ReadWriteStart

Startups face a lot of challenges, but putting together the tools and infrasture they need to get up and running shouldn't be one of them. Startups need to minimize cost and effort so they can focus on brewing their secret sauce, but they can't afford to look like amateurs.

That's where ReadWriteRecommends comes in. The Startup Toolkit identifies the top tools in seven critical categories: productivity, project management, accounting, file sharing, payments, web content management and support. Some of these tools are consumer-grade. Others are used by the world's largest corporations. And they're all just the right size for startups.

In my last post on ReadWriteStart, I talked about how, in many cases, it wasn't an advantage to build your start-up in stealth mode. As a continuation of that theme, I thought it would be interesting to explore five tools you can use to iterate and improve your startup idea before writing one line of code. There is nothing worse than building a tool no one is interested in, so I'd encourage you to consider these options before starting down the path of building your next startup.

Specifically, these five tools can help you do three critical activities before starting to write a line of code: create a wireframe, get feedback from the target market and test value proposition through multiple landing pages.

This morning Canadian startup accelerator Bootup Labs showcased some of its program graduates at Plug and Play Center's Sunnyvale location. While a number of the companies show promise, it was a gaming product that caught our attention. DimeRocker is offering developers a chance to elevate the level of gaming experiences and monetization on sites like Facebook, Myspace and Bebo.

Over the weekend we had a chance to highlight Graphic.ly - a company that opted to release early (and imperfectly) in exchange for valuable user feedback. As companies look to their peers and audiences to help define product features, there's a greater need for scalable testing platforms. Here's a summary of eight useful services that will help put you on the path to product greatness.