Steve Blank

MARCH 5, 2012

One of the confusing things to entrepreneurs, investors and educators is the relationship between customer development and business model design and business planning and execution. When does a new venture focus on customer development and business models ? And when do business planning and execution come into play?

Search 320

Search Business Model Customer Development Agile 320

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

Yet startup companies have traditionally used this model to manage and pace not only engineering but also non-engineering activities. In the next few posts that follow, I’ll describe more specifically how this model distorts startup sales, marketing and business development. Product Development Diagram 1. release of the product.

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2010

I’ve introduced a new class at Stanford to teach engineers, scientists and other professionals how startups really get built. There are few courses which teach aspiring entrepreneurs the skills (business models, customer and agile development, design thinking, etc.) This class is not about how to write a business plan.

Wiki 311

Wiki Lean Management Business Model 311

Steve Blank

MARCH 7, 2012

Today, the first half of the Stanford Engineering Lean LaunchPad Class gave their final presentations. The goal is for them is to observe this class, then host and teach the next round of 50 NSF Innovation Corps scientist/engineer teams in July. Here are the first five. It Feels Like 20 Years Ago Today. Team ColorWheels.

Lean 256

Lean Business Model Agile United States 256

Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2019

Steve Blank: When I first starting teaching, the capstone entrepreneurship class was how to write a business plan. But years ago, we had no alternative – how to write a business plan was it. SB: I think ethics are a critical missing component of most business curriculums. Distribution channels, brand loyalty, etc.

Incubator 331

Incubator Lean Programming Government 331

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Notice that the traditional product introduction model leads to a product launch and the execution of a revenue plan. The revenue numbers and revenue model came from a startups original Business Plan. that make up a business model. All of these initial assumptions must be right for the revenue plan to be correct.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Management Business Model Customer Development 247

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

As a formal method, the Lean Startup consists of three parts: The Business Model Canvas – to frame hypotheses, Customer Development – to test those hypotheses in front of customers, and Agile Engineering – to build Minimum Viable Products to maximize learning. Channel is changed to Deployment.

Business Model 120

Business Model Revenue Channel Community 120

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. Students formed 5-person teams, came up with a business idea then got out of the building to validate their business model. Did they get out of the building?

Intellectual Property 226

Intellectual Property Business Model Customer Development Distribution 226

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

I think this idea is particularly appealing to those of us from an engineering background. She has a separate team, with its own culture and office, and a mandate straight from top management to innovate without regard to the company’s historic products, channels, or supply chain. So far, so good. Expo SF (May.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2009

Customer Development by Vertical - Click to Enlarge (As a reminder, the Customer Development process says your business plan is just a series of untested hypothesis (unless you’re a domain expert.) Some of these are questions that would be addressed in a business plan. Others you need to know when you execute the plan.

Vertical 122

Vertical Silicon Valley RSS Marketing 122

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 2, 2015

As a manager of a small, online business I wear a whole range of hats: I supervise marketing, customer service, engineering, business intelligence, HR, and operations (among other things). Sprint planning. Agile, schmagile. My days are full, my hours are long, and my budget is ever limited. And pricing?

Small Business 48

Small Business Startup Campaign Social Media 48

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

With an out-of-this-world business plan. When it was spun out as a a separate company, Iridium’s 1990 business plan had assumptions about potential customers, their problems and the product needed to solve that problem. A Business Plan Frozen in Time. No Business Plan Survives First Contact With A Customer.

Business Plan 335

Business Plan Customer Business Model Customer Development 335

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

For those of you who have been following the discussion, a Lean Startup is Eric Ries ’s description of the intersection of Customer Development , Agile Development and if available, open platforms and open source. Marketing demand creation programs (Search Engine Marketing, Public Relations, Advertising, Lead Generation, Trade Shows, etc.)

Lean 244

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 244

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Step 1: Start with a lean plan. Instead of sitting down to write a 40-page business plan, start with a one-page pitch. It’s the fastest way to get your idea onto paper, and it’s the very first step in the lean planning process, which is much easier and more iterative than traditional business planning methods.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

A CEO brought in from a large company came with all the big company accoutrements – org charts, HR departments with formal processes and procedure handbooks, formal waterfall engineering methodology, sales compensation plans, etc. — all great things when you are executing and scaling a known business model. The founders.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

Steve Blank

MAY 10, 2011

they’re going to make a company out of this class project, and they’re hiring engineers.). Many entrepreneurship courses focus on teaching students “how to write a business plan.” Experienced entrepreneurs realize that no business plan survives first contact with customers. Team Autonomow.

Lean 279

Lean Business Model Agile Customer Development 279

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Again, its critical to focus your marketing launch on those publications, venues, and channels that your potential partners are paying attention to. Figuring this out takes time, and few entrepreneurs have the patience to wait it out, because the business plan does such a good job of explaining what customers are going to think.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 14, 2009

A minimum viable product in this category must answer the question: does my media content or channel command the attention of a valuable audience? Startup founders need to use their own judgment to ask: which is the riskiest assumption underlying my business plan? The level of engineering quality will vary.

Customer 156

Customer San Francisco Viral Lean 156

Steve Blank

MARCH 26, 2019

It’s hard to imagine, but only a decade ago, the capstone entrepreneurship class in most universities was how to write – or pitch- a business plan. In my experience, I saw that most business plans don’t survive first contact with customers. Product/Market Fit Versus The Business Model Canvas. Class Velocity/Depth.

Lean 248

Lean Business Model Balance Sheet Video 248

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 7, 2007

A Word on Strategy Every good business begins with a solid understanding of the proposition and business plan - in short, your strategy. Its worth reading Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule of Powerpoint ; it’ll provide you with an idea of what should be included in your business plan and strategy.

Web 40

Web AJAX Software Review Development Team Review 40

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

When the product and channel are bits, adoption by 10’s and 100’s of millions and even billions of users can happen in years versus decades. Continuous innovation requires the imagination and courage to challenge the initial hypotheses of your current business model (channel, cost, customers, products, supply chain, etc.)

Restful 222

Restful Silicon Valley Puerto Rico San Jose 222

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 12, 2009

In fact, you cant go through traditional channels at all. One can see how it ripples through the entire business plan. I think its critical technologists understand market segments, even more than market types. I recently took a stab at explaining segments, based on Moores definition Sean mentions above. Expo SF (May.

San Francisco 89

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Ruby Lean 89

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Firebase : Are all your developers front-end engineers? Google Custom Search Engine. Google App Engine. Search Engine Optimization Tools. Google App Engine â?? Agile project management tool that enables real time collaboration. Twilio : Need to call/txt get a phone number from your web/mobile application?

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53