K9 Ventures

AUGUST 13, 2010

In the end the revenue simply wasn’t enough to make a sustainable business and so we had to switch gears once more (in today’s parlance that would be a “Pivot”). We were a tiny web-conferencing startup in Pittsburgh called iMeet. Over the course of that relationship that lasted several years, we did over $1M in revenue just from HP.

Revenue 72

Revenue Developer Java Customer Development 72

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 8, 2008 The lean startup Ive been thinking for some time about a term that could encapsulate trends that are changing the startup landscape. After some trial and error, Ive settled on the Lean Startup. Of course, many startups are capital efficient and generally frugal.

Lean 168

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 168

ReadWriteStart

MAY 22, 2012

When it comes to financing a brand-new startup, most founders find themselves stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. While some lucky startups attract angel investors or have access to money from friends and family, the vast majority are on their own, at least at first. Beware Revolving Credit Charges.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Software Review Angel Investor Startup 118

YoungUpstarts

JULY 14, 2015

Successful startups most always don’t happen overnight. It is important, however, to minimize mistakes early on so that you can continue to shape and grow your startup into a successful business. Having taken stock of my own hard-earned lessons, here are 5 tips on how to minimize typical startup missteps: 1. Culture Fit.

Startup 100

Startup Agile Sales Conversion 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

billion jump in funding over the same quarter of 2010 with a similar number of deals, so it clearly shows a trend to larger deal sizes for fewer startups. To me, this indicates that venture capitalists (VCs) are looking for business, but not from first-time startups. Overall, investors put $7.5 That represents a $1.5

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. In 2010 I deconstructed the filings for GameFly and Quinstreet. GameFly filed in 2010 and remains in registration, though 2011 has seen a positive start for VC-backed IPOs with 14 in Q1 2011. Filing Date: initial S-1 filed Nov 17, 2010 , updated March 9, 2011.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

After 20 years of working in startups, I decided to take a step back and look at the product development model I had been following and see why it usually failed to provide useful guidance in activities outside the building – sales, marketing and business development.

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Five Quarters of Profitability During the 1980’s and through the mid 1990’s startups going public had to do something that most companies today never heard of – they had to show a track record of increasing revenue and consistent profitability. They taught you about customers, markets and profits.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Eric Friedman

MAY 9, 2019

In this constant struggle, I learned (definitely the hard way) that Revenue = Resources. When I was first on the BD team at Foursquare we would optimize many of the initiatives and strategic partnerships around brand recognition and exposure – there was no scalable revenue to speak of.

Revenue 60

Revenue Warrant Early Stage Cofounder 60

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

There's a lot out there around Customer Development - read Steve Blank : Entrepreneurship as a Science – The Business Model/Customer Development Stack - Steve Blank , October 25, 2010 Checklists for Chaos, The Path to Success - Steve Blank , October 28, 2010 and reading about Lean, MVPs, etc. is a requirement. It's required reading.

Valuation 198

Valuation Revenue Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 198

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 8, 2019

In 2010, Kranthi was hired as a full-time software engineer by International Technological University (ITU), the Silicon Valley industry-oriented school where he had earned his second MS degree. The software generates instant dynamic reports, such as financial revenue, gender ratio, and more. Looking to Solve Problems.

Technical Review 121

Technical Review CTO Hire Silicon Valley Software Engineering 121

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Another topic we debated early in the program was “lean startup” vs. “ fat startup ” where we both took the obvious hedge and said “it depends.” But truthfully both Dana and I are more aligned with the lean startup principles and believe you only go FAT when you’ve really proved out your product / market fit.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

YoungUpstarts

MAY 28, 2014

” Getting some revenue from at least 3 clients (proving that there’s value to what you’re doing) would be fantastic, but other types of traction and validation would help too. Good examples include: Ycombinator, Techstars, Startup health and Rock health. Enter Competitions and Incubators. Solve a Real World Problem.

Security 178

Security Incubator Technical Review Bootstrapping 178

venturedig.com

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

In social networking, they’re ever-changing, backed by eye-opening revenue and have very little documentation. When you’re a small startup, this is nearly impossible. The concept of virtual currency is profoundly simple , however, the numbers and revenue this churns out is eye-opening (see table below).

Social Network 55

Social Network Business Model Networking CPA 55

Steve Blank

APRIL 9, 2009

If these sound like reasonable answers to you, and you are in a startup/small company, update your resume. Most startups put together a corporate mission statement because the CEO remembered seeing one at their last job, or the investors said they needed one. What I was actually hearing was a failure of management.

Silicon Valley 259

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS PR 259

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2012

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Both companies generate direct revenue from their platform in the form of a revenue share / platform tax (typically 30%) on software and digital goods sold through the respective platforms. Apple generated nearly $130B in revenue in 2011. How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC.

Java 170

Java Flash Software Azure 170

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 16, 2011

During today's roundtable, we had four Microsoft BizSpark Startup India Challenge grant finalists present. 10Screens is currently also a finalist in the Microsoft BizSpark India Startup Challenge. In fact, they generated $100k in revenues over the last year, since they first pitched at one of our roundtables.

India 123

India Bootstrapping Non-Compete Entrepreneur 123

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. They’ve grown from nothing to >$2B in revenue in 30 months time, making the company among the fastest growing businesses in the histroy of the world. How They Make Money: Groupon keeps a share of the coupon value (typically 40-50%) as its net revenue (1). June 5, 2011.

North America 100

North America Chicago Boston Silicon Valley 100

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

This tendency is a two edged sword: by iterating strategy a startup can dramatically improve the size and trajectory of the company, but at times this process can be the bane of venture investors (and why they have prematurely grey hair.)

Customer 195

Customer Silicon Valley RSS California 195

Altgate

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

We tried to provide a framework for startups to think about what activities should be outsourced and why. What kind of startup outsources everything? Well, you’re right, most don’t, but one example of a startup that does is PlentyOfFish. Also, most startup attorneys will do deferred payment plans.

Software Review 65

Software Review Offshore Startup Boston 65

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. but: Something is Still Missing.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Validated learning about customers Would you rather have $30,000 or $1 million in revenues for your startup? All things being equal, of course, you’d rather have more revenue rather than less. And yet revenue alone is not a sufficient goal.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

crowdSPRING Blog

JANUARY 6, 2013

The key to any successful business is simple: grow revenue, reduce expense, and prevent loss. A security breach can serve to shut down your e-commerce, reducing your revenue; can lead to unplanned expense due to infrastructure damage; and can create losses from fraud or theft that may have been avoidable.

Security 99

Security Small Business Software Review Startup 99

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, June 5, 2009 It’s a startup, not a spreadsheet Some people, when they start to realize the power of using data to inform their decisions, become obsessed with optimization. Unfortunately, most decisions that confront startups lack a definitive right answer. But this is wrong, too.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2010

Even though it has been a long haul, it’s nice to see some optimism on the horizon for 2010. Small Business Outlook 2010: Lessons Learned – A Case for Greater Optimism ,” was published by CIT Group, Inc., A full 59% of respondents cited a greater focus on operating efficiencies as the number one step to achieving growth in 2010.

Small Business Administration 120

Small Business Administration SBA Small Business Revenue 120

crowdSPRING Blog

JANUARY 26, 2014

The best way for small business owners and startup entrepreneurs to deal with that complexity is through careful planning, detailed documentation, and careful organization. Often these companies will engage an outside tax accountant who specializes in the arcane details of the IRS as well as state departments of revenue or taxation.

Small Business 103

Small Business CPA Software Review Startup 103

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Master of 500 Hats: Startup Metrics for Pirates (SeedCamp 2008, London) This presentation should be required reading for anyone creating a startup with an online service component. In my opinion, every startup needs to "pick a major" among these three drivers of growth. Choose one. The AARRR model (hence pirates, get it?)

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 15, 2016

I wish I could claim I deftly foresaw this, but I was just seeking recurring revenue to to cover OneMatchFire’s office expenses. By the end of 2004 I had brought on two co-founders: John Vars – who is now the Chief Product Office at TaskRabbit, and Steven Reading took over Sales and Revenue.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Startup Cofounder SMS 48

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

If you are considering working at a startup, you should ask these questions. If the answer to the question centers around “We will achieve revenue soon so our net will improve and give us more runway,” it means the company is in trouble because no product ever ships on time nor achieves the company’s “conservative forecast.”

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

Venture Chronicles

AUGUST 7, 2013

This is the 4th installment in the Startup Lessons series I have been writing in the wake of my experience with Get Satisfaction. We did very well in 2010 and 2011 with a highly differentiated creative marketing strategy but then we had our VP Marketing leave just after the B round closed (awkward.) 4) Marketing.

Marketing 54

Marketing Startup Differentiation Lead Generation 54

Up and Running

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Our #1 email marketing provider pick for a startup or small business. For any startup or small business, we recommend one email marketing provider. So our hands-down, number-one email marketing tool recommendation for a startup or small business is: MailChimp. Email marketing made easy for startups and small businesses.

Email 60

Email Small Business Marketing Campaign 60

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

I was between my 7th and 8th and final startup; licking my wounds from Rocket Science, the company I had cratered as my first and last attempt as a startup CEO. I was consulting for the two venture capital firms who between them put $12 million into my last failed startup. (My It was a long way from Ellis Island.)

Silicon Valley 125

Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital Customer Development 125

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. It’s a deceptively simple question:  what is the optimal way to finance a new startup? It’s a deceptively simple question:  what is the optimal way to finance a new startup? By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC. « Leaving a Trail | Main. |

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

David Teten

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

However, in a startup the most common scenario is that projections get missed. This agile approach is not restricted to small startups. Consider ThedaCare , a healthcare system in Wisconsin, which eliminated its budgeting process in 2010. For further reading: Agile Budgeting for Startups: Cash is King.

Agile 60

Agile Management Forecast Silicon Valley 60

Altgate

DECEMBER 17, 2009

" Well, there are basically three ways you can link pay to performance (in startups): Discretionary (i.e. it's up to the Board or CEO) One or more financial metrics Balanced scorecard For very early stage startups (e.g. And finally, once the business has achieved greater scale and size (50+ people, $10MM+ revenue, etc.)

Venture Capital 47

Venture Capital Metrics Startup Software Review 47

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

If you startup is your dream, why would you want to think about an exit? Assuming your startup takes off, you will probably find that the fun is gone by the time you reach 50 employees, or a few million in revenue. If your startup was less than a success, you’ll definitely want to erase it from memory.

Exit Strategy 241

Exit Strategy Initial Public Offering IPO Startup 241

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 15, 2009

Of all the tactics I have advocated as part of the lean startup , none has provoked as many extreme reactions as continuous deployment , a process that allows companies to release software in minutes instead of days, weeks, or months. January 29, 2010 11:18 AM Eric said. > January 29, 2010 12:55 PM Gareth Evans said.

Continuous Deployment 167

Continuous Deployment Software Review San Francisco Lean 167