Launching a startup isn’t an easy feat. But, the good news is, you have already overcome that challenge!
Now, you need to effectively manage and grow your startup while keeping the costs as low as possible. In order to do that, you need tools and resources. From project management and communication to CRM and email marketing, there’s a tool for everything that you need to grow your startup.
However, with so many tools out there, choosing the best ones can be tedious. To make things easier for you, we have listed the ten best tools for startups in 2022.
1- Clarity
Whether it is your first startup or tenth, you will need actionable advice at one point or the other. That’s where Clarity can help. Clarity is an on-demand business advice provider that ensures ambitious entrepreneurs receive guidance from industry experts.
You can browse from hundreds of topics, including funding, financial management, sales & marketing, product & design, and entrepreneurship. You can even book a call with experts at a nominal cost. These experts have years of experience running businesses and can help you overcome any challenge during your entrepreneurial journey.
Pricing: Starts at $1 per minute on phone calls.
2- CallHippo
When running a startup, you will need a way to reach your customers directly to promote your business. And, what’s the best way than calling them? Yes, it is having a business telephone number.
One of the best startup tools, CallHippo, is a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) provider that lets you set up a business phone system without investing in any hardware. All you need is a smartphone or a computer to make and receive calls. Since CallHippo routes your calls over the internet, your phone bills won’t burn a hole in your pocket (even if you make international calls).
CallHippo offers some advanced features that can help you enhance productivity, such as an IVR system(Interactive Voice Response), power dialer, and smart call forwarding. Plus, CallHippo integrates with most of the tools you might use in your startup, like HubSpot, Slack, and Zoho.
Pricing: Starts from $15 per month per user.
3- HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM is one of the best tools for startups. It provides you a birds-eye view of your sales process. You can sort deals based on various factors, such as won & lost, appointments scheduled, and contracts sent over. HubSpot also enables you to track performance against the quota you set.
Besides, HubSpot CRM automatically logs customer interactions, thereby saving time that you would otherwise spend on manual entries. Some key features of HubSpot CRM include:
- Reporting dashboard
- Company insights
- Deal tracking
- Pipeline management
- Email tracking and notifications
- Prospect tracking
- Meeting scheduling
- Live chat
Pricing: Free to use, but also has a premium version that starts from $45 per month.
4- Mailchimp
Mailchimp is one of the best marketing software for startups and SMBs. Started as an email marketing tool, Mailchimp has evolved a lot. It offers advanced features, such as marketing CRM, audience segmentation, email templates, campaign personalization, and more.
You can even design landing pages, create digital ads (Facebook, Instagram, and Google), manage your social channels, and run A/B tests. Its survey feature lets you gather customer feedback and improve your services over time.
Mailchimp’s customer journey builder enables you to deliver the right message at the right moment, which is vital for every startup. This will help you create a memorable experience for each customer, thereby boosting your business’s credibility.
Pricing: The basic version of Mailchimp is free. Its premium version starts from $10.49.
5- Hootsuite
Entrepreneurs usually have a lot on their plate: from managing operations to planning strategies and marketing their business. Spending time on social media is something they cannot do every day. At the same time, they cannot avoid not being active on social networks. That’s where Hootsuite can help.
Hootsuite is a great startup tool that lets you manage your social channels on one page. Its key features include:
- Automated post scheduling
- ey performance metrics
- Brand mentions
- Analytics dashboard
- Paid advertising
- Social engagement
You can manage two social media accounts and schedule up to five posts with its free plan. This is great for startups that have just begun social media marketing. As your following grows, you can opt for a premium plan to get access to advanced features. Pricing: The premium version starts from $49 per month.
6- Asana
Asana is a project management tool that keeps you updated with day-to-day progress in your business. Even if you are managing a remote team, Asana can make collaboration and project tracking easier.
You can even organize and assign tasks to your team members. They can see all the tasks assigned to them along with the deadline.
Boards in Asana let you create detailed descriptions and define each stage of work. You can check where your employees are getting stuck and develop plans accordingly.
Asana also allows you to set up custom rules to automate everyday tasks and reduce errors, such as assigning work, setting due dates, and more.
Pricing: The basic version of Asana is free. The premium version of Asana starts from $10.99.
7- Wave
Wave is a free accounting tool for startups that allows you to manage all your expenses and incomes. You can even track sales tax on income and expenses. With a better understanding of your startup’s finances, you can optimize your plans accordingly.
Here are some key features of Wave:
- Unlimited income and expenses tracking
- Financial statements for year-end
- Powerful reports on overdue invoices & bills, cash flow, profit & loss, and more
- Unlimited bank and credit card connections
- Performance overview dashboard
Wave will save a lot of time and minimize errors in calculating finances. Also, it ensures you file the right taxes as per the guidelines in your region, thereby preventing fines and penalties.
Pricing: Wave is completely free.
8- Rooster
As your startup grows, you will need to hire more people. In order to do that, you will need recruitment software. Rooster is a recruitment platform that can help you source and manage applicants.
Rooster has pre-built messages that are automatically sent to all the candidates to keep them informed. You can even integrate your careers page with their job portal and share openings automatically.
Here are some key features of Rooster:
- Recruitment workflow
- Career page integration
- Live synchronization
- Job management
- Candidate management
- Collaborative hiring
- Automated messaging
Pricing: It has a free version that allows you to post three jobs and manage up to 25 candidates. Its premium version with unlimited jobs and candidates starts from $19 per month.
9- Canva
Canva is an online graphic designing tool. It allows you to design anything, from presentations and posters to social media posts. Canva has thousands of pre-built templates that you can use to create pictures.
What makes it a great startup tool is that it is free to use and has a minimal learning curve. You can design professional images without spending too much time on the tool. You can even upload pictures and edit them to meet your requirements.
Canva also allows you to add your team members so you can collaborate and share designs easily. They can share designs, and you can download or suggest changes. This prevents back and forth emails for approving graphics.
Pricing: The basic version of Canva is free. Its premium version starts from $30 per month per person.
10- Foundersuite
The last tool for startups on our list is Foundersuite. It is one of the leading platforms for raising capital and managing investor relations. Foundersuite offers a CRM tool to manage your investor funnel, has a database of 100,000 Angels and VCs, and provides you access to 80+ startup documents (term sheets, cap tables, pitch decks, NDAs, and more).
It also has a pitch desk feature that allows you to upload a PowerPoint or PDF and create a digital copy of your deck. You can then share the URL of the file directly to investors via Foundersuite. It also lets you track who viewed your deck, how much time they spent, and when they last visited your pitch.
Pricing: The basic version of Foundersuite is free. Its premium plans start from $44 per month.
Conclusion
Tools make managing the startup easier. Apart from providing key insights into your business, tools help improve efficiency and productivity within your organization. Each of the resources in this list can help you maximize your business potential and increase your return on investment.
Did I miss any great tools for startups? Let me know in the comments, and I will be happy to review it.
