Well we try to build on infrastructure to begin with, get our ducks in a row.
First build up robotics, this gives you more points right away. give you a for instance.
Start your first 5 points on robotics, this will take you to level 2 and give you 2 points. When you get your next 8 points also put that into robotics to give you 3 production points per hour. The spend your next 5 on hydroponics, this will speed up your population. your next 5 points on cybernetics, this will speed up your next culture spot for a new planet. Then start over again with robotics get two more levels, then another in hydroponics and anther in cybernetics, then you can spend some more on the other basics. As the population goes up so do your production points. Population adds to production and science.
In the meantime you work on science like social science and Biology. If your social science is 6 points higher than a given population then in 24 hours it will boost a planet up by 1, that's a bonus. Biology gives you a larger map area. you can click on those sciences and read more about them.
When you get 10 planets we work on fleets and trade agreements, and then it gets more interesting.