Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2016

Many other companies have followed a similar set of execution principles which I believe are required for business success, no matter how great the idea: Tune the business model to optimize value for all constituents. Continuous improvement applies to the business model as well as the product.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Architecture Agile Business Model 120

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

To our delight, technology has evolved and improved in many ways over that time. Technology evolution can be cyclical, with some branches looping back to the past with surprising vigor and without much self-awareness. Through our fifteen years, we've been charged with helping clients get business done with technology.

Guinea 200

Guinea Application Development Ruby Web Development 200

Steve Blank

MARCH 3, 2015

The disadvantage is that its methodology was based on the old waterfall model of product development and not the agile and lean methods that startups use today. It taught lean theory ( business model design , customer development and agile engineering) and practice. The Business Plan is Dead.

Business Plan 120

Business Plan Silicon Valley Saudi Arabia Lean 120

Steve Blank

JUNE 26, 2015

The first, the notion of the “ ambidextrous organization ” from O’Reilly and Tushman , posits that companies that want to do continuous innovation need to execute their core business model while innovating in parallel. Horizon 1 activities support existing business models. Horizon 1 is the company’s core business.

Lean 120

Lean Management Business Model Incubator 120

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

As we prepared for the new Hacking for Defense class at Stanford, we had to stop and ask ourselves: How do we use the Business Model Canvas if the primary goal is not to earn money, but to fulfill a mission? In other words, how can we adapt the Business Model Canvas when the metrics of success for an organization is not revenue?

Business Model 120

Business Model Revenue Channel Community 120

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 22, 2008 The three drivers of growth for your business model. 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. Choose one. Expo SF (May.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 4, 2022

Old companies can be blind to, and even fearful of, innovation and new technology. Kodak, for example, went from venerated, dominant business to almost nothing in just a few years because it refused to accept the revolution of digital photography. But the future of business is changing in a digital world.

Artificial Inteligence 175

Artificial Inteligence Agile Business Model Technology 175

Women Entrepreneurs Can

MARCH 18, 2024

Exploring the transformative impact of ERP systems on various business processes. Discussing the future evolution of ERP technologies and the strategic value of such systems. These adoptions often lead to a company-wide metamorphosis, ushering businesses into a new era of efficiency, agility, and data-driven decision-making.

Artificial Inteligence 52

Artificial Inteligence Cloud Agile Operations 52

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

As customer and agile development reinvent the Startup, it’s time to ask why startup board governance has not kept up with the pace of innovation. Reinventing the board meeting may offer venture-backed startups a more efficient, productive way to direct and measure their search for a profitable business model. The Wrong Metrics.

Silicon Valley 292

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 292

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

But by taking advantage of open source, agile software, and iterative development, lean startups can operate with much less waste. So far, I have found "lean startup" works better with the entrepreneurs Ive talked to than "agile startup" or even "extreme startup.") Of course, many startups are capital efficient and generally frugal.

Lean 168

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 168

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

As customer and agile development reinvent the Startup, it’s time to ask why startup board governance has not kept up with the pace of innovation. Reinventing the board meeting may offer venture-backed startups a more efficient, productive way to direct and measure their search for a profitable business model. The Wrong Metrics.

Silicon Valley 263

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 263

Steve Blank

JUNE 23, 2016

As a consequence, corporations used metrics like return on net assets (RONA), return on capital deployed, and internal rate of return (IRR) to measure efficiency. These metrics make it difficult for a company that wants to invest in long-term innovation. These resulting business models made them look incredibly profitable.

Architecture 227

Architecture IRR Balance Sheet Liquidity Event 227

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2019

In my other role of business advisor, I see examples often of startups that may have taken success for granted too early. For a successful launch and scalable growth, they need to establish many checkpoints, with metrics to assess their progress and alignment with the vision. Don’t let that communication fade post-launch.

Angel Investor 220

Angel Investor Equity Leadership Demand 220

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

What does your Chief Technology Officer do all day? When Ive asked mentors of mine who have worked in big companies about the role of the CTO, they usually talk about the importance of being the external face of the companys technology platform; an evangelist to developers, customers, and employees. Just what is the CTO supposed to do?

CTO 168

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 168

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2010

Business schools teach aspiring executives a variety of courses around the execution of known business models, (accounting, organizational behavior, managerial skills, marketing, operations, etc.). In contrast, startups search for a business model. (Or to optimize this search. to optimize this search.

Wiki 312

Wiki Lean Management Business Model 312

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 27, 2009

Im going to be speaking on June 3rd at an event sponsored by the Technology Entrepreneurs Exchange (TeXchange), "the premier networking organization in Texas for business executives and entrepreneurs to meet, exchange ideas and share experiences." It uses principles of agile software development, open source and web 2.0,

Lean 60

Lean Austin San Francisco Continuous Deployment 60

Steve Blank

MARCH 11, 2010

One of the classes I teach in the engineering school at Stanford is E145: the Fundamentals of Technology Entrepreneurship , an introduction to building a scalable startup. Our goal is to teach students the key concepts of the startup process and help them understand that a startup is a search for a profitable business model.

Intellectual Property 234

Intellectual Property Business Model Customer Development Distribution 234

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 13, 2011

As customer and agile development reinvent the startup, it's time to ask why startup board governance has not kept up with the pace of innovation. Reinventing the board meeting may offer venture-backed startups a more efficient, productive way to direct and measure their search for a profitable business model. Here's how.

Silicon Valley 117

Silicon Valley Balance Sheet Metrics Early Stage 117

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 29, 2009

I hope to show why lean and agile techniques actually reduce the negative impacts of technical debt and increase our ability to take advantage of its positive effects. Just as a business incurs some debt to take advantage of a market opportunity developers may incur technical debt to hit an important deadline.

Technical Review 168

Technical Review Software Review San Francisco Lean 168

Steve Blank

APRIL 30, 2009

And the final lesson was that we were keeping score on our packaging with the wrong metrics – it wasn’t about awards, it was about sales in the retail channel. Initially your job is to understand each of the parts of your business model before you hire someone to do it.

Sales 120

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas 120

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 29, 2020

Wikipedia.com defines a “startup company (startup or startup) is an entrepreneurial venture which is typically a newly emerged, fast-growing business that aims to meet a marketplace need by developing a viable business model around an innovative product, service, process, or a platform.”. Invest in your brand.

Bootstrapping 85

Bootstrapping Global Startup Hungary 85

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 21, 2017

How Austin’s Smart City Infrastructure could resolve social and economic inequities amplified by Austin’s technological and industrial growth Like many other fast-growing urban centers, my hometown of Austin, TX has reached a historic tipping point triggered by Austin’s rapid urbanization. A city isn’t smart because it uses technology.

Austin 54

Austin LLC Texas Government 54

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Technology cycles have become a treadmill, and for startups to survive they need to be on a continuous innovation cycle. — all great things when you are executing and scaling a known business model. And there they would watch the canonical model in action as an experienced executive replaced the founder.

Founder 252

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 252

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 21, 2010

And yet, we so often loose sight of the fact that startups are not their products, their technological breakthroughs, or even their data. Even the most radical new inventions always build upon previous technology. Most businesses – large and small alike – are typically excluded by this context.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco Startup Lean Continuous Deployment 168

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 26, 2012

For a technology startup company to launch an initial product and survive long enough to gauge its success, requires two-orders-of-magnitude less money today than at the start of the previous decade. Davidson's company explains that backers are looking for companies that can sustain leaner growth models. How old is Instagram?

IPO 115

IPO Stock San Francisco Lean 115

Ben's Blog

MAY 15, 2020

Finally, we’ll zoom out and assess the big picture: how various categories of company may be impacted long-term, how this crisis compares to 2008 (and what that means for early-stage founders), and the industries and business models that are now prime for growth. What are those metrics? Andrew : Right.

Founder 36

Founder Conversion Technical Review Cash Position 36

Up and Running

DECEMBER 6, 2012

Lean Planning is a set of tools for discovering a business model that works, building an action plan to test your assumptions, creating financial models and a plan for a viable business, and tracking your performance so you can adjust your plan on the fly, quickly and easily. Do startups have a manual?

Lean 147

Lean Silicon Valley Forecast Technical Review 147

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 8, 2015

Steve Blank On Why Most Startups Fail, And It’s Got Nothing To Do With Technology – buff.ly/1IhCLrF. The Angel VC: Key Revenue Metrics for SaaS companies – buff.ly/1INSu29. Online Courses Accelerate Any Business Model bit.ly/1InOB3Z. 6 Thoughts on Creating and Leading Engineering Teams – buff.ly/1zNp7eB.

Small Business 48

Small Business Design Social Media Startup 48

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. Is there a profitable business model? The Traditional VC Pitch Entrepreneurs who pursue the traditional product development model don’t have customer data to answer these questions. Can it scale?”

Customer Development 264

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 264

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

The one-page pitch format is also more suitable for SaaS businesses that are constantly testing new ideas. Your pitch is going to cover your strategy (what you’re going to do), your tactics (how you’re going to do it), your business model (how you will make money), and your schedule (who is doing what and when). venture capital.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 8, 2009

Each company would enroll two leaders in the series, one on the technology side, one on the business side. In particular, we would cover customer development, continuous deployment, minimum viable product, and actionable metrics. I love the business model. August 9, 2009 10:28 AM Chris said. Great idea.

Lean 102

Lean Programming San Francisco Continuous Deployment 102

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

Investors sitting through Incubator or Accelerator demo days have three metrics to judge fledgling startups – 1) great looking product demos, 2) compelling PowerPoint slides, and 3) a world-class team. We now have the tools, technology and data to take incubators and accelerators to the next level. We think we can do better.

Oakland 327

Oakland Incubator Lean Metrics 327

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2012

The metrics that matter the most are returning customers (user retention), turnover per customer and viral growth (k-factor). Keep the team small, agile and up-to-date. Building a technology company within an extremely competitive market is difficult. KPI’s are different for each start-up. Develop a strong backbone.

Bankruptcy 121

Bankruptcy Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence 121

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 23, 2019

We’ve turned improving company metrics into a game. Now, our entire business model is centered around this one motivator–which interestingly, takes care of all the other reasons for being in business for ourselves! Innovate your business to serve your clients better and better everyday.

Entrepreneur 70

Entrepreneur Employee Community LLC 70

Steve Blank

JUNE 10, 2010

Both my parents worked as hard as any Silicon Valley entrepreneur but with a different definition of a successful business model; when they made a profit, they could feed our family. When business was bad they figured out why, adapted and worked harder still. They were only accountable to one and other. More on this later.

Silicon Valley 329

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur United States New York City 329

Steve Blank

MARCH 26, 2019

So in 2011, with support from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (the entrepreneurship center in the Stanford Engineering School), we created a new capstone entrepreneurship class – the Lean LaunchPad. When we started this class, the concept of Lean (business models, customer development, agile, pivots, mvp’s) was new to everyone.

Lean 251

Lean Business Model Balance Sheet Video 251

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 27, 2011

He observed that most startups that succeed aren't lean: their goal is to have an exit rather than a scalable business. Flip startups are agile startups that aim to exit quickly. Unlike Lean startups, their priority isn't to learn in order to create a scalable business model. Build your product on top of existing blocks.

Lean 144

Lean Startup Agile Coder 144