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Top Hat Raises $22.5M Series C in a Tough Vertical: What Can We Learn from their Success

Version One Ventures

Generally speaking, Ed Tech has proven to be a tough vertical, primarily due to the fact that it’s hard to charge consumers (students) directly. As such, Top Hat can provide key lessons for early-stage companies: 1. They focused on revenue early on. And selling to institutions requires a long sales cycle. They hustle.

Vertical 131
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Vertical Markets 2: Customer/Market Risk versus Invention Risk.

Steve Blank

Steve,&# he said, “you’re missing the most interesting part of vertical markets. Reply steveblank , on May 29, 2009 at 8:58 pm Said: David, Technical differentiation is a business school checklist. Customer/Market Risk Versus Invention Risk One day I was having lunch with a VC sharing what I learned from my students.

Vertical 148
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Am I a Founder? The Adventure of a Lifetime. « Steve Blank

Steve Blank

Posted on June 11, 2009 by steveblank When my students ask me about whether they should be a founder or cofounder of a startup I ask them to take a walk around the block and ask themselves: Are you comfortable with: Chaos – startups are disorganized Uncertainty – startups never go per plan Are you: Resilient – at times you will fail – badly.

Cofounder 224
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“Speed and Tempo” – Fearless Decision Making for Startups « Steve.

Steve Blank

Filed under: Customer Development , Technology | Tagged: Customer Development , Early Stage Startup , Entrepreneurs , Startups , Steve Blank « SuperMac War Story 6: Building The Killer Team – Mission, Intent and Values Story Behind “The Secret History” Part IV: Library Hours at an Undisclosed Location » 17 Responses Michael F.

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supermac War Story 1: Joining supermac

Steve Blank

Filed under: SuperMac | Tagged: Early Stage Startup , Steve Blank « There’s a Pattern Here SuperMac War Story 2: Facts Exist Outside the Building, Opinions Reside Within – So Get the Hell Outside the Building » Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply. Nothing I couldn’t fix. I took the job.

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The Customer Development Manifesto: The Startup Death Spiral (part.

Steve Blank

Reply Twitter Trackbacks for The Customer Development Manifesto: The Startup Death Spiral (part 3) « Steve Blank [steveblank.com] on Topsy.com , on September 7, 2009 at 1:25 pm Said: [.] Reply links for 2009-09-07 « Blarney Fellow , on September 7, 2009 at 6:10 pm Said: [.]

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Customer Development Fireside Chat

Steve Blank

Reply John Muldoon , on July 9, 2009 at 1:52 pm Said: This was really fabulous to watch. luck… and as one of Steve Blank’s posts today mentioned, you can’t test hypotheses from within your building. How do I get in the room next time? Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Digg 3 Column by WP Designer.