What are some great online tools for startups? Why?

[Startup Questions]

This is a question asked by an anonymous member at our most recent event in London.

[James]

Running a startup can often feel like you’re spinning plates while riding a unicycle—there’s never enough time, and you’re constantly trying to keep everything from crashing down. From managing finances, automating marketing, handling customer interactions, and keeping your team aligned, the sheer number of responsibilities can be overwhelming.

But here’s the good news: you don’t have to do it all alone. Great online tools can transform your workflow, making every aspect of your startup smoother, more efficient, and scalable. In 2024 and beyond, productivity is the new currency, and leveraging smart technology can mean the difference between thriving or just surviving in the competitive startup ecosystem.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of game-changing online tools to help you streamline operations, boost efficiency, and focus on what truly matters—growing your business.

Why Tools For Startups Are So Important

Before we dive into the best tools, let’s talk about why they’re essential for startups:

Time-Saving: Automate repetitive tasks so you can focus on strategy and growth.
Cost-Efficiency: Many tools are freemium or low-cost, perfect for bootstrapped startups.
Scalability: Start with the basics and upgrade as your business expands.
Collaboration: Keep your remote or hybrid team connected and productive.
Data-Driven Decisions: Gain valuable insights from analytics to refine your strategy.

Now, let’s look at the top online tools for startups that can help you work smarter, not harder.

1. Trello

Starting off simple, Trello is a brilliant project management tool. Running a startup means managing projects across different departments, whether it's product development, marketing, or customer service. Trello’s intuitive boards, lists, and cards help you track everything from big-picture goals to day-to-day tasks. In 2024, when remote working is more common than ever, the ability to easily share tasks with your team and visualise progress is priceless. It helps you stay organised without overwhelming your team.

Why it's great: It's flexible, visual, and perfect for managing both solo and team-based projects.

2. Slack

In 2024, seamless communication is key to running an agile, dynamic startup. Slack is the go-to communication platform that brings all your team’s conversations together in one place. It cuts down on endless email threads and keeps everything organised. You can create channels for different projects or departments, making it easy to collaborate whether your team is working remotely or in the office.

Why it's great: Slack is easy to use, integrates with hundreds of other tools, and keeps communication fast and efficient.

3. Xero

Managing your startup’s finances can be one of the most tedious and stressful parts of running a business. But with Xero, accounting becomes a lot easier. This cloud-based tool lets you manage invoices, payroll software for startups, expenses, and more—all in one place. Especially in the UK, where taxes and VAT can be tricky, Xero’s ability to sync with your bank account and generate reports instantly is a lifesaver.

Why it's great: Xero is user-friendly, perfect for non-accountants, and offers robust financial reporting to keep your business healthy.

4. Notion

Notion has become a startup favourite in 2024 because of its versatility. Whether you're creating a team wiki, documenting SOPs, planning content, or managing databases, Notion can do it all. It’s highly customisable and can replace several other tools by centralising information, notes, tasks, and collaboration into one platform. For startups needing a flexible, all-in-one workspace, Notion can reduce the clutter of too many tools.

Why it's great: It combines note-taking, project management, and knowledge sharing in one tool—making it ideal for scaling businesses.

5. Canva

Whether you're creating marketing assets, pitch decks, or social media posts, design can be a huge time sink for startups. That’s where Canva shines. Canva allows non-designers to create professional-looking graphics, presentations, and social media content easily. For startups in 2024 and 2025, where content creation and branding are crucial to standing out, Canva is a game-changer.

Why it's great: Easy-to-use design software with thousands of templates—perfect for creating stunning visuals without needing a design team.

6. HubSpot

Building customer relationships is key to growing any startup. HubSpot is a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that helps startups manage their marketing, sales, and customer service operations in one place. It’s incredibly useful for tracking leads, automating marketing emails, and staying on top of your customer pipeline. In 2024, where personalisation is king, HubSpot's automation tools are essential for nurturing leads and keeping customer engagement high.

Why it's great: Offers a complete suite for marketing, sales, and service—allowing you to automate processes and focus on building customer relationships.

7. Asana

If Trello doesn’t quite cut it in terms of detailed project management, Asana is another fantastic tool for managing tasks, timelines, and workloads. In fast-growing startups, keeping everyone on track can be tough. Asana’s project management tools allow you to create tasks, assign them to team members, and set deadlines, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. The visual timelines and task dependencies make it easy to manage larger, more complex projects.

Why it's great: Asana is ideal for startups that need more structured, detailed project management and tracking.

8. SERanking

For any startup that wants to grow online visibility in 2024 and beyond, SEO is essential. SERanking is an all-in-one marketing toolkit that helps you improve your SEO, run PPC campaigns, analyse competitors, and more. With SEO playing a huge role in lead generation and brand awareness, SERanking gives you the insights you need to optimise your digital presence.

Why it's great: A powerful tool for startups looking to improve their SEO, analyse competitors, and run successful digital marketing campaigns.

9. Zoom

In the post-pandemic world of 2024, virtual meetings are still very much the norm. Zoom remains a key tool for startups to connect with team members, clients, and partners across the globe. Its reliability and simplicity make it a must-have for running efficient online meetings, whether you're presenting a pitch, running a team meeting, or holding a webinar.

Why it's great: Zoom offers seamless video conferencing, webinars, and collaboration tools for both internal and external communications.

10. Google Workspace

For a complete office solution, Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is indispensable for startups. With tools like Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google Meet, you can manage everything from email to document collaboration in one place. It’s especially useful for remote teams, allowing seamless document sharing and collaboration. The integration across Google’s ecosystem makes this a must-have for productivity.

Why it's great: Offers a full suite of productivity tools for emails, document creation, storage, and meetings—all synced in the cloud.

These tools are more than just software—they're lifelines for startups trying to make their mark. Whether you're just starting out or looking to scale, these platforms will help ease the tedious work, giving you more time to focus on what matters: growing your business and making an impact.

[Connor Smith1]

On 17/10/2024 at 11:46, James said:

Running a startup can feel like you're constantly juggling a hundred different tasks at once. From managing finances, marketing, team collaboration, to customer engagement, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s why finding the right online tools is essential. They can help streamline your workflow, save you time, and make your journey as a founder a lot more manageable, especially in the fast-paced world of 2024 and 2025, where efficiency is more critical than ever!

Here are some great online tools for startups that can make all the difference:

1. Trello

Starting off simple, Trello is a brilliant project management tool. Running a startup means managing projects across different departments, whether it's product development, marketing, or customer service. Trello’s intuitive boards, lists, and cards help you track everything from big-picture goals to day-to-day tasks. In 2024, when remote working is more common than ever, the ability to easily share tasks with your team and visualise progress is priceless. It helps you stay organised without overwhelming your team.

Why it's great: It's flexible, visual, and perfect for managing both solo and team-based projects.

2. Slack

In 2024, seamless communication is key to running an agile, dynamic startup. Slack is the go-to communication platform that brings all your team’s conversations together in one place. It cuts down on endless email threads and keeps everything organised. You can create channels for different projects or departments, making it easy to collaborate whether your team is working remotely or in the office.

Why it's great: Slack is easy to use, integrates with hundreds of other tools, and keeps communication fast and efficient.

3. Xero

Managing your startup’s finances can be one of the most tedious and stressful parts of running a business. But with Xero, accounting becomes a lot easier. This cloud-based tool lets you manage invoices, payroll, expenses, and more—all in one place. Especially in the UK, where taxes and VAT can be tricky, Xero’s ability to sync with your bank account and generate reports instantly is a lifesaver.

Why it's great: Xero is user-friendly, perfect for non-accountants, and offers robust financial reporting to keep your business healthy.

4. Notion

Notion has become a startup favourite in 2024 because of its versatility. Whether you're creating a team wiki, documenting SOPs, planning content, or managing databases, Notion can do it all. It’s highly customisable and can replace several other tools by centralising information, notes, tasks, and collaboration into one platform. For startups needing a flexible, all-in-one workspace, Notion can reduce the clutter of too many tools.

Why it's great: It combines note-taking, project management, and knowledge sharing in one tool—making it ideal for scaling businesses.

5. Canva

Whether you're creating marketing assets, pitch decks, or social media posts, design can be a huge time sink for startups. That’s where Canva shines. Canva allows non-designers to create professional-looking graphics, presentations, and social media content easily. For startups in 2024 and 2025, where content creation and branding are crucial to standing out, Canva is a game-changer.

Why it's great: Easy-to-use design software with thousands of templates—perfect for creating stunning visuals without needing a design team.

6. HubSpot

Building customer relationships is key to growing any startup. HubSpot is a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that helps startups manage their marketing, sales, and customer service operations in one place. It’s incredibly useful for tracking leads, automating marketing emails, and staying on top of your customer pipeline. In 2024, where personalisation is king, HubSpot's automation tools are essential for nurturing leads and keeping customer engagement high.

Why it's great: Offers a complete suite for marketing, sales, and service—allowing you to automate processes and focus on building customer relationships.

7. Asana

If Trello doesn’t quite cut it in terms of detailed project management, Asana is another fantastic tool for managing tasks, timelines, and workloads. In fast-growing startups, keeping everyone on track can be tough. Asana’s project management tools allow you to create tasks, assign them to team members, and set deadlines, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. The visual timelines and task dependencies make it easy to manage larger, more complex projects.

Why it's great: Asana is ideal for startups that need more structured, detailed project management and tracking.

8. SEMrush

For any startup that wants to grow online visibility in 2024 and beyond, SEO is essential. SEMrush is an all-in-one marketing toolkit that helps you improve your SEO, run PPC campaigns, analyse competitors, and more. With SEO playing a huge role in lead generation and brand awareness, SEMrush gives you the insights you need to optimise your digital presence.

Why it's great: A powerful tool for startups looking to improve their SEO, analyse competitors, and run successful digital marketing campaigns.

9. Zoom

In the post-pandemic world of 2024, virtual meetings are still very much the norm. Zoom remains a key tool for startups to connect with team members, clients, and partners across the globe. Its reliability and simplicity make it a must-have for running efficient online meetings, whether you're presenting a pitch, running a team meeting, or holding a webinar.

Why it's great: Zoom offers seamless video conferencing, webinars, and collaboration tools for both internal and external communications.

10. Google Workspace

For a complete office solution, Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is indispensable for startups. With tools like Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google Meet, you can manage everything from email to document collaboration in one place. It’s especially useful for remote teams, allowing seamless document sharing and collaboration. The integration across Google’s ecosystem makes this a must-have for productivity.

Why it's great: Offers a full suite of productivity tools for emails, document creation, storage, and meetings—all synced in the cloud.

These tools are more than just software—they're lifelines for startups trying to make their mark. Whether you're just starting out or looking to scale, these platforms will help ease the tedious work, giving you more time to focus on what matters: growing your business and making an impact.

I second this answer, i personally use Notion and never had any issues another one I can't live without is google workplace - definitely on the right line here James.

[Harry]

Love your answer, James!

These are some fantastic tools – I use (or have used) many of them myself, and they’re absolute game-changers for startups! I’ve got a few more ideas that might help founders streamline their work, boost efficiency, and keep everything running smoothly. Here are some extra recommendations to complement your list:

 

1. ClickUp – A Powerhouse for Productivity

ClickUp is like Trello and Asana combined on steroids. It’s an all-in-one project management tool that lets you handle tasks, docs, goals, and team collaboration in one place. If you’re looking for something that scales as your startup grows, this is it.

Why it’s great: Highly customisable, feature-rich, and great for remote teams needing serious organisation.

2. Wave – Simple, Free Accounting

You mentioned Xero (which is fantastic), but for startups that need free accounting software, Wave is a solid choice. It allows you to send invoices, track expenses, and even do payroll if needed—all without monthly fees.

Why it’s great: Perfect for bootstrapped startups looking for simple financial management.

3. Buffer – Social Media on Autopilot

Canva is great for creating content, but what about scheduling and publishing it? Buffer helps startups plan their social media posts in advance, ensuring a consistent brand presence. No more last-minute posting!

Why it’s great: Automates social media scheduling and provides insights to improve engagement.

4. Airtable – A Supercharged Spreadsheet

If Google Sheets and Notion had a baby, it would be Airtable. It’s a fantastic hybrid of a database and a spreadsheet, making it ideal for managing everything from CRM data to editorial calendars and product inventories.

Why it’s great: Highly visual, customisable, and perfect for organising large amounts of data without needing complex software.

5. Zapier – Your Personal Automation Assistant

Startups often use multiple tools, and Zapier helps them work together automatically. It connects apps like Slack, Trello, and Gmail, automating repetitive tasks so you can focus on growth.

Why it’s great: Saves hours by eliminating manual workflows and automating routine tasks.

6. Loom – Communicate Visually

Explaining complex ideas over email or Slack? Loom lets you record video messages of your screen and face, making it easy to share ideas with teammates, investors, or customers without endless Zoom calls.

Why it’s great: Perfect for asynchronous communication, tutorials, and quick team updates.

7. Calendly – Scheduling Made Painless

Ever had an email chain like: "What time works for you?" → "How about 2 PM?" → "No, I’m busy then. What about 4 PM?"? Calendly eliminates that hassle by letting people book time in your calendar based on your availability.

Why it’s great: No more back-and-forth emails—just send a link and let people book a time that works for them.

 

Why I Chose These Tools (And When to Use Them)

I wanted to focus on tools that fill in the gaps from your list—specifically around automation, scheduling, social media, and video communication. Startups have limited time, so anything that saves effort and reduces manual work is a win.

• ClickUp & Airtable → Advanced task and data management beyond Trello/Asana.
• Wave → A free alternative to Xero for early-stage startups.
• Buffer → Pairs with Canva to automate content posting.
• Zapier → Connects everything, reducing repetitive tasks.
• Loom → Saves time by making communication more visual.
• Calendly → A must-have for anyone who books meetings regularly.

With the right combination of these tools, startups can save hours of work per week, automate tedious tasks, and stay laser-focused on what really matters: growth and innovation.

Would love to hear what you think—are any of these on your radar, James? Let’s keep this list growing!

[Rushika Shirish]

Great article! Startups often focus on finances, marketing, and customer acquisition, but content is equally crucial—whether it’s crafting a compelling pitch deck, writing persuasive investor emails, or creating engaging blog posts. Clear, error-free, and SEO-friendly writing helps build credibility, attract leads, and strengthen brand messaging.

As someone who has worked with Startup Networks before, I know firsthand how the right writing tools can elevate a startup’s communication—saving time, improving quality, and ensuring consistency. Whether you're writing website copy, investor reports, or thought leadership articles, these top writing tools can help founders and teams write smarter, faster, and better.

 

 

Grammarly – AI-Powered Writing Assistant

Why Use It? Catches grammar mistakes, improves clarity, and enhances readability.
Best For: Emails, reports, blog posts, pitch decks.
Bonus: The premium version suggests tone adjustments for professional and persuasive writing.

Pro Tip: Grammarly’s tone analysis helps startups craft the right messaging for investors, customers, and partners.

 

WordAi – AI-Powered Content Rewriter

Why Use It? Generates high-quality rewritten content without sounding robotic.
Best For: Repurposing content for blogs, marketing materials, and SEO.
Bonus: Saves hours by automatically restructuring sentences while maintaining meaning.

Pro Tip: If you need to rewrite startup news or repurpose a case study, WordAi is a game-changer.

 

Jasper (formerly Jarvis) – AI Writing Assistant for Marketing

Why Use It? Generates long-form content, social media captions, ad copy, and even entire blogs.
Best For: Startups that need consistent, high-quality content quickly.
Bonus: SEO-optimized writing ensures content ranks on search engines.

Pro Tip: Jasper’s “Boss Mode” lets you give commands to write blogs, emails, and product descriptions efficiently.

 

SurferSEO – SEO-Optimised Content Writing

Why Use It? Suggests keywords, headings, and formatting to rank higher on search engines.
Best For: Blogs, website content, SEO-driven articles.
Bonus: Google-backed data helps you write content that performs well in search results.

Pro Tip: If your startup relies on organic traffic, SurferSEO helps craft content that actually ranks.