done, taxes filed, and cash back from the IRS (average startup gets back $21k)

Guide

Guides

Founder's Guide to Corporate Taxes

Don’t let taxes catch your startup off guard. Understand your corporate tax responsibilities and how to plan ahead as your company grows.

Fundraising

Guides

Founder's Guide to SF Office Space

Thinking about opening an office in San Francisco? Get a founder-friendly breakdown of office space options, costs, and what to consider before signing a lease.

Guide

Guides

International Founder's Guide to Corporate Taxes

Building a U.S. startup from anywhere in the world? Understand your corporate tax responsibilities and how to avoid common mistakes as an international founder.

Guide

Guides

How To Dissolve Your Startup

Not every startup journey ends with an acquisition. Learn how to responsibly wind down your company, handle remaining obligations, and officially dissolve your startup.

Startup

Guides

How To Apply and Get Into Y Combinator

Dreaming of joining Y Combinator? This guide walks founders through the application process, what YC looks for, and how to improve your chances of getting accepted.

Guide

Guides

Founder's Guide to 1099 Filings | Due Date: January 31

Paying contractors? Make sure your 1099s are handled correctly. Learn what startups need to know about filing requirements, deadlines, and common mistakes.

Guide

Guides

Founder's Guide to Delaware Franchise Tax

Formed a Delaware C-Corp? There’s one annual tax you need to know about. This guide explains Delaware franchise taxes and how they impact your startup.

Guide

Guides

Founder’s Guide to Section 174 Being Repealed: Here’s How To Get Your R&D Tax Money

Formed a Delaware C-Corp? There’s one annual tax you need to know about. This guide explains Delaware franchise taxes and how they impact your startup.

Guide

Guides

California Statement of Information (SOI)

In California, a business's annual report is called the Statement of Information. It's a required filing to keep the state updated with information about registered agent and officers of the company. This annual filing must be made on time, with an annual fee of $25. If it is filed late, the penalty is $250 or more.

Accounting

Guides

Founder's Guide to Bookkeeping

Don’t wait until tax season to think about your books. This guide explains the bookkeeping basics founders need to stay organized and prepared as they grow.

Guide

Guides

Founder’s Guide to Section 174 Being Repealed: Here’s How To Get Your R&D Tax Money

Spending on R&D? Section 174 affects how those costs are treated. Learn what startup founders need to know about the rules and how they impact your company’s finances.

Founder Guides & Resources

50 Startup Pitch Decks That Actually Raised Money

See what actually gets funded. Skip the endless searching and learn from real startup pitch decks that helped founders raise capital.

Get Your First 100 Customers

This practical, founder-led playbook shares the proven outreach strategies, templates, and repeatable systems Fondo used to land its first paying customers — without a big budget or marketing team.

Access 1,000+ of Angel Investors

Raising your first round? Use this curated list of angel investors to build a stronger fundraising pipeline and spend less time researching.

Founder Expense Reimbursement Template

A simple expense tracker built for founders. Stay on top of business spending, keep clean records, and make tax season a whole lot easier.

How Strong Is Your Startup's Financial Foundation?

Not sure if your books are in good shape? Take this quick assessment to uncover gaps, reduce risk, and see where your startup stands.

Startup Taxes: The Delaware Franchise Tax Playbook

Taxes don't have to be a mystery. This founder-friendly playbook breaks down what startups need to know to stay compliant and make smarter financial decisions.

See If You Qualify for the R&D Tax Credit

Don't leave money on the table. This calculator helps startups estimate their R&D tax credit and understand potential savings.

Investor Readiness Checklist for Founders

Don’t start fundraising without the right foundation. Use this checklist to make sure your startup has the financials, metrics, and materials investors expect.

A Better Starting Point for Your Fundraise

Stop searching for investors from scratch. Explore a curated database of venture capitalists and find firms that align with your startup’s stage, industry, and goals.

How Much Should You Pay Yourself?

Wondering if your founder salary is on track? This report shares real data and insights on how startup founders compensate themselves.

Founder's Guide to Tax Credits

Wonder what your bookkeeping should actually look like? Get a behind-the-scenes look at Fondo’s deliverables and how we help founders stay on top of their finances.

What do my deliverables look like with Fondo?

Fondo makes it easy to get your bookkeeping done, taxes filed, and cash back from the IRS (average startup gets back $21k)

Founder's Guide to Corporate Taxes

Don’t let taxes catch your startup off guard. Understand your corporate tax responsibilities and how to plan ahead as your company grows.

Founder's Guide to SF Office Space

Thinking about opening an office in San Francisco? Get a founder-friendly breakdown of office space options, costs, and what to consider before signing a lease.

International Founder's Guide to Corporate Taxes

Building a U.S. startup from anywhere in the world? Understand your corporate tax responsibilities and how to avoid common mistakes as an international founder.

How To Dissolve Your Startup

Not every startup journey ends with an acquisition. Learn how to responsibly wind down your company, handle remaining obligations, and officially dissolve your startup.

How To Apply and Get Into Y Combinator

Dreaming of joining Y Combinator? This guide walks founders through the application process, what YC looks for, and how to improve your chances of getting accepted.

Founder's Guide to 1099 Filings | Due Date: January 31

Paying contractors? Make sure your 1099s are handled correctly. Learn what startups need to know about filing requirements, deadlines, and common mistakes.

Founder's Guide to Delaware Franchise Tax

Formed a Delaware C-Corp? There’s one annual tax you need to know about. This guide explains Delaware franchise taxes and how they impact your startup.

Founder’s Guide to Section 174 Being Repealed: Here’s How To Get Your R&D Tax Money

Formed a Delaware C-Corp? There’s one annual tax you need to know about. This guide explains Delaware franchise taxes and how they impact your startup.

California Statement of Information (SOI)

Founder's Guide to Bookkeeping

Don’t wait until tax season to think about your books. This guide explains the bookkeeping basics founders need to stay organized and prepared as they grow.

Founder’s Guide to Section 174 Being Repealed: Here’s How To Get Your R&D Tax Money

Spending on R&D? Section 174 affects how those costs are treated. Learn what startup founders need to know about the rules and how they impact your company’s finances.

50 Startup Pitch Decks That Actually Raised Money

Skip the endless Googling. Get instant access to pitch decks and see how successful founders told their story, showed traction, and raised capital.

Get Your First 100 Customers

A practical, founder-led playbook with real tactics, templates, and systems to turn zero traction into paying customers — fast.

Access 1,000+ of Angel Investors

Skip hours of research with a curated angel investor list to kickstart your outreach and raise your first round faster.

Founder Expense Reimbursement Template

Easily track, organize, and reimburse business expenses with a simple template built for startup founders — no accounting experience required.

How Strong Is Your Startup's Financial Foundation?

Take our free Financial Foundation Assessment and get a personalized scorecard showing where your startup stands — and where you may have gaps in bookkeeping, tax strategy, compliance, and financial visibility.

Startup Taxes: The Delaware Franchise Tax Playbook

A simple, practical playbook for Delaware C-Corp founders — covering deadlines, filings, and what actually matters so you can avoid surprises and stay on track.

See If You Qualify for the R&D Tax Credit

If you’re building a product, there’s a good chance you already qualify. This takes about a minute — and could mean real cash back.

Investor Readiness Checklist for Founders

The checklist every founder should complete before fundraising.

A Better Starting Point for Your Fundraise

A curated list of 2,000+ (and counting) active VCs — with contact info, fund focus, and portfolio data — so you can spend less time researching and more time building relationships? We’ve got that. And it's free.

How Much Should You Pay Yourself?

816 founders answered anonymously. Here’s what founders actually do when real money, real runway, and real pressure are involved.

Founder's Guide to Tax Credits

Wonder what your bookkeeping should actually look like? Get a behind-the-scenes look at Fondo’s deliverables and how we help founders stay on top of their finances.

What do my deliverables look like with Fondo?

Fondo makes it easy to get your bookkeeping done, taxes filed, and cash back from the IRS (average startup gets back $21k)

Founder's Guide to Corporate Taxes

Don’t let taxes catch your startup off guard. Understand your corporate tax responsibilities and how to plan ahead as your company grows.

Founder's Guide to SF Office Space

Thinking about opening an office in San Francisco? Get a founder-friendly breakdown of office space options, costs, and what to consider before signing a lease.

International Founder's Guide to Corporate Taxes

Building a U.S. startup from anywhere in the world? Understand your corporate tax responsibilities and how to avoid common mistakes as an international founder.

How To Dissolve Your Startup

Not every startup journey ends with an acquisition. Learn how to responsibly wind down your company, handle remaining obligations, and officially dissolve your startup.

How To Apply and Get Into Y Combinator

Dreaming of joining Y Combinator? This guide walks founders through the application process, what YC looks for, and how to improve your chances of getting accepted.