Steve Blank

article thumbnail

The Difference Between Innovators and Entrepreneurs

Steve Blank

Building a company takes very different skills than building a neural net in Python or decentralized blockchain apps in Ethereum. Some of these world-class innovators get recruited by large companies like professional athletes, with paychecks to match. Being a domain expert in a technology field rarely makes you competent in commerce.

article thumbnail

ESADE Business School Commencement Speech

Steve Blank

It’s worth noting that everything from the Internet, to electric cars, genomic sequencing, mobile apps, and social media — were pioneered by startups, not existing companies. Metrics like Return on Net Assets, Return on Capital and Internal Rate of Return are the guiding stars of the board and CEO.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Dalhousie University Commencement Speech – 2017

Steve Blank

Your brains have been rewired to process all this Net-based information. The Net is like we invented writing, the printing press, radio, TV and the Internet in the same decade. That’s the world you’re graduating into – immersed in social media, with infinite facts and continuous news. And that was in New York City.

article thumbnail

Guns and Cyber Security

Steve Blank

The analogy of comparing the net with guns might seem stretched, but I think it’s an apt one. Yet for most of them safety online remains a problem for other people. It pretty clear that for a company going online today is equivalent to playing with a loaded gun. Lessons Learned. The web is not a benign environment.

Security 258
article thumbnail

Intel Disrupted: Why large companies find it difficult to innovate, and what they can do about it

Steve Blank

Disruptive innovations are coming from startups – Telsa for automobiles, Uber for taxis, Airbnb for hotel rentals, Netflix for video rentals and Facebook for media. As a consequence, corporations used metrics like return on net assets (RONA), return on capital deployed, and internal rate of return (IRR) to measure efficiency.

article thumbnail

Guns and Cyber Security

Steve Blank

The analogy of comparing the net with guns might seem stretched, but I think it’s an apt one. Yet for most of them safety online remains a problem for other people. It pretty clear that for a company going online today is equivalent to playing with a loaded gun. Lessons Learned. The web is not a benign environment.

Security 152
article thumbnail

The Fatal Flaw of the Three Horizons Model and How To Fix It

Steve Blank

For example, Uber took existing technology (smartphone app, drivers) but built a unique business model ( gig economy disrupting taxis) and the Russians used existing social media tools to wage political warfare. This can be a contract with a single startup or a broader net to incentivize many.

China 295