- #founder-interviews
- #case-studies
- #newsletter
- #youtube
Submit to Starter Story
A publication (now part of HubSpot) that interviews founders about how they started, grew and run their businesses, as written case studies and videos. Readers are aspiring and current founders looking for business ideas with real numbers behind them. Being featured gets you a case study page with links to your product, plus possible reach through their newsletter and social channels.
starterstory.com · Checked
Starter Story at a glance
- Pricing
- Free
- The Share Your Story page says there is no cost to be featured.
- Link type
- Dofollow
- Case studies https://www.starterstory.com/stories/the-insanely-obvious-secret-behind-this-69k-month-saas (link to usefastlane.ai) and https://www.starterstory.com/stories/i-failed-for-700-days-before-my-app-hit-10k-month (link to visualizee.ai) have no rel attribute (checked 2026-09-24)
- Review
- Manual review
- Link back required
- No
- Account required
- Yes
- Domain Rating
- DR76
- Domain Rating by Ahrefs, checked Sep 24, 2026. A score of the whole site’s backlinks, not a Google metric.
- Tranco rank
- #115,196
- Research top-sites ranking. Lower is more popular.
- Who browses it
- Aspiring and early-stage founders looking for proven business ideas and growth stories
- Last checked
How to submit to Starter Story
Open the Starter Story submission page
This is the page makers use to add a product.
Create an account
Starter Story asks you to sign up before you can submit.
Have your assets ready
Name, tagline, description, logo and screenshots. The checklist below covers what to prepare so you can fill the form in one go.
Fill in the form carefully
Pick the most specific category the form offers and write the description for the people who browse Starter Story (Aspiring and early-stage founders looking for proven business ideas and growth stories), not for search engines.
Wait for review
A person reviews submissions, so it can take a while. Once it’s live, check the link on your listing points to the right page.
Tips for Starter Story
- Log in or sign up first; the share page only lets signed-in users submit their information.
- Stories are built around how you got started and grew, and titles lead with revenue, so come ready to share real numbers.
- It's an editorial pick, not a directory listing, so pitch a story with a clear arc (the problem, the first customers, what worked).
From Starter Story’s own guidelines and pages, in our words.
What to prepare
The basics every directory asks for, plus what matters most for startup directories.
- Product name and a one-line tagline (about 60 characters)
- A short description (1–2 sentences) and a longer one (a short paragraph)
- Square logo, at least 256×256 px, PNG or SVG
- 2–3 screenshots at a consistent size
- The exact page you want the link to point to
- Pricing model (free, freemium or paid) and a contact email
- Your stage (idea, beta, launched) and the year you started
- Founder names and a short founder story (2–3 sentences)
- Funding status, only if you share it publicly
- A launch or beta date if you are not live yet
Is Starter Story worth it?
Good for your SEO foundation
Starter Story reviews listings by hand and the listing link we inspected was followed. That combination is what makes a directory link worth having for a new site.
- Domain Rating by Ahrefs: 76 (very strong). That's the strength of links to the whole site, not a promise about what your listing passes on.
- Tranco rank #115,196: a mid-sized site, inside the top 500,000.
- A person reviews submissions, so expect a wait and a real quality bar.
- Free to list, so the only cost is your time.
This verdict is worked out from the facts above with fixed rules (link type, review, price, Domain Rating by Ahrefs, Tranco rank), not paid for. The directory has no say in it.
Questions about Starter Story
Is Starter Story free?
Yes. Listing on Starter Story is free. Pricing details: The Share Your Story page says there is no cost to be featured. We checked on Sep 24, 2026.
Does Starter Story give a dofollow link?
Yes. The listing link we inspected was a followed (dofollow) link. Evidence: Case studies https://www.starterstory.com/stories/the-insanely-obvious-secret-behind-this-69k-month-saas (link to usefastlane.ai) and https://www.starterstory.com/stories/i-failed-for-700-days-before-my-app-hit-10k-month (link to visualizee.ai) have no rel attribute (checked 2026-09-24).
How do I submit to Starter Story?
Submit at https://www.starterstory.com/share. You need an account first. A person reviews each submission before it goes live. Tip: Log in or sign up first; the share page only lets signed-in users submit their information.
Alternatives to Starter Story
All startup directoriesNot published · DR 91 · Tranco #3,231
Free · DR 78 · Tranco #13,855
Free + paid options · DR 87 · Tranco #16,332
Free + paid options · DR 78 · Tranco #38,078
Free · DR 81 · Tranco #38,771
Free · DR 72 · Tranco #102,050
Also in these lists
Starter Story appears on these niche lists, next to other places to submit the same kind of product.
Sources
The pages we opened on Sep 24, 2026 to write this page.