Startup School
A free, self-paced course from Y Combinator on starting a company: finding ideas, talking to users, building a first version, launching and growing. The lessons are short talks by people who have done it, and the advice applies just as well to a one-person product as to a funded startup.
Course
Career Growth
Y Combinator
About 7 weeks at 1 to 2 hours a week
Beginner
Free
What it is
Startup School is Y Combinator's free online course for people who want to start a company or turn a side project into one. It is a set of short video lessons and essays by YC partners and founders, grouped into a curriculum you can follow at your own pace. Y Combinator describes it as taking about seven weeks if you spend one to two hours a week (as of 2026-09, per startupschool.org).
Is it useful if you are not raising money?
Yes, with a filter. Parts of the course are about fundraising, co-founders and applying to YC, which you can skip if you want to build a small product on your own. The core lessons are universal: how to pick a problem, how to talk to users without leading them, how to scope a first version, how to launch and how to measure growth. Those are exactly the skills an indie builder needs, and they are taught by people who have watched thousands of companies try.
What you get
- A structured curriculum covering ideas, building an MVP, launching, user acquisition and growth, with founder stories alongside.
- A weekly update tool that asks you to report a number and your progress, which is a useful habit even if nobody else reads it.
- A co-founder matching platform, if you decide you want a partner.
Prerequisites and time
No business background is needed. You get the most from it when you already have a problem or a small product in mind, because each lesson then turns into something to do this week rather than theory. Plan on the suggested seven weeks, and keep a running notes file of the decisions each lesson changes.
How to use it well
Watch the lessons on ideas and talking to users before you write code, then come back to the launch and growth lessons when you have something live. Do not binge the whole course in a weekend: the value is in doing the work between lessons.
Common questions
Is it really free? Yes. There is no paid tier for the course itself.
Is it only for the United States? No. It is online and open to founders anywhere.
Will it help me get into YC? It is not an application track. Treat it as a free education in how early products are built and sold.
Source: startupschool.org, checked 2026-09.
Ready to start?
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Stuck on something specific?
Writing only gets you so far. If you want an answer to your situation rather than the general case, book a session and we will work through it together. Sessions are free for approved Sefism members, and a few slots open each week.
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