# Start Here

> The Regenerate Capital founder playbook in eight steps: know yourself, find the problem, validate, build, sell, hire, raise and scale.

URL: https://regenerate.capital/start-here/
Language: en · Other language: https://regenerate.capital/fr/par-ou-commencer/index.md
Publisher: Regenerate Capital (https://regenerate.capital) · Updated: 2026-09-25

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[Home](https://regenerate.capital/) / Growth / Start Here

Start here

# How to build a company, *properly*.

Eight steps, in the order they usually matter. Each one opens a full page: the how, the common mistakes, and the signs you’re ready to move on.

The playbook

## Eight steps.

Not a formula. Every good company breaks some of these rules. The best founders know which ones, and why.

- [01Start with yourselfBefore the idea comes the founder. Know why you are doing this, what you are good at, and what you can sustain for a decade.Read the step →](https://regenerate.capital/start-here/start-with-yourself/)
- [02Find a problem worth solvingFall in love with a painful, frequent, expensive problem, not with your solution. Talk to the people who have it.Read the step →](https://regenerate.capital/start-here/find-a-problem/)
- [03Validate before you buildTest demand with the cheapest experiment you can: a landing page, a pre-sale, a manual service. Let customers pay before you write code.Read the step →](https://regenerate.capital/start-here/validate/)
- [04Build the smallest thing that worksShip the narrowest product that delivers the core outcome, measure it, and improve it weekly. Use AI so a small team works like a large one.Read the step →](https://regenerate.capital/start-here/build/)
- [05Win your first customersDo things that don’t scale: founder-led sales, a sharp message, one channel you master. Then automate what works.Read the step →](https://regenerate.capital/start-here/first-customers/)
- [06Build the teamHire slowly for values and quickly for gaps. Design a remote-first operating system from day one, and write things down.Read the step →](https://regenerate.capital/start-here/build-the-team/)
- [07Raise the right capitalDecide whether to raise, how much, and from whom. The right investors add more than money. The wrong ones cost more than it.Read the step →](https://regenerate.capital/start-here/raise-capital/)
- [08Scale the operating systemInstall rhythm, ownership and metrics so the company runs without the founder in every room, and lead the team through the changes growth brings.Read the step →](https://regenerate.capital/start-here/scale/)

Keep the founder whole

## The company runs on you.

None of these steps survive a founder who burns out. Sleep, movement, relationships and a clear why are part of the playbook.

[Sustainable runaway growth](https://regenerate.capital/runaway-growth/)[See the reading list](https://regenerate.capital/readings/)

Work with the studio

## Building something worth growing?

Tell us what you’re building and what you need. We read every application, and every founder gets an answer.

[Apply to work together](https://regenerate.capital/apply/)