Launch catalog / Playbook
Startup Grind
Conditional free route community
Researched from public pages — no submission was run · sources read 2026-09-26. Rules change — recheck the platform's own pages before submitting.
What the free route requires
- Application is free to submit but membership is vetted — 'Once you apply, our team will review your application and get back to you via email with next steps'
- Accepted members get investor matching, mentorship, exposure opportunities, software discounts and a member-only Slack — there is no public self-serve directory listing
- Whether accepted membership itself carries a fee is not stated on the application page
Requirements
- Tech-driven startup between MVP and Series A stage — agencies, consultancies, services and non-tech businesses 'are not a good fit and will not be considered'
- A working website is mandatory to apply
- Real founding team willing to participate in the community (mentorship, events, Slack)
Prepare before opening the form
- Working product website
- Company stage, team and traction details for the application
- Founder contact email for next-steps correspondence
Workflow
- Open https://startup.startupgrind.com/apply/ and complete the membership application
- Wait for the team's review — next steps arrive by email
- If accepted, complete whatever onboarding/membership step the email specifies
- Value comes from the member Slack, events, mentorship and investor matching — not a public listing page
Watch for
- Not a directory — acceptance does not automatically produce an indexable public profile page
- The main startupgrind.com site is the events/chapter network; the startup application lives on the startup.startupgrind.com subdomain
- Stage filter is explicit: pre-MVP idea-stage or post-Series A companies are outside scope
- Do not pitch this as a backlink source — it is a vetted membership community
What counts as live
An acceptance email with membership access (Slack invite / member account at startupgrind.com/accounts/login) — there is no public 'listed' state to verify
Not verified
- Whether membership has a fee after acceptance
- Application review time and acceptance rate
- Whether any member directory/profile pages are publicly visible