Since launching From Little Things in September, we’ve interviewed more people than we could count, attended loads of events, and immersed ourselves in the world of startups.

And we’ve discovered they really are a world unto themselves. While there is a common language and experience that all founders share, startups are like snowflakes — each one is unique. Rules that apply for one company don’t necessarily apply to another. Many things about a startup need be figured out for the first time, every time.

Although a mentor with a track record of growing successful company can offer great insights, they can’t ever know your business better than you. So instead of learning what to do, founders need to learn how to figure out what to do. In other words, founders who know how to seek out information, learn how to test, how to build, will be better founders than anyone who has a flawless comprehension of business theory.

That brings me to this edifying quote about teaching. In the late 18^th century, American founding father Benjamin Franklin imparted this wisdom: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

Now, hundreds of years later, the tools and technology may have changed, but human experience has not. We learn best by experiencing, by empathising, by understanding. In fact, by being involved.

For FLT, the ambition is to play anthropologist to Australian startups. It’s become more apparent as we’ve spent time chatting with startups, investors, and government, that our role needs to be one that helps founders get better at the ‘how’; get better at involving, and leaving the telling to others.

We’ve written before about the need for Australian founders to be more honest when it comes to their experience, yet last week even we were surprised at the overwhelmingly positive reaction to our story on the Arribaa founders’ decision to give up on the idea of the marketplace for local travel experiences.

It’s been one of our most popular posts this year. The comments have been overwhelmingly positive. The startup community has reached out to say a big thanks to Colette Grgic and team for being so open about their experience. People felt that it was a useful story about why startups sometimes fail. The important question is knowing how to determine when it’s time to move on. Sometimes startups don’t work.

This past fortnight, we’ve introduced you to the 2013 Startmate teams. And now that you’ve met the 20-odd founders, we’re looking forward to sharing their experiences with you, involving you in their journey. It’s the quest to find customers, build a product people want. They’ll all need to make tough decisions, ultimately changing courses many times — the natural journey of a startup.

We were in-part inspired by journalist Randall Stross’ efforts in documenting the journey of the 60 or so companies that took part in the Y Combinator incubator in his book, The Launch Pad (worth the read). We’re not writing a book, but we hope to paint a clearer picture of what it’s like launching a company in Australia, and taking it to the U.S. We plan to use the flexibility offered by the web; expect some more video. Also expect discussion of issues the companies face — pricing, hiring, raising money, and reaching your wits’ end trying to get customers. The goal for us is to take you on the journey, and do so with humility, and respect for these businesses.

Indeed, some of them may be very successful, others will not. Some will raise money in the next few months, others won’t. So, why are we blogging the program? From Little Things is about sharing the stories and lessons of Australian startups, in order to help startup founders be better at what they do.

What better way to do so than tracking a number of actual companies over the coming months? Indeed, it’s an opportunity to observe the real-life trials and tribulations of launching a company — up-close and over a period of time.

So, tell us what you want to read about. How should we cover the journey? How should we involve you?