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 Technical Review IPO Venture Capital 217

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?” They’re putting money into web services/business – most without early revenue. End of theory.&#

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Steve Blank

MAY 11, 2021

Dozens of outreach programs across the military now offer quick revenue to early-stage companies. Historically, more than 80% of new entrants exit the defense market before they have a chance to see recurring revenue. Is the company prepared to endure revenue gaps? billion in early funding. Recently public enterprise-AI firm C3.ai

Artificial Inteligence 326

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Startup Silicon Valley 326

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

” Sean is somebody widely respected in Silicon Valley (although he now lives in SoCal) for having helped many early-stage companies go through major growth periods by quantitatively testing features with audiences to help diagnose what led to growth.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Hippoland

JULY 6, 2018

From that perspective, things have been mostly rosy in the Silicon Valley for startups! except for 2008-2009, which is another story) But, I think we’re in trouble, Silicon Valley. This is probably just after the series A in my opinion – where you’re doing perhaps $300k-$1m per month in revenue.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley San Francisco Portugal Ireland 48

Hippoland

JULY 6, 2018

From that perspective, things have been mostly rosy in the Silicon Valley for startups! except for 2008-2009, which is another story) But, I think we’re in trouble, Silicon Valley. This is probably just after the series A in my opinion – where you’re doing perhaps $300k-$1m per month in revenue.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley San Francisco Portugal Ireland 48

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

It is no longer Silicon Valley's exclusive domain. The bulk of our discussion today was around scaling and customer acquisition strategies. Then Gerard McDonald from Dublin, Ireland, discussed CustomerDiscovery, a concept-stage venture around online marketing services using social media mechanisms for customer acquisition.

Ireland 124

Ireland Silicon Valley India Entrepreneur 124

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

As I’ve highlighted I believe we’re in a unique period similar to 2005-08 where the biggest tech firms of Silicon Valley (and some media companies) are scooping up small software companies as “talent acquisitions&# versus accretive revenue / profit generators. This is actually the norm.

Cap Table 283

Cap Table Angel Investor Liquidation Preference Dilution 283

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. But the spirit of Billy Durant would rise again in what would become Silicon Valley. A version of this article appeared in the Harvard Business Review. But not for Durant.

Cofounder 268

Cofounder Michigan Stock Forecast 268

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. Online social networking is a concept still being evangelized even in Silicon Valley… Friendster is in private beta (wasn’t until Oct 2003 they received Google acquisition offer which they turned down for Kleiner/Benchmark round).

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2011

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). Financial Snapshot: 2010 Revenue: $713M. to the merchant.

Chicago 100

Chicago North America Boston Silicon Valley 100

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Now that Google’s acquisition of ITA is closed, following lenghty FTC review, it would appear Kayak is poised to proceed with their IPO in the coming months. =. Financial Snapshot: 2010 Revenue: $170 million. Revenue growth: 51% YoY (2010), 1% YoY (2009), 131% YoY (2008). Distribution revenue is CPC and CPA. .

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Reid Hoffman

JULY 23, 2020

Companies make acquisitions based on strategic goal that are aligned with their inner workings. This strategic value-oriented approach is one of the things that gives Silicon Valley its crazy reputation among traditional investors, who live and die by financial metrics. You can’t just roll up and say, “I’ve got one of X.

IPO 36

IPO Exit Strategy Acquisition Technical Review 36

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 20, 2007

Reading the articles and the comments is probably worth it, but I personally think that the NY Times is overstating the advantage of being in Silicon Valley with a couple of exceptions. Of course, thats probably even more true in Silicon Valley. eHarmongy) as an acting CTO.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

The first hint lies in its name; this is a product development model, not a marketing model, not a sales hiring model, not a customer acquisition model, not even a financing model (and we’ll also find that in most cases it’s even a poor model to use to develop a product.) Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice.

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 17, 2017

John Imlay of MSA occasionally took me on road shows with analysts to talk about his new acquisition Peachtree Software. Hurricane Irma had a major negative revenue impact on one whose fall book of business was mostly in Florida. I got the message.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Atlanta Software Review Early Stage 48

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 16, 2011

In fact, they generated $100k in revenues over the last year, since they first pitched at one of our roundtables. They need to get a handle on the customer acquisition strategy and I advised Ram Kumar to utilize the Positioning and Customer Acquisition modules of the 1M/1M premium curriculum to work on it further.

India 123

India Bootstrapping Non-Compete Entrepreneur 123

Steve Blank

MAY 28, 2009

Personally, I think that customer acquisition, brand, reputation, etc., In contrast, customer acquisition, brand, reputation, etc. These two numbers have direct impact on revenue and financial health. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. are much more differentiating than technology. Order Here.

Vertical 144

Vertical Silicon Valley Marketing Customer 144

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 18, 2016

Most often the first acquisitions in a hype cycle are for the “shiny objects” – the technology, the team and the tools. The irony is that the acquisitions made later in the hype cycle – when companies have built real products that customers want, are the ones that generate revenue and profit for the acquirer.

Artificial Inteligence 318

Artificial Inteligence Lean Exit Strategy Startup 318

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

In How To Defend Your Dream Against All Odds , Alex and I explore the company's journey to $200 Million in revenue, while their VCs wrote them off. Zoho is already over $100 million in revenue and is seeing tremendous traction. She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant. Statisco Economic Analytics.

North Carolina 116

North Carolina San Diego Entrepreneur Balance Sheet 116

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 31, 2014

But if you want to build a scalable startup you need to be asking how you can you get enough customers/users/payers to build a business that can grow revenues past several $100M/year. channel partners and Chinese manufacturers and customer acquisition and activation programs outside their home country. It doesn’t. Trip 2 to the U.S.

Global 335

Global Australia Silicon Valley China 335

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 24, 2011

Chris is primarily trying to assess his customer acquisition strategy, which requires that people see the game being played. His customer acquisition strategy, however, needs a lot of work. Next Chris Ruder from Chicago, Illinois, pitched Spikeball , a new volleyball-esque game that is being played at camps and college campuses.

Illinois 114

Illinois Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Chicago 114

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

They already have several customers including some telcos, and are at about $350,000 in revenues. Because customer financing equals revenue, not equity. That's why, I advised Gio to keep going with further execution on his business and build more revenue traction. In 1M/1M, our preferred financing strategy is customers.

Cloud 115

Cloud Bootstrapping Silicon Valley Incubator 115

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 15, 2017

What seems to be the best way to create customers and revenue may result in a business model that is out of vogue with the investment world and shortchanges you on enterprise valuation. If you bill for your technology services on a percentage of ad spend, you are guaranteed to look like an agency that deserves a revenue multiple of 1–2X.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Nevada Silicon Valley 48

Transformify

APRIL 21, 2017

We really wanted to build a network of top tier talent, similar to the caliber of talent that’s working in-house at top Silicon Valley tech companies. Finance was a logical expansion for us, though coming across the right acquisition while having it on our strategic roadmap accelerated the launch.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Silicon Valley Software Review Cofounder 40

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 27, 2014

So, what conditions will best help PayPal continue to grow its user base, increase revenues, and bolster its profit margins on a consistent and ongoing basis? The Innovation Culture of Silicon Valley. The reality of Silicon Valley is that innovation takes time. billion in 2008, when he took over, to $16.05

Silicon Valley 57

Silicon Valley Software Review Stock Due Diligence 57

Austin Startup

JANUARY 20, 2021

The Ferrari Museum in Modena, Italy The defining characteristic of the Silicon Valley startup is speed. In 2006, I joined Yelp as employee #20 when the company had $1M in annual revenue. It can also rapidly iterate your sales motion, build your sales team, help you win deals, and grow revenue more quickly. The cost? ~10%

Sales 64

Sales Startup Sales Cycle Revenue 64

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 1, 2011

Our discussion today was around prioritization of the next few critical steps around customer acquisition and validation. She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant, she writes the blog Sramana Mitra On Strategy , and is author of the Entrepreneur Journeys book series and Vision India 2020. Report Bee.

India 119

India Guerilla Entrepreneur New Zealand 119

The Next Web

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Motivators include altruism (helping patients and growing the knowledge database); professional pride (doctors actively rate and rank each other through endorsements and peer review); and only secondary income or new patient acquisition (patients pay for more detailed answers or video consultations).

Mobile 136

Mobile Silicon Valley Viral Technical Review 136

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Don’t believe that Silicon Valley myth that all you have to do is sketch your idea on the back of a napkin, and investors will line up to give you money. Providing your product or service free to customers may sound attractive in marketing materials, but you need revenue sources to survive.

Elevator Pitch 163

Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Silicon Valley Business Model 163

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 26, 2010

ROBLOX ( www.roblox.com ) is a web/game startup in Silicon Valley that you have probably never heard of--unless you were an eight year old boy, in which case you're probably not qualified for this position. Our revenues have increased every quarter for the past two years. Check out the highly entertaining front page video.)

San Francisco 92

San Francisco CTO Hire Developer EC2 92

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

The signals are loud and clear : seed and late stage valuations are getting frothy and wacky, and hiring talent in Silicon Valley is the toughest it has been since the dot.com bubble. With Netscape’s IPO , there was suddenly a public market for companies with limited revenue and no profit. Carpe Diem. Breathtaking Scale.

Internet 334

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 334

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

Hacking for Defense is a battle-tested problem-solving methodology that runs at Silicon Valley speed. In the 21 st century the DOD/IC community have realized that adversaries are moving at a speed that our traditional acquisition systems could not keep up with. The program will scale to 13+ universities in 2017.

Silicon Valley 246

Silicon Valley Afghanistan Iraq Community 246

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 13, 2011

We started this week's One Million by One Million roundtable with a discussion of online advertising trends, looking at them from the perspective of cost-effective customer acquisition and brand building, as well as entrepreneurial opportunities. You can find more on the topic on my blog at Top 10 Online Advertising Trends For The Decade.

Advertising 116

Advertising SMS Entrepreneur Silicon Valley 116

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2015

YouTube takes too high of a revenue split (45% vs. 30% that Apple and many other distribution companies take – FWIW, YouTube argues this is because their costs are much higher since they host and stream the video). It just happens to be large, dominant and willing to share revenue with you. Take for example, an eCommerce company.

SEM 150

SEM Los Angeles Silicon Valley Acquisition 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

You may have heard that venture capitalists in Silicon Valley no longer read business plans. All startups, including non-profits, need revenue to thrive, such as such as from subscriptions, retail, online, licensing, or services. They want to see revenue to share in the return. Budget time and dollars for each.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

I have discussed at length why revenue sharing channel deals may serve as perfectly fine alternatives to raising equity (or even complements) because of their non-dilutive nature. Jeff also described a compelling in-game offer-based customer acquisition model that is proving quite effective for him. million in revenue.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114