Founders, where did you find real guidance early on?

As a first-time founder, figuring things out in the early stages feels like playing darts in the dark. Especially so when you're building something enterprise-facing or education-focused: it’s hard to know where to even look for non-technical direction.

We’ve mostly been applying to accelerators and incubators for mentorship and the occasional resource from university, but outside of that, I’ve realized I have no real map now that we're finishing prototyping our product.

Cold DMs help sometimes, and the internet’s full of advice but most of it either assumes you're a growth god or already funded. So i’m wondering, what's worked for you?

Where have you actually found guidance, mentorship, or even just honest direction (especially as you're beginning your journey building)?

Whether it’s distribution, feedback, or just about knowing which way is up — I'd love to hear what helped!