Startup Playbook: success through failure

How to Pitch Your Startup in 3 Minutes and 99 Other Startup Questions Answered

1000 Startup How-To Questions and Answers for Founders: Part 1

Updated on April 2026

Introduction

Welcome to what we call the Founder's Playbook. This is a collection of over 1,000 genuine "how to" questions that entrepreneurs have asked us within the F/MS Startup Game over the past several years. These are not theoretical questions from business school textbooks. They are real problems from real founders, mostly bootstrapped, mostly from Europe, and a significant portion female entrepreneurs who are building their businesses from the ground up.
When we started the F/MS Startup Game, we noticed a pattern. Founders were asking the same core questions repeatedly. Not the flashy ones about unicorn valuations or venture capital strategy, but the practical ones: How do I allocate equity fairly? How do I find early adopters when I have no budget? How do I automate my workflows without hiring expensive developers? How do I position my startup so investors actually understand what I do?
This guide compiles answers to those critical foundational questions. We have filtered, organized, and refined them based on what works, what fails, and what separates founders who build sustainable businesses from those who burn out.
The content spans seven major areas that every founder grapples with:
Startup strategy and funding covers pitching, fundraising, market sizing, and founder dynamics like equity allocation and building moats.
Growth and customer acquisition addresses how to attract early SaaS adopters, bootstrap without capital, and build competitive advantages that actually stick.
Technical implementation and automation focuses on the no-code and low-code tools that let solo founders and lean teams punch above their weight, from Make.com workflows to Coda automation to AI agent orchestration.
SEO and content strategy tackles how founders can build sustainable, organic visibility through keyword research, content positioning, and technical SEO without hiring agencies.
Tools and platforms explains how to use industry standard tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Google Analytics, and Canva to do professional work at bootstrapped budgets.
Industry specific guidance includes paths for EdTech founders, iGaming entrepreneurs, and other vertical specialists.
Mindset and business fundamentals rounds out the collection with questions about becoming an innovator, avoiding common pitfalls, building client relationships, and developing the resilience required to bootstrap a startup.
What makes this guide different is that every answer is distilled to its essence. No fluff. No 2,000 word essays when 150 words of actionable advice will do. You will find tactical steps, tool recommendations, and strategic principles you can implement immediately.
The founders we have worked with most closely tend to share certain characteristics: they are geographically distributed, often in emerging startup hubs across Europe and beyond; they are capital constrained and therefore obsessed with unit economics and sustainable growth over hypergrowth; they value community and long term relationships over winner take all competition; and many of them are deliberately building businesses that reflect their values, not just chasing the highest possible valuation.
This guide is for you.
Whether you are writing your first pitch deck, figuring out how to compete against well funded incumbents, automating your social media so you can focus on product, or trying to understand why your SEO traffic is stalling, you will find answers here grounded in what actually works.
The F/MS Startup Game is ultimately about leveling the playing field. About showing that you do not need a name brand pedigree, a network of Stanford connections, or a seven figure seed round to build something meaningful. You need clarity on your problem, obsession with solving it for real customers, ruthless focus on sustainable unit economics, and access to good information.
This guide is our contribution to that mission.
Start with the question that is keeping you up at night. Read the answer. Then go do something about it.
Check out the Complete "How to" Series:

🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 1: Startup Strategy, Funding and Business Fundamentals
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 2: SEO, Naming, and Competitive Analysis
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 3: Content, Business Models, and Growth
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 4: Finding Customers, Funding, and Keywords
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 5: Backlinks, Funding, Growth, and AI Visibility
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 6: Launching, Naming, Tools, and Fundraising
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 7: Costs, Funding, Naming, and Starting Up
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 8: Tech Startups, Tools, AI, and Keyword Research
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 9: SEO Tools, Schema Markup, and AI Optimization
🔗 1000 Startup How-To Questions Part 10: 2026 Trends, AI, and Future Opportunities

How to Pitch Your Startup in 3 Minutes

Start with an unexpected question to hook listeners, then state who you help and why it matters. Include your unique solution, transition to a call-to-action, and keep it to 30 seconds maximum: attention spans average just 8 seconds in our era.

How to Access Backlink Audit Tool on Semrush

Log into Semrush, navigate to the "Backlink Audit" tool under "Link Building," enter your domain, configure audit settings, and click "Start Backlink Audit." Connect Google Search Console to receive recommendations for toxic links to disavow.

How to Achieve Gender Equality in the Workplace

Implement transparent hiring and promotion processes, establish equal pay audits, provide mentorship programs, and ensure diverse leadership representation. Create accountability through regular diversity reporting and inclusive workplace policies.

How to Acquire Early SaaS Adopters

Launch on early adopter platforms such as Product Hunt and Indie Hackers, use cold outreach with personalized messaging, offer lifetime deals or founding member programs with exclusive pricing, and leverage your founder network for direct introductions to ideal customer profiles.

How to Add Keywords in Google Analytics

Connect Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4 via Admin settings, then view organic keywords in the Acquisition > Search Console > Queries report. For custom tracking, create custom dimensions in GA4 Admin and define them as Event scope.

How to Add Keywords to Google Analytics

Verify your site in Google Search Console, then connect it to GA4 in Admin settings to import query data. Use Position Tracking in your SEO tool to import keywords from GSC directly and monitor performance.

How to Add Logo in Canva

Upload your logo to Canva by clicking Uploads in the left sidebar, then select your logo file and drag it onto your design canvas. Resize and reposition it to fit your layout and keep brand consistency.

How to Add Logo on Canva

Open Canva, click Uploads in the sidebar, upload your logo image, then drag it into your design. Use the resize handles to adjust size and position while maintaining visual hierarchy.

How to Add Moz to Your Java

Install the Moz Java SDK via your build tool, such as Maven, by adding the dependency to your pom.xml file. Authenticate using your Moz API credentials, then call Moz endpoints from your Java code to fetch SEO metrics.

How to Add Users to Moz

In your Moz account, navigate to Team settings, click Add Team Member, enter their email address, and select their permission level such as Viewer, Editor, or Admin. Send the invitation so they can join your workspace.

How to Allocate Equity in a Startup

Allocate equity based on contributions in time, capital, expertise, and risk taken, while documenting expectations clearly. Reserve 10 to 20 percent for an employee option pool and keep enough founder equity to stay motivated and attractive to future investors.

How to Analyze Keywords for SEO

Identify search intent, then look at search volume, keyword difficulty, and relevance for your product. Group related keywords into clusters and map them to specific pages so you can build topical authority instead of chasing random terms.

How to Apply for ATAL Incubation Centre

Check eligibility on the Atal Innovation Mission website, prepare documents such as business plan, financials, and team details, then submit your online application through the official portal. Highlight innovation, scalability, and job creation potential.

How to Apply for EU Funding

Identify the right EU program such as Horizon Europe or EIC on the Funding and Tenders Portal, then register your organization and read the specific call guidelines. Prepare a strong proposal that matches the call objectives and submit before the deadline.

How to Approach Investors for Pre Seed Funding

Build a concise and compelling deck that focuses on problem, solution, traction, and team, then start with warm introductions via your network and founder communities. Target angels and micro VCs who invest at pre seed and understand your sector and geography.

How to Approach SEO Software Selection

Define your needs such as keyword research, technical audits, or link building, then shortlist tools that integrate with GA4 and GSC and fit your budget. Use free trials to test usability and depth of data before committing to a yearly plan.

How to Ask Question in Moz

Go to the Moz Community, search to see if your question already has an answer, then click Ask a Question. Write a clear title, describe your context and tools, and tag the question properly so experts can find and answer it.

How to Attract Investors for EdTech Startup in India

Show strong learning outcomes and traction through pilots with schools or institutions, present a clear monetization model, and research EdTech focused investors in India. Attend local startup events and use warm introductions to reach relevant angels and funds.

How to Attract Investors for iGaming Business

Present a robust compliance strategy for licensing and regulation, demonstrate sustainable user acquisition channels with controlled risks, and show strong retention and monetization metrics. Target investors already familiar with gaming and regulated markets.

How to Attract Startups

If you run an incubator or hub, offer founder friendly terms, high quality mentorship, and access to customers rather than only office space. Showcase success stories and organize regular events so founders see your community as a growth platform.

How to Audit a Site with Sitebulb

Create a new project in Sitebulb with your domain, configure crawl settings such as limits and user agent, then run a full crawl. Review the reports for critical issues such as broken links, duplicate content, and indexation problems and prioritize fixes.

How to Automate Monitoring of Brand Mentions in AI Responses

Combine web monitoring tools with AI by sending new mentions or scraped content to an LLM via Zapier or Make, then have it classify sentiment and relevance. Route high priority mentions to Slack or email so you can respond quickly.

How to Automate Social Media

Use a scheduler such as Buffer or Metricool to batch posts across your main channels and set posting times based on analytics. Connect RSS feeds or your blog to automation tools so new content gets shared automatically.

How to Automate Social Media Posts for Startups

Define a few content pillars and create reusable templates, then schedule at least one to two weeks of posts in advance with a tool like Buffer or Meta Business Suite. Use automation for distribution but keep engagement and replies human for authenticity.

How to Automate Social Media Responses with AI

Integrate a chatbot or LLM through tools like Intercom, ManyChat, or custom APIs, and create response templates for common questions. Keep a human review step for sensitive topics and monitor logs to fine tune prompts and guardrails.

How to Automate Tasks with Buttons in Coda

Insert a Button column or control in Coda, configure actions such as adding rows, sending emails, or calling webhooks, and connect it to your automations in Make or Zapier. This lets non technical teammates trigger workflows safely with a click.

How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Competitive Analysis

Do not copy competitors blindly and do not rely only on vanity metrics such as followers or raised capital. Focus on their positioning, pricing, and actual customer feedback so you can spot gaps where your startup can win.

How to Avoid Gender Bias

Use structured interviews with predefined questions and scoring, review salaries regularly for gaps, and ensure shortlists include diverse candidates. Provide bias training for hiring managers and set clear, transparent promotion criteria.

How to Be a Badass Book

"You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero is a mindset and self development book that helps you challenge limiting beliefs and build confidence. It can be a useful companion for female founders facing impostor syndrome while building their startups.

How to Be an Entrepreneur Without an Idea

Start by exploring problems in industries you know, interview people about their biggest pains, and look for patterns rather than forcing a random idea. You can also join an early stage startup as a co founder and bring execution skills instead of the original idea.

How to Be an SEO Writer

Learn keyword research and search intent, then write clear, well structured articles that answer questions better than competing content. Use headings, internal links, and natural language with related phrases instead of awkward keyword stuffing.

How to Be Innovative in Business

Talk to customers regularly, question existing assumptions, and test small experiments instead of making big bets based on opinion. Reward learning and iteration inside your team so people feel safe to propose new approaches.

How to Become a CEO of a Tech Company

Build experience in product, sales, or operations roles where you own outcomes and manage teams, then move into leadership positions with increasing responsibility. Combine this with networking, mentoring, and a track record of delivering growth.

How to Become a Sales Funnel Consultant

Study funnel strategy, analytics, and tools such as landing page builders and email platforms, then practice by building funnels for your own or friends projects. Package your service with clear deliverables and case studies and reach out to founders who lack in house funnel expertise.

How to Become a Unicorn

Focus on solving a big and painful problem in a massive market, build a defensible product, and reach strong product market fit before scaling aggressively. Combine fast growth with solid unit economics to attract late stage investors at high valuations.

How to Become a Virtual Companion

Build or use conversational AI systems that can interact in a human like way, define a clear use case such as coaching or emotional support, and make sure you respect privacy and local regulations. Monetize via subscriptions or per session payments.

How to Become Unicorn

The path is the same as becoming a unicorn in general: target a very large market, build a superior product, and grow consistently at high double digit rates. Fundraising amplifies this but cannot replace product market fit.

How to Begin a New Venture

Start by validating a problem through conversations and simple experiments, then build a minimal viable product with no code tools if possible. Keep costs low, talk to users weekly, and iterate until you see repeat usage or paying customers.

How to Benchmark My Brand's AI Visibility Against Competitors

Track how often your brand and competitor brands appear in AI outputs by running controlled queries in popular chatbots and logging mentions. Combine this with traditional SEO metrics such as featured snippets and branded search volume to see overall visibility.

How to Bootstrap Your Startup

Keep your fixed costs minimal, use no code tools to build your MVP, and focus on getting paying customers as early as possible. Reinvest revenue into the product and only consider funding when you have traction and clear constraints.

How to Bootstrap a Business

Choose a model with quick path to revenue such as services or simple SaaS, avoid unnecessary expenses, and do sales yourself at the beginning. Use profits to fund product improvements and gradually hire once you have predictable cash flow.

How to Bootstrap a Startup

Validate your idea through pre sales or pilots, then build only what is necessary for early customers using existing tools. Stay lean on headcount and avoid long term commitments until you see clear retention and referrals.

How to Bootstrap a Tech Startup

Use no code and low code stacks and open source tools to reduce development cost, and partner with a technical co founder when possible instead of hiring a big team early. Charge from day one so you can fund infrastructure and keep control.

How to Bootstrap Startup NoCode

Combine tools like Bubble, Webflow, Airtable, and Make to build full products without writing backend code, then iterate fast based on user feedback. This lets you launch faster and cheaper than hiring a development agency.

How to Bootstrap Your Startup Successfully

Define clear revenue milestones, focus on one niche market where you can win, and avoid distractions such as vanity press or non essential features. Maintain a simple financial model so you always know your runway and break even point.

How to Build a Competitive Moat

Identify what will be hardest for others to copy, such as proprietary data, strong brand, or deep integrations, and double down on it. Reinforce your moat over time through better onboarding, community, or additional services.

How to Build a D2C Brand

Understand your ideal customer in detail, craft a clear value proposition and visual identity, and deliver consistent experiences across website, packaging, and support. Use social proof, user generated content, and retention campaigns to build loyalty.

How to Build a Marketing Plan for Startup

Define your target segments and positioning, choose two or three main channels such as content, partnerships, or paid search, and set measurable goals for leads and revenue. Create a simple calendar, track performance weekly, and reallocate budget based on results.

How to Build a Moat

Focus on long term defensibility such as network effects, switching costs, or unique know how rather than just features. Make strategic choices that strengthen this edge, including which customers you serve and which you ignore.

How to Build a Software Startup

Start by validating a specific problem with real users, then ship a lean version that solves the core job to be done. Watch retention and feedback closely and only scale marketing once customers are sticking around and recommending you.

How to Build a Startup Team of AI Agents

Define each agent's role such as research, drafting, or support, and connect them through tools like Make or custom orchestrators. Give them clear prompts and guardrails and keep a human owner responsible for reviewing outputs and improving the system.

How to Build a Successful Startup

Solve a real and urgent problem, work closely with customers, and iterate faster than competitors while keeping costs under control. Align your team on a clear mission and metrics so every decision supports product market fit and sustainable growth.

How to Build AI Automation Workflows in Make.com

Create a scenario with a trigger such as webhook or form submission, add an AI module with a well defined prompt, and then connect the output to actions like emails or database updates. Test with sample data and add error handling before turning it on in production.

How to Build AI Startup

Choose a narrow use case where AI clearly outperforms manual work, use existing models instead of training your own at the beginning, and focus on data quality and user experience. Position your startup around the problem solved, not the model you use.

How to Build AI Tools

Wrap AI APIs in simple interfaces that solve specific workflows, such as summarizing calls or generating briefs, and integrate them into tools your users already use. Measure accuracy, latency, and user satisfaction and iterate on prompts and design.

How to Build AI Video Generation Tool Like Synthesia Open Source

Combine open source talking head models with text to speech systems, build a backend pipeline for rendering, and expose it through a simple web interface. Pay attention to hardware costs and rendering times so your pricing remains viable.

How to Build AI Video Generator Like Synthesia Open Source

Use similar components such as avatar models and speech synthesis and manage uploads, scripts, and scene configuration in your app. Optimize storage and compute and provide clear usage limits so customers understand what they are paying for.

How to Build an AI Video Generation Tool Like Synthesia Open Source

Architect a service where users provide text and optional avatar choice and your system handles lip sync and rendering via open source libraries. Design a queue and job system so you can scale processing as demand grows.

How to Build Backlinks for Free

Create genuinely useful content such as guides, templates, or tools, then reach out to relevant sites and communities to suggest your resource where it adds value. Participate in podcasts, expert roundups, and guest posts to earn links without paying.

How to Build Habit Forming Products

Use a trigger, action, reward, and investment loop where users get immediate value and reasons to return, as popularized by the Hook model. Track retention cohorts and improve onboarding until new users naturally come back.

How to Build Lasting Relationships with Clients 7 Founders Share Their Secrets

Focus on reliability, proactive communication, and delivering more value than promised, even in small ways. Ask for feedback regularly, own mistakes quickly, and treat clients as partners in a long term collaboration.

How to Build Quality Backlinks for Free

Target websites that already link to similar resources and pitch your improved or more specific content, and contribute guest articles where you share real insights. Build relationships with creators and journalists so links come naturally over time.

How to Calculate Market Size

Use top down estimates from industry reports and combine them with bottom up calculations based on number of potential customers times realistic average revenue per user. Investors trust market sizes more when your assumptions are explicit and conservative.

How to Calculate Market Size for Startup

Define your ideal customer profile, estimate how many exist in your target geographies, and multiply by realistic annual spending on your type of solution. Cross check this with third party data and adjust your narrative if numbers look inflated.

How to Calculate SOM

Start from your Serviceable Available Market and estimate what share you can realistically capture in three to five years considering your channels, pricing, and competition. Present SOM as a range with clear assumptions rather than a single heroic number.

How to Calculate SOM for Startup

Look at your expected sales capacity, marketing budget, and conversion rates and translate them into number of customers you can win, then multiply by your average revenue per customer. This gives a grounded SOM that founders and investors can challenge and refine.

How to Calculate TAM SAM SOM for a Startup

Define TAM as the total global revenue opportunity, SAM as the portion you can serve based on product and geography, and SOM as the slice you can realistically win in your first years. Use clear diagrams and numbers so readers see your logic immediately.

How to Change Competitors in Moz Pro

Open Rank Tracker in Moz Pro, go to your campaign settings, and scroll to the competitor section. Remove old domains and add new competitor URLs you want to track, then save changes to update reports.

How to Change Language in Ahrefs

Click your profile avatar in Ahrefs, go to Settings or Interface preferences, select your preferred language from the dropdown, and save. The app will reload in the language you chose.

How to Check Backlinks in Semrush

Open the Backlink Analytics tool, enter the target domain, and review the overview metrics for total backlinks, referring domains, and authority score. Drill into the Backlinks tab to see individual links and filter by type or quality.

How to Check Competition for Keywords

Enter your keyword into a tool such as Semrush or Ahrefs and note the keyword difficulty score and the authority of top ranking domains. Read the top results to understand content depth and see what you must do to compete.

How to Check Competitor Keywords

In Ahrefs Site Explorer or Semrush Domain Overview, paste your competitor domain and open the Organic Keywords report. Sort by traffic or position to see which queries bring them the most visitors.

How to Check Competitor Website Keywords

Use SEO tools to crawl or analyze the competitor domain and export their ranking keywords with positions and estimated traffic. Compare that list to your own to find gaps where you can create focused content.

How to Check Competitors Keywords

Use free or trial access to Ahrefs, Semrush, or Similarweb to see which keywords competitors rank for organically and bid on in ads. Group those keywords by themes so you can design campaigns that target the same intent.

How to Check Competitors Keywords Free on YouTube

Install extensions like TubeBuddy or use YouTube Studio to inspect tags and topics on competitor videos within your niche. Check their best performing videos and note recurring keywords in titles and thumbnails.

How to Check Competitors Keywords Free YouTube

Repeat the process of studying tags, titles, and descriptions and use YouTube autocomplete to see what people search around those topics. Prioritize keywords where competitor videos are old or low quality so you can outrank them.

How to Check Google Keyword Ranking

Use Google Search Console to see average positions for queries your site appears for, filtered by page or country. For live checks, use a rank tracker that lets you test specific locations and devices.

How to Check Google Keyword Search Volume

Open Google Keyword Planner, enter your keyword, set location and language, and read the average monthly search volume range. Treat it as an estimate and compare related keywords to choose the best target.

How to Check Google Rankings

In Google Search Console, go to the Performance report to see clicks, impressions, and average position for your queries and pages. This is usually more reliable than manual Google searches, which are personalized.

How to Check Google Rankings Free

Combine Google Search Console for your own site with free rank checker tools that give snapshots of positions. Avoid incognito manual checks, which are time consuming and still influenced by location.

How to Check Google Search Volume

Use Google Keyword Planner or a free keyword tool that pulls data from it to get monthly search ranges. Look at related keywords to find less competitive alternatives with still meaningful volume.

How to Check How Often a Keyword is Searched

Check its monthly search volume in Keyword Planner and observe trend data in Google Trends over the past year. Prefer keywords with steady or rising interest rather than those that are clearly declining.

How to Check Keyword Competition

Use a keyword difficulty metric in Ahrefs or Semrush and review the link profiles and content quality of the top ranking pages. The combination of score and qualitative review tells you how hard it will be to outrank them.

How to Check Keyword Competition on Google for YouTube Free

Enter your keyword on YouTube, note the authority and engagement of top channels and videos, and see how many have optimized titles and thumbnails. A niche with few polished videos is a good opportunity.

How to Check Keyword Difficulty

Put the keyword into a difficulty checker and see the score and recommended minimum backlinks for a top ten ranking. Compare with your current domain strength to decide if it is realistic.

How to Check Keyword Difficulty Free

Use free tiers of tools like Semrush, Ubersuggest, or Keysearch to get basic difficulty scores and SERP snapshots. Combine those with your own reading of the search results to make a judgment.

How to Check Keyword Popularity

Look at monthly search volume, Google Trends interest over time, and related queries to judge how popular and stable the keyword is. A mid volume keyword with rising trend often beats a huge but saturated one.

How to Check Keyword Position

Use a rank tracker or Search Console to see your current position for each query and monitor how it moves after content or link changes. Track only your most important keywords so you do not drown in data.

How to Check Keyword Position on Google

Use Search Console for an aggregate view and a dedicated rank checker for precise positions in specific countries and devices. Check periodically instead of daily so you focus on strategy rather than noise.

How to Check Keyword Rank

Paste your keyword and URL into a rank checker tool and choose location and device, then review your current position and any rich results. Store historical data so you can link ranking changes to specific actions.

How to Check Keyword Rank in Google

Set up a project in your SEO tool with a list of target keywords and let it track positions automatically on a schedule. Use reports to see which keywords gain or lose positions and adjust content or links accordingly.

How to Check Keyword Ranking

Combine Search Console data with external trackers so you understand both average and exact positions across many queries. Segment by brand and non brand to see where your growth opportunities lie.

How to Check Keyword Ranking in Ahrefs

Open Rank Tracker or Site Explorer in Ahrefs, select your project or domain, and check the Organic Keywords or Tracked Keywords reports. Filter by country, device, and position range to focus on near win terms around positions 5 to 20.

How to Check Keyword Ranking in Google

Use Search Console first, as it comes directly from Google and is free, and group queries by page to see which content drives which keywords. For more detailed SERP views, complement it with a third party tracker.

How to Check Keyword Ranking on Google

View performance metrics in Search Console and check a few key queries manually in an unbiased browser or via a rank checker when you need to see the actual SERP layout. Remember that personalization and location always influence what you see.

How to Check Keyword Search Volume

Enter your keyword into Keyword Planner or another keyword tool, set location, and export the volume data. Use ranges to compare potential topics and decide whether a term is worth a dedicated page.

How to Check Keyword Search Volume in Google

Create or log in to a Google Ads account, open Keyword Planner, and run a search for your keyword in the Discover New Keywords section. Adjust country and language and read the average monthly searches and competition level.

How to Check Keyword Traffic

Use Ahrefs, Semrush, or similar tools to estimate how much organic traffic each keyword brings to your pages based on ranking and click through rates. Validate with GA4 by looking at landing page traffic and tying it back to the main keywords each page targets.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.

Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain

Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
  • Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
  • She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
  • Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
  • Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
  • She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
  • Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
  • Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
  • She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
  • Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
Violetta likes to write about Startup News in Europe, Best startups of the year, Latest Startup News, Building your first startup, Startup News for Female Founders in Europe, News for Female Entrepreneurs and Engineering News

About the Publication

Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.

Mission and Purpose

Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.

Key Features

The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
  • Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
  • Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
  • AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
  • SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
  • Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
  • Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials

Impact and Growth

Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
  • 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
  • 100+ startup tools built
  • 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
  • 1,000 unique business ideas for women created

Partnerships

Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.

Recognition

Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
2025-12-19 19:19 FAQ