Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

And the best startups spun out of Stanford were building components for weapon systems. As there was no venture capital, these early startups were funded by early sales to weapon systems prime contractors and subcontractors. There was a time when much of U.S. America’s adversaries understand this.

Government 313

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 313

The Startup Magazine

MAY 27, 2024

By adhering to zoning and legal requirements, you can operate your self storage business smoothly and avoid any potential legal issues in Leesburg. It’s important to develop a comprehensive financing plan that outlines the investment required to start and operate your business.

Security 91

Security Operations Finance Advertising 91

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 8, 2021

Every startup entrepreneur wants to see their company grow. They want to snowball their customer acquisition, attracting thousands of new people to the brand, and reach diverse new audiences in new locations. They want to open new offices, generate more revenue, and ultimately, secure higher profitability. . Or is it? .

Startup 127

Startup Retention Acquisition Agile 127

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Many myths surround the subject of startup funding. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. Reasons for funding. ? Scale up your operations. Now you may want to scale up your operations or expand your presence.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. Simplifying: Revenue -.

Startup 418

Startup Revenue Technical Review Flash 418

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. ” I highly recommend reading it.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. Although his focus is naturally on bigger companies, I contend that his recommended strategies apply equally well to entrepreneurs and startups: Demand a mindset of deep thinking for the long term.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

So you’re interested in raising capital from a Revenue-Based Investor VC. A new wave of Revenue-Based Investors (“RBI”) are emerging. For background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. Rational burn profile, up to 50% of revenue at close, scaling down. Bigfoot Capital.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

There has been a lot of public debate over the past several weeks about whether it’s a good thing to be “gross margin positive” or not and commentary always reminds me that some people at startups don’t quite understand financial metrics or even how to think about which ones are healthy. Customer acquisition cost.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 15, 2019

Once upon a time every great organization was a scrappy startup willing to take risks – new ideas, new methods, new customers, targets, and mission. HR processes, legal processes, financial processes, acquisition and contracting processes, security processes, product development and management processes, and types of organizational forms etc.

Government 320

Government Technical Review Acquisition Metrics 320

The Startup Magazine

MAY 9, 2024

Both eventually went public, albeit WeWork via a special purchase acquisition company (SPAC). In response to this new environment, startups are reevaluating their strategies to focus on core business health, efficient growth, and sound financial fundamentals.

Burn Rate 88

Burn Rate Bankruptcy Startup Metrics 88

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

These are people that didn’t make their money through a tech startup or startup investing. Some of these folks are founders and CEOs, but not at high-growth tech startups. They might not understand how a pre-revenue startup could be worth anything, let alone be valued at $5mm. Perhaps they inherited it.

.Net 88

.Net Cap Table Startup Technical Review 88

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

It is our startup sector which will drive this innovative progress. Startup founders are our ambitious problem solvers. Addressing real world problems, they thrive in uncertainty, generating new jobs and new revenue streams in new markets. In order to understand startup governance, you need to understand risk and reward.

Technical Review 95

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 95

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

One of the vivid memories I have from being a startup CEO is the feeling that most people in your company have a look in their eyes that like they can do your job as well as you. But if you level up , raise capital and grow customers, revenue and staff – life changes. Startup life. How hard could it be? What do you do?

CTO Hire 385

CTO Hire Entrepreneur Technical Review Leadership 385

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 3, 2021

Operating a competitive business and turning a significant profit is even more challenging. Despite the odds against new business success, Lazarus started and operated four businesses by the time he was 25 years old. This is how he came to start and operate Luke Lazarus Consulting in Sydney more than two decades ago.

United States 167

United States Entrepreneur Angel Investor Social Media 167

Steve Blank

MAY 11, 2021

At the front-end of these innovations are startups – organizations the Department of Defense hasn’t previously dealt with at scale. Mrinal and Jeff’s article below explains how startups can adapt and thrive while working with the Defense Department. And how the Department of Defense is learning to work with startups.

Artificial Inteligence 365

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Startup Silicon Valley 365

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

As an early stage investor in the world of gaming and metaverse technology at Remagine Ventures, I find these companies have the potential to set the agenda, become the potential platforms for developers building in this space and future acquirers/consolidators of startups building the next generation of the Internet. Here we go! Epic Games.

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time for every startup to assess the metrics, technology, and platforms they’re using to manage the business. Cost of customer acquisition. Customer acquisition cost is calculated by dividing total acquisition expenses by total new customers over a given period.

Metrics 252

Metrics Technical Review Retention Acquisition 252

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. Set your startup health gauges and use them.

Exit Strategy 248

Exit Strategy Valuation Acquisition Metrics 248

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 8, 2021

A spin-off is merely a startup spawned by a mature parent (company), and conventional logic would dictate that it has a survival advantage over the lowly startup. Mingle and learn from the startup culture and new technology – without losing control. Yet spin-offs seem to most often fail to launch in the real world.

Startup 313

Startup Non-Compete Merger Leadership 313

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 7, 2022

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is an important metric for any ecommerce business. Put simply, you need a healthy customer acquisition cost for your business to succeed. It’s up to every ecommerce business to find the middle ground between investing too little in customer acquisition and spending beyond your means.

Acquisition 22

Acquisition eCommerce Cost Customer 22

Steve Blank

APRIL 12, 2010

Startups are the search to find order in chaos. At a board meeting last week I watched as the young startup CEO delivered bad news. A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. Investors bet on a startup CEO to find the repeatable and scalable business model. Steve Blank.

Business Model 334

Business Model Agile Customer Development Startup 334

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

In the old days, every entrepreneur planned on taking their startup public, and making it big. Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is finally up from the dead zone of the last two decades, and is now double the rate back in 1999. Startups going public are laid open to competitors and critics.

IPO 245

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2021

Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. Set your startup health gauges and use them.

Exit Strategy 434

Exit Strategy Valuation Acquisition Metrics 434

Software By Rob

JANUARY 25, 2012

Indeed, I did buy my latest startup, but the deal was done from a spare bedroom of my suburban home in Fresno, California for less than most people pay for a new car. And the funds came from revenue generated by my portfolio of web applications and websites that I’ve built over the past several years. My Background.

Acquisition 63

Acquisition Software Review Fresno Algorithm 63

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series of posts and I need to file this one under both Raising Venture Capital and Startup Advice. and the subsequent acquisition sprees of companies like Google, Yahoo!, Let’s take your revenue line. I remember going to an Under the Radar conference in 2006 in the heat of the Web 2.0

Business Plan 334

Business Plan AJAX Venture Capital Technical Review 334

Up and Running

MAY 17, 2017

The sad reality is that many business acquisitions do not work out as hoped. An ROCG study of 502 business owners with revenues between $1 million and $100 million found that only 40 percent successfully transitioned their business and only 9 percent had a formal, written succession plan. Most business acquisitions focus on money.

Acquisition 92

Acquisition Technical Review Revenue Exit Strategy 92

VC Cafe

JUNE 6, 2024

The first time I wrote about startup benchmarks was in 2019 and it became one of the most popular posts on VC Cafe. Key Metrics for B2B SaaS Startups: Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) Definition: ARR is the yearly value of a company’s recurring revenue from subscription-based services.

B2B 78

B2B Burn Rate Generative AI Retention 78

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

Every business needs revenue to provide investor returns and offset costs. Free” is not an attractive revenue model to investors. Popular revenue models today include recurring subscription charges, licensing, as well the traditional sale or lease model. No startup or entrepreneur is an island. Key resources.

Business Model 334

Business Model Intellectual Property Angel Investor Channel 334

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 26, 2019

Startup strategy is like Kung Fu. All startups are screwed up. HT Mike Maples Jr ) Corollary: A startup has to be so excellent at one or two key things, that they can screw up everything else up and not die. Fermi estimation is a good way to figure out whether a startup or product could even theoretically be viable.

Restful 202

Restful Founder Revenue Acquisition 202

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 11, 2016

9 out of 10 startups are set to fail before they can even make money. Your success or failure will not rely upon the historical data and industry statistics, but from how well you manage daily operations. Here are five tips for assuming better command over your startup operations: Consolidate and Negotiate.

Operations 100

Operations Management Churn Rate Startup 100

The Startup Magazine

MAY 31, 2022

Any operation that involves an employee, like recruitment, payroll management, or even offboarding, can be included in these HR functions or duties. . A blunder could result in a lawsuit or a bad hire, resulting in thousands of dollars in penalties or lost revenue. What Is Human Resources Outsourcing? 2 Managing Performance.

United States 143

United States Salary UAE Hiring 143

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

The entrepreneur who founded and grew the largest startup in the world to $10 billion in revenue and got fired is someone you have probably never heard of. Each of these GM divisions focused on its own day-to-day operations with each division general manager responsible for the division’s profit and loss. But not for Durant.

Michigan 296

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 296

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2018

I’ve raised close to $1 million from angel investors for my previous technology startups. Below is a format I’ve successfully used for my own ventures, and to help many other first-time startup CEOs raise investment capital. Your revenue or business model. Customer acquisition: Marketing and sales strategy.

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers? And without revenue how do we know if we achieved product/market fit to exit Customer Validation?” However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web.

Customer Development 228

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 228

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

There is an old saying in the startup investor community, “Smart investors invest in the team, not the idea.” Beyond basic business and technical credentials, here are some of the key startup team attributes that every investor is looking for: Team shows an appreciation and plan for marketing. Focus on customer needs.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 16, 2011

During today's roundtable, we had four Microsoft BizSpark Startup India Challenge grant finalists present. In the case of Freshdesk, their main competitor, Zendesk, is operating with a San Francisco - Copenhagen cost-structure and will find it harder to compete with this strategy.

India 123

India Bootstrapping Non-Compete Entrepreneur 123