A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

Freshman Salesman writes: I’ve read somewhere in your blog about how you had a very large organisation as the first customer for your software. I’m putting myself in the same boat now with the solution I’m developing so could you tell me: 1. How did you reach out to your first customer? I didn’t.

Customer 231

Customer Software Review IP Technical Review 231

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

This product development diagram had become part of the DNA of Silicon Valley. That’s in stark contrast to the traditional Product Development Model where it’s expected a customer is already there and waiting and it’s simply a matter of [.] familiar with Customer Development you should be.

Product Development 146

Product Development Developer Silicon Valley Product 146

Steve Blank

AUGUST 8, 2016

Ryan Smith co-founded Qualtrics in 2002 with his father in the family basement. But in the corporate world in 2002, no one was ready for it. I specifically remember calling one airline, and they said, “Hey look, if our customers aren’t happy, they’ll just call us.” Clips from their interviews are below.

Cofounder 146

Cofounder New York City Entrepreneur New York 146

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2015

In a major break from the past, where the military designed all its own weapons, 10,000 scientists and engineers from academia worked in civilian-run weapons labs (most headquartered in universities) in an organization called the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD). In Afghanistan in 2002 U.S. corporations.).

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Afghanistan Iraq Kuwait 120

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 30, 2009

I thought Id share a little bit of that, too: I’ve been interested in different approaches to software development going back to 1987 when – in my first company Feld Technologies – my partner Dave Jilk and I started talking about “semi-custom software development&# (way ahead of its time).

Lean 68

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 68

Steve Blank

AUGUST 8, 2016

Ryan Smith co-founded Qualtrics in 2002 with his father in the family basement. But in the corporate world in 2002, no one was ready for it. I specifically remember calling one airline, and they said, “Hey look, if our customers aren’t happy, they’ll just call us.” Clips from their interviews are below.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder New York City Entrepreneur New York 120

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 13, 2014

in 2002, so they built what they thought the industry needed and people would want. As regular readers of this blog will know I’m a big fan of methodologies like lean, design thinking, and customer development. In his new startup Michael is rigorously applying lean principles.

Lean 122

Lean Portfolio Design Customer Development 122