Built for the founder doing all of it.
Smallness began with a simple question: what if building a business came with a checklist instead of a search bar? Created by Basal House, it turns founder stories, small business lessons, and sprawling to-dos into steps small enough to actually finish.
Three things we're stubborn about.
Small steps, actually finished
A business plan you never finish helps nobody. We break the work into steps small enough to check off between customers — and the checking off is the point.
Plain language, always
No MBA vocabulary, no thirty-page PDFs. If we can’t explain something in a paragraph you can act on today, we rewrite it until we can.
Borrowed from real founders
Every checklist traces back to someone who actually did it — what worked, what didn’t, and what they’d skip if they started over tomorrow.
Fewer browser tabs. Clearer next steps.
Smallness started in 2021, after I began talking with small business owners and sharing their stories. The more I listened, the clearer it became that the most useful parts of those conversations were the small, practical steps — what to set up, what to avoid, what to try next.
Smallness became a way to turn those lessons into checklists, so people building something of their own could close a few browser tabs and focus on the next small step.
The whole playbook, kept small on purpose.
Checklists for the work
Branding, SEO, e-commerce, marketing, operations, launch planning, and the small business steps that are easier once they have a place to live.
Founder spotlights
Real stories from people building something of their own — with lessons you can turn into action, not just inspiration.
Free, on every device
iOS, Android, and the web — your lists follow you. No credit card, no trial countdown.
Ready to make your list?
Start with one small thing today. Your ideas, checklists, and next steps will be ready when you are.