Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Las Vegas 120

Las Vegas Silicon Valley Phoenix Montana 120

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Boston is a great place to start and build a company. However, Boston is a transient town, especially for the student population that refreshes a large number each year. This guide is designed to help you hit the ground running and is a starting point for your entrepreneurial journey in Boston. The Grand-daddy. The Grand-daddy.

Boston 71

Boston Technical Review Community Cofounder 71

View from Seed

JULY 31, 2014

Lastly, given our Boston location, it isn’t surprising that seven investments were Boston-based. Furthermore, one of our recent investments was in Silicon Valley, as all three of us have lived and worked there. Examples include the current rise of native advertising and the fundamental platform shift to mobile.

Seed Stage 272

Seed Stage B2C Technical Review Disintermediation 272

Agile VC

JULY 16, 2014

One of our portfolio companies, Plastiq , announced yesterday that they raised a $10M Series B led by Khosla Ventures and are planning to move their headquarters from Boston to San Francisco. Some lament the relocation of Plastiq and other companies who start in Boston but end up moving to Silicon Valley or other startup hubs.

Boston 208

Boston Silicon Valley San Francisco Cofounder 208

View from Seed

JULY 24, 2015

On Tuesday, July 21, we hosted the first-ever Boston Consumer Tech Summit. We have companies in Chicago, San Francisco (and elsewhere in Silicon Valley), Omaha, and New York. Here is some of the best commentary from the community… For starters, why does Boston get a bad consumer rap anyway?

Boston 120

Boston Cofounder B2C PR 120

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 8, 2018

Silicon Valley has dominated the U.S. Despite repeated efforts, only a few cities outside the Valley (New York and Boston) have historically had the critical mix of VC funding, network, and talent to fuel vibrant startup centers. cities (outside of Silicon Valley and the East Coast), to build your startup.

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United States Las Vegas San Francisco Denver 113

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 5, 2009

The culture and work ethic of Convergent had earned it the title “the Marine Corps of Silicon Valley”. Oh, and since it was not code compatible with anything, we were going to have to port all the key scientific applications our customers needed (as soon as we figured out who they were.) We were going to be guessing.

North Carolina 125

North Carolina Silicon Valley Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE 125

Steve Blank

AUGUST 7, 2017

I was in Boston and stopped by the Harvard Business Review for their IdeaCast podcast. 5:18 Why entrepreneurship thrived in Silicon Valley. 11:20 Steve Jobs on Customer Development. 12:38 The first time I did customer discovery. 5:18 Why entrepreneurship thrived in Silicon Valley. It’s worth a listen.

Silicon Valley 206

Silicon Valley Boston Lean Government 206

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 21, 2016

For these reasons, more and more companies are choosing to stay online and help their customers and clients remotely. Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has recently been announced as the best American city in which to launch a new company. Boston has recently been announced as the best American city in which to launch a new company.

Boston 100

Boston Romania Silicon Valley Finland 100

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 8, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Saturday, November 8, 2008 What is customer development? But too often when its time to think about customers, marketing, positioning, or PR, we delegate it to "marketroids" or "suits." Many of us are not accustomed to thinking about markets or customers in a disciplined way.

Customer Development 168

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 168

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

.“… “Then we engage with the product and the entrepreneur and because we know these areas very well we don’t have to spend a lot of time understanding the market or understanding the customer.”. We just finished the second year in Boston. So having spent a lot of time thinking about this Silicon Valley is a thing in and of itself.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

Local : many entrepreneurs like to use their old friend from Boston even though they’re now living in Boulder. Right sized : I tried to work with one of the best known firms in Silicon Valley. He’s totally tapped into the startup communities in Silicon Valley and a bit in LA. And Brad Feld.

Southern California 318

Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I came several times to NorCal (where I grew up, actually) and went and met several partners from each Silicon Valley firm. I also made several trips to New York & Boston. Ask your customer why you lost. I hear Silicon Valley firms bragging all the time about how often they release software.

China 333

China Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review 333

Steve Blank

JUNE 21, 2017

I was in Boston and was interviewed by The Growth Show about my current thinking about innovation in companies and government agencies.The interviewer was great and managed to get me to summarize several years of learning in one podcast. 6:22 What’s Customer Development. It’s worth a listen. 10:01 Lean in Corporations.

Silicon Valley 222

Silicon Valley Lean Government Boston 222

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I came several times to NorCal (where I grew up, actually) and went and met several partners from each Silicon Valley firm. I also made several trips to New York & Boston. Ask your customer why you lost. I hear Silicon Valley firms bragging all the time about how often they release software.

China 328

China Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review 328

Agile VC

JUNE 5, 2011

It also puts another chink in the armor of the meme that monster internet companies can only be built in Silicon Valley (LivingSocial, Kayak, Gilt Groupe, CSN Stores, et al doing damage here too). Cumulative customers (unique buyers of Groupons): 15.8M (Q1 2011), 9.0M (2010), 0.4M (2009). in net revenue and passes $0.58

North America 100

North America Chicago Boston Silicon Valley 100

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

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 26, 2009

Its easy to take Silicon Valley for granted. Ive written a little bit about the origins of Silicon Valley because I think its important for us to understand how we got here in order to make sure we preserve what is best about our community. And do your customer development.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Silicon Valley Startup Continuous Deployment 113

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2016

You must also understand the value the product provides customers (along with the rest of your business model.). And going for crowdfunding before you do customer discovery with customers can lock you into the wrong idea too early. Yore launching to the customers you’ve already discovered and validated your ideas. . …

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Detroit Baltimore Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

I don’t have an MBA and I don’t live in Silicon Valley. Customer References. That likelihood goes down if you are not in Silicon Valley or Boston. What kind of people make great customers for him? Angel investors come from a variety of ages, backgrounds, and professions. I’m not your average angel.

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Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 28, 2017

The customized program nurtures leadership, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills—and that’s just the short list. Locations and Dates: Silicon Valley, CA – March 29, 2018. Boston, MA – May 31, 2018. Silicon Valley, CA – September 21-22, 2018. Behind Every Leader. Admingling Event Series.

Silicon Valley 240

Silicon Valley Las Vegas South Africa Leadership 240

Steve Blank

MARCH 29, 2010

Ann who had been my Teaching Assistant while she had finished her PhD at Stanford felt the same frustration about teaching entrepreneurs to assemble a business plan that we knew in the real world wouldn’t survive first contact with customers. After Stanford, Ann joined Mike Maples’ Venture Capital firm Floodgate as a partner.

Business Model 226

Business Model Silicon Valley California Engineer 226

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. paying for travel data from ITA or others (customers acquisition spend is not included in COGS). Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

Steve Blank

JULY 25, 2011

Scientists and engineers as founders and startup CEOs is one of the least celebrated contributions of Silicon Valley. ESL, the first company I worked for in Silicon Valley , was founded by a PhD in Math and six other scientists and engineers. Why It’s “Silicon” Valley. It might be its most important.

Engineer 305

Engineer Silicon Valley United States Venture Capital 305

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 18, 2019

Founded in Boston, it’s only available in the United States. . Its technology runs the necessary checks based on the information customers enter, and the funds can be transferred in as little as a day. . Coming out of Silicon Valley, the app promises safety and security, and easily usable world-class technology at the lowest prices.

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Artificial Inteligence Costa Rica Silicon Valley United States 125

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 11, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, November 11, 2008 Where did Silicon Valley come from? I think the absolute best reading on this subject is a book called Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128 by AnnaLee Saxenian. And what were they doing beforehand?

Silicon Valley 68

Silicon Valley San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 68

Agile VC

OCTOBER 27, 2011

There’s a couple different forces I see at work: 1) Selling & Customer Acquisition - In the last 5 years, the biggest force in business software was the impact of the cloud as an infrastructure layer and product/service delivery mechanism. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC. Read More ».

Software 100

Software B2B Silicon Valley Acquisition 100

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 2, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Saturday, August 2, 2008 Paul Graham on fundraising I have found no better primer on the current realities of starting a new technology company in a startup hub like Silicon Valley than Paul Grahams essays. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup?

San Francisco 125

San Francisco Software Review Technical Review Continuous Deployment 125

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2013

Summary: I’ve lived in Silicon Valley for 35 years, I’ve taught in entrepreneurial clusters in New York, Boston, Helsinki, Santiago Chile, St. Each of these clusters has wondered how to become the next Silicon Valley. Filed under: China , Customer Development , Technology , Venture Capital. Like the U.S.

China 315

China Taiwan Silicon Valley Guam 315

Rob Go

MAY 21, 2014

Everyone knows that nobody gets consumer in Boston. If you want to invest in the next great consumer company, you better be in Silicon Valley or New York. Boston has amazing consumer companies, but the region gets no love for some reason. Oh and they have over 100K customers. It’s just a given.

Boston 57

Boston Cram Down Indiana eCommerce 57

Duct Tape Marketing

JUNE 28, 2023

She is a leading venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, where she mentors tech startups and helps them go public. It'll be in Boston from September 5th through the eighth. Every year inbound brings together leaders across business, sales, marketing, customer success, operations, and more. That's right.

South Africa 66

South Africa Africa Global Silicon Valley 66

View from Seed

JULY 28, 2015

While the startup environment in Boston has vastly improved over the last several years , I continue to hear the sentiment that it’s really tough to build a great consumer startup in Boston. This is expressed by people outside of Boston, but it often comes from those within our community too.

Boston 120

Boston Marketing Early Stage Startup 120

Steve Blank

AUGUST 5, 2014

During her career she made a big point of not telling you: she was one of the first women Venture Capitalist’s in Silicon Valley (along with M.J. When I was where you are, 36 years ago (can ya believe it) I didn’t have a plan—but I did have an aspiration: I wanted to go to Silicon Valley and I wanted to work in startups.

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Chicago Cofounder 333

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2010

Id like to call special attention to Kurt Carr s perspective (lets hope he finishes his five-part series): Now that I’m back in Ohio (I was one of the token foreigners in a room full of Silicon Valley residents), I have found myself reliving and rethinking much of what I saw there. We all owe him our thanks for persevering.

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Software Review 133

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2013

Summary: I’ve lived in Silicon Valley for 35 years, I’ve taught in entrepreneurial clusters in New York, Boston, Helsinki, Santiago Chile, St. Each of these clusters has wondered how to become the next Silicon Valley. Filed under: China , Customer Development , Technology , Venture Capital. Like the U.S.

China 207

China Taiwan Silicon Valley Guam 207

David Teten

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

Our customer is ultimately the startup. We’re not just focused on NY/Boston/Silicon Valley. . • Our origins were some studies from McKinsey to Kauffman. From 1970 to 2009, nearly all new net job creation (44m jobs) came from young companies (not small, and not large, but young). • There are 1.4m-1.6m

America 144

America DC Startup Aggregator 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2014

I’m talking about volunteering to be on industry panels for visibility, participating in startup weekends for education, and talking to groups of distributors or potential customers on technology trends. Your presence in a booth to meet customers and vendors, and availability as a sponsor, will often keep you a step ahead of your competitors.

Small Business 251

Small Business Advisory Board Silicon Valley Boston 251