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. There was now a public market for companies with no revenue, no profit and big claims.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 6, 2013

If you have a deal that is related to bringing in sales and you do want to have a perpetual compensation you can use some version of a Lehman Formula that incentives the person upfront as they are bringing in revenue for you, then caps it off on an ongoing basis. Balance the risks to your reputation. In Advance vs. Arrears.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Securities and Exchange Commission Non-disclosure Agreement Due Diligence 164

The Next Web

OCTOBER 2, 2013

Even if a mobile app developer manages to cross the distribution hurdle and starts raking in some revenue, the next challenge is even worse: getting copied. You figure out a way to compete with them, not on the surface but in a different direction… Make a vertical (niche) so good that you own a large market share.

China 122

China Developer Intellectual Property Mobile 122

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

We will invest pre-revenue and even pre-product if we have discovered the right team in the right kind of market. You had a very interesting perspective on the AOL/Time Warner merger. With this strategic position, and their prescient understanding of where the industry was going, it is hard to argue with the concept of the merger.

Cofounder 277

Cofounder Merger Founder Venture Capital 277