21 Thought Leaders Tweeting About #Startups

Creating and developing a successful startup is not all glitz, glamor, and magazine interviews. It's a lot of hard work and long nights producing something out of nothing. Thankfully, there are a lot of people who want budding entrepreneurs to succeed — and they're all writing tips and articles full of great advice. The problem now is: how do you find the best of the best to make sure your startup is heading in the right direction?

With all of the information floating around out there, there is one go-to source for aggregated advice on creating a successful startup plan: Twitter.

It's impossible to find and list all the great accounts you can follow — and we're not even going to try — but we'll give you a good starting place. Here are 21 startup movers and shakers we think you need in your feed to get great advice on following your dream idea, hiring the best team, and creating a successful startup business.

(If we're missing your favorite startup thought leader, add your Tweetspirations in the comments!)

Our Suggested Follows for #StartupAdvice on Twitter

Individuals to Follow

1. Paul Graham — Co-founder of Y Combinator. Tweets startup news, often related to YC companies, and also shares articles and advice for startups and small businesses. Posts at a human pace, AKA as often as he sees fit; some days only twice, some days more than six times.

2. Jason Calacanis — Serial entrepreneur and investor. Founder of Weblogs Inc. and Open Angel Forum, among others. Follow him for entrepreneurship advice and business news. Fun fact: he has a dedicated (and well-earned) following of Jason fans. Seriously. His tweet frequency: He will certainly not leave your feed empty.

What I learned running The LAUNCH Incubator for 12 weeks http://t.co/LQVQFIe9qR

— jason (@Jason) March 12, 2015

3. Dave McClure — Founding partner at 500 Startups accelerator. He retweets a lot of  successful startup news and articles about better business practices. Tweets frequently throughout the day.

4. Fred Wilson — Venture Capitalist. Mostly sharing links to good articles and interesting startup business information. Unlike most of the names on this list, he keeps his messages to a humble 1-2 tweets per day.

5. Charles Dixon — Investor, entrepreneur. The only news-centric tweeter included on this list, because Dixon tweets about startup news you should probably keep your eye on: drones, bitcoin, the growth of the tech industry, and a sprinkle of business humor to break up your too-serious Twitter feed. Shares articles throughout the day, all day, every day.

6. Sam Altman — If you're interested in startup investment, Sam Altman is your man. As president of Y Combinator, about 90% of his tweets deal with smart investing, bad investing, and companies that are doing well after recent investment. Tweet frequency: a few times per day, with days of productivity (i.e. no tweeting) in between.

how to be successful: focus, choose a good market, believe in yourself, and learn to identify unproven talent

— Sam Altman (@sama) March 11, 2015

7. Eric Knopf — Co-founder of his own company, he tweets advice for the human side of people behind successful companies: how to stay organized, motivation for the days when you aren't feeling it, and, of course, some tips for making your business boom. Tweet frequency: some days he's completely silent, other days he tweets over 10 times.

8. Martin Zwilling — A veteran in the startup field, he has great advice on what it takes to start a company and succeed. Only tweets a few times a day for a very manageable (not overwhelming) feed-filler.

9. Roy Povarchik — Startup mentor and growth hacker. Tweets good advice for all businesses, but especially useful information for companies just starting out. Tweet frequency: upwards of 5 times per day.

10. Omar Mohout — Entrepreneur turned startup mentor. Tweets advice for the best mindset, basic principles for successful startups, and shares educational resources like eBooks and webinars. Tweet frequency: daily (almost hourly), and occasionally in French.

Why #Startups fail #96: The product doesn’t uniquely solve a big enough (no viable business) & frequent (no viable market) problem #GoTechEU

— Omar Mohout (@omohout) March 11, 2015

11. Gordon Daugherty — Angel investor and startup mentor. Shares frequently about startup money matters and advice for growing your customer base. Tweets once a day, if at all.

12. Alex Turnbull — Startup founder and CEO at Groove. Shares incredibly helpful, insightful posts from his company's blog (mostly related to their business success), as well as quotes and products he enjoys. Full of great advice for any new entrepreneur. He's also known to pose questions he actually wants answered — a rare treat. Tweet frequency: a handful of times per week.

Businesses to Follow

13. 500 Startups — Startup accelerator program spreading startup news and trends to help you build a relevant, talked-about business. Tweet frequency: multiple times per day, almost every day.

14. Y Combinator — Popular startup incubator in the Bay Area. Their Twitter account shares startup success stories and advice articles. Tweet frequency: a few times per day, but has been known to sleep on slow news days.

The 1st episode of Startup School Radio with @harris is on SiriusXM's Business Radio right now! First guest is reddit's @alexisohanian .

— Y Combinator (@ycombinator) March 11, 2015

15. OPEN Forum — The Q&A site run by American Express, their Twitter account shares popular articles and Q&As from their site with tips on popular tools used to run startups, social media, customer relationships, and more. Only tweets 1-2 times per day. Nothing too overwhelming.

16. Idealab — Startup accelerator tweeting startup stories and business advice. They dish out tips on everything from sales to customer success. Tweet frequency: multiple times throughout the day.

17. The Lean Startup — Foundation of the Lean Startup movement. Tweets cool talks and articles about things every startup needs to care about, especially if they're trying to run lean. Tweet frequency: at least 5 times per day, 7 days per week.

On how to say no without burning bridges, from @HarvardBiz . http://t.co/Ug4ccJ1iZm

— The Lean Startup (@leanstartup) March 2, 2015

18. Upstart Business — An online business journal that shares startup news, mostly from their own site. Tweet frequency: sharing articles at all hours of the day, every day.

19. Bplans — Business blog featuring tips and tricks for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Tweet frequency: anywhere from one to "blow-up-your-feed" times per day.

20. Bootstrappers.io — Online community of business bootstrappers sharing articles on everything from getting your first customer to the best startup office locations. Tweet frequency: 2-3 times a day.

21. Entrepreneur Quotes — Motivational quotes for entrepreneurs. It's a good place to get a reality check or a kick in the right direction when you feel like the entire world is against you. Tweet frequency: 1-2 times per day.

Add them to your feed!

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Who are your favorite startup thought leaders on Twitter? Share your inspirations with us in the comments, and we'll check them out and add them to our Twitter list!