saas · indie · b2b
The Startup INC: requirements, how to submit, and what you actually get
A free startup listing that wants a founder story, with two fields that silently demand 500 characters each and a nofollow at the end.
thestartupinc.com
Eligibility
Who The Startup INC accepts
You need
A live website and a contact email
Around a thousand words about the company, split across eight prose questions
A founding date, an industry and a headcount
You'll be rejected if
Anyone who only has a tagline, since two of the fields refuse anything under 500 characters
Anyone hoping for a followed link, because a live listing's outbound anchor is nofollow
StartupsSaaS productsIndie products
What you actually get
A listing page under /startup/ built from the long answers you wrote, with room for a promo video and app store links. The outbound link on a live listing is rel="nofollow" and routed with their own utm_source, so what this buys is a written profile and whatever traffic it draws.
How to submit to The Startup INC
- Open the form/submit-startup/ holds the whole thing. No account, no payment, no captcha.
- Fill the factsStartup name, a one-line definition, founding date, industry, headcount from a select, headquarters, socials, email, phone, website, and optional links for a promo video and Android and iOS apps.
- Write the storySeven prose fields: milestones, about the startup, the problem you solve, who it is for, what makes you stand out, future plans, and about the founders.
- SubmitOne button, and a Thank you line on success. Two of the prose fields reject anything under 500 characters with only a "The field is too short" tip.
The Startup INC requirements
Startup name and website
both required
A one-line definition
what you do
Founding date
a date picker
Industry and headcount
free text and a select
About the startup
500 characters minimum
About the founders
500 characters minimum
Problem, audience, differentiator, plans
prose, each its own field
Contact email
where they reply
Promo video, Android and iOS linksoptional
Gotchas
Two of the prose fields will not accept under 500 characters and the form says so only after a rejected submit, with a tip reading "The field is too short" and no number in it.
It asks for eight separate pieces of prose about the company, so this is an hour of writing rather than a paste from a pack.
A live listing's outbound link is nofollow and carries their own utm_source, so the listing is worth reading traffic and not link equity.
The page carries a site search box whose button is also a submit, so pressing the wrong one navigates to a search results page and loses everything typed.
Let your agent submit to The Startup INC
Connect SubmitMap to your AI over MCP and this page stops being something you read and copy. Your agent asks for the The Startup INC playbook and gets the brief for this exact form, with the values already taken from your submission pack instead of placeholders you fill in by hand.
What it does for this platform
Checks your product against the 5 The Startup INC rules above, so you find out you would be rejected before you open a tab.
Hands your agent all 9 fields this form asks for, 1 of them optional, already filled from your pack.
Types it into The Startup INC in your own browser, and stops for you when the form wants a sign-in.
Records what it sent, so the dashboard can answer "did I ever submit to The Startup INC?".
Connect your agentHow this worksTools and endpointsWorks with Claude Code, Claude, Codex, Cursor, VS Code and Hermes.
The Startup INC FAQ
How long does The Startup INC approval take?
The Startup INC does not publish how long approval takes.
How much does it cost to submit to The Startup INC?
Submitting to The Startup INC is free.
Does The Startup INC give a dofollow backlink?
No, links from The Startup INC are nofollow. The site has a domain rating of 32.
Does The Startup INC require a backlink to your site?
No, The Startup INC does not require a link back from your site.
What gets you rejected from The Startup INC?
Anyone who only has a tagline, since two of the fields refuse anything under 500 characters; Anyone hoping for a followed link, because a live listing's outbound anchor is nofollow.