If I am looking to build and deploy dApps on the AVAX network, where do you suggest I start?
First you want to set up your development environment. For that you'll want to install GoLang version >= 1.15.5 and set up it's $GOPATH. Next install AvalancheGo which is the official node implementation of the Avalanche network.
Now you can fire up a 5 node staking network:
./avash