Steve Blank

OCTOBER 4, 2010

Over time the idea that winners in new markets are the ones who have been the first (not just early) entrants into their categories became unchallenged conventional wisdom in Silicon Valley. The irony is that in a retrospective paper ten years later (1998), [ 2 ] the authors backed off from their claims. First to have a working model.

Silicon Valley 317

Silicon Valley Differentiation United States Customer Development 317

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

But nine months after the first call was made in 1998, Iridium was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They made other assumptions about the type of sales channel, partnerships and revenue model they would need. In the eleven years since they had been at work, Iridium’s potential market had shrunk nearly every day. What went wrong?

Business Plan 335

Business Plan Customer Business Model Customer Development 335

K9 Ventures

AUGUST 13, 2010

We really were doing the i-thing before Apple came out with its first iMac in 1998. Heck, it had to work, since we built it in close consultation with the customer. I tell these stories to lay the groundwork for what I am going to call Revenue Development. Does it change as you open new market segments or territories?

Revenue 72

Revenue Developer Java Customer Development 72

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

The Golden Age (1970 – 1995): Build a growing business with a consistently profitable track record (after at least 5 quarters,) and go public when it’s time. Dot.com Bubble ( 1995-2000): “ Anything goes” as public markets clamor for ideas, vague promises of future growth, and IPOs happen absent regard for history or profitability.

Internet 334

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 334

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 23, 2012

.” Here’s the summary of his track record (excerpted from the Fast Company article): Forefront — IPO’ed in 1995 by CBT — CBT stock fell 85% in 1998 and prompted class-action lawsuits. OneBox.com — On $60m invested, sold for $850m 18 months after launch to J2 just before market crash — score!

IPO 240

IPO Flash Bootstrapping Private Equity 240

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

Berkeley Pizza: from pizza in the farmer's market to a sit-down restaurant. One example is in their marketing, which in today's environment requires providing value. This doesn't mean pointing to the product and describing the product's value, but rather the marketing provides value itself.

Lean 167

Lean Entrepreneur Agile San Francisco 167

rob.by

MARCH 8, 2012

Whilst the average tech entrepreneur may lack some of the more business relationship, networking, and sales/marketing skills – they still need to have an entrepreneurial mindset, understand financial models, market factors, and how the business ultimately makes money. be a sensible devil’s advocate).

Technical Cofounder 42

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Engineering Fractional CTO 42