Up and Running

APRIL 30, 2020

” It’s been a favorite management tool of mine since my time as VP for a market research firm, and it’s a method I used for decades growing a software company from zero to well over $10 million in annual sales. Simply put it’s a better method of accurately looking forward and business owners know better than mathematicians.

Forecast 120

Forecast Balance Sheet Burn Rate Software Review 120

ReadWriteStart

JULY 9, 2023

A newcomer to the startup market may simply have no idea about all the nuances. Business Models and Pricing Know your business model prior to launching a startup. However, sometimes founders only think about their big idea and forget about the strictly business side of a startup.

Intellectual Property 122

Intellectual Property Startup Burn Rate Metrics 122

Up and Running

APRIL 27, 2020

Recessions, or even a volatile market like we’re currently experiencing due to COVID-19 , are difficult times. There’s a great amount of uncertainty, people losing their jobs, and a direct hit on cash flows that can place businesses in dire straights. Less competition entering the market. But it doesn’t have to be all bad. .

Software Review 113

Software Review Lean Forecast Business Plan 113

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. Most existing investors (those still in business) hoarded their money and stopped doing follow-on rounds until the rubble had cleared. Why do VCs Do This?

Cram Down 404

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 404

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

A business plan has a set of assumptions (who’s the customer, what’s the price, what’s the channel, what are the product features that matter, etc.) that make up a business model. Yet by first customer ship most of the business model hasn’t been validated or tested. Pivots By Firing Executives.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Management Business Model Customer Development 247

Tim Keane

DECEMBER 14, 2009

   We worked all day building market strategies for customers while we tried to embody our expertise on software that would expand the company's reach.    Interestingly, the consulting business remained and is a mainstay even today.    A low burn rate is a pearl of great price. 

Burn Rate 60

Burn Rate Angel Groups Seed Stage Startup 60

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

Startups that are searching for a business model need to keep score differently than large companies that are executing a known business model. Yet most entrepreneurs and their VC’s make startups use financial models and spreadsheets that actually hinder their success. Managing the Business. Here’s why.

Balance Sheet 298

Balance Sheet Startup Burn Rate Metrics 298

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2012

Tossing their agile development process and at times their entire business model in the air, the company would go into fire-drill mode and engineering would start working on whatever his latest insight was. ” “A pivot is a substantive change to one or more of components to your business model.

Founder 316

Founder Cofounder Advisory Board Burn Rate 316

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

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. Yet boards of large companies exist to monitor efficient strategy and execution of a known business model. The Wrong Discussion s. That’s very, very wrong.

Silicon Valley 290

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 290

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Here are the motivation elements that investors expect to hear: Size and growth potential of the market opportunity. Your customers don’t care if you are targeting a billion-dollar market and growing at double-digit rates, but investors will skip small or shrinking opportunities. First to market” is not sustainable by a startup.

Product 120

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Burn Rate 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

The approach I recommend is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 247

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 247

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

ROI per Marketing Channel. It’s crucial to keep a handle of ROI per marketing channel in order to optimize marketing spending. After all, a sustainable business model requires repeat customers! I believe all entrepreneurs should know their business. It’s not enough to check this every quarter.

Metrics 146

Metrics Burn Rate Entrepreneur Forecast 146

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

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. Yet boards of large companies exist to monitor efficient strategy and execution of a known business model. The Wrong Discussion s. That’s very, very wrong.

Silicon Valley 258

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 258

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

The approach I recommend is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 234

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 234

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 9, 2017

Not to mention all of the resources that will have to be invested in marketing and growing a community around it. This will also prepare your business for filing taxes. Estimate your monthly “burn rate.” Define Your Business Model. To prepare for a successful startup, it is best to plan ahead.

Burn Rate 100

Burn Rate B2C Finance Later Stage 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

An alternative approach, which I prefer, is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 235

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 235

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2015

Even non-profits require money to operate, so every startup needs a business model with plans to bring in income. This means delegating tasks and not micro-managing, as well as more time spent working on the business, rather than in the business. Calculate and manage your financials.

Elevator Pitch 120

Elevator Pitch Burn Rate Startup Metrics 120

YoungUpstarts

MAY 20, 2015

“Looking to scale is a “rinse and repeat” function, as a start-up the job is to identify a repeatable and scalable business model. Burn rate: Seeing company grow fast is both exciting and overwhelming experience. It’s how startup should tap the markets they target. Here’s their advice: 1.

Colombia 100

Colombia Burn Rate Startup Agile 100

Gust

AUGUST 19, 2012

The approach I recommend is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates.

Elevator Pitch 146

Elevator Pitch Exit Strategy Burn Rate Merger 146

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

Benchmarks are typically specific to stage/business model/geo. In Rob Go’s words: For seed and Series A deals, investors will also need to see a high-potential team with founder/market fit , a large and attractive market opportunity , and a business model with increasing returns to scale.

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

Professor VC

JANUARY 27, 2011

I strongly believe (at least for very early stage technology ventures) that you will get diminishing returns and arguably negative returns once you get past an initial threshold of team, product, market and financial diligence. The written style is very prompt and the highly practical manners. work at home. Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?

Technical Review 31

Technical Review Due Diligence Silicon Valley San Jose 31

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 13, 2011

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. Yet boards of large companies exist to monitor efficient strategy and execution of a known business model. What are the most important hypotheses to test now?

Silicon Valley 117

Silicon Valley Balance Sheet Metrics Early Stage 117

Professor VC

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

This got me thinking about the business model that Mike Keiser has built at the resort and a lecture began to form in my head. They have done a great job of serving the market. cant wait to go back, which is clearly goal #1 in the list of critical success factors if anyone is still following the business model tangent.

Oregon 28

Oregon San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

Persistent is breaking out of the mold of labor arbitrage, and looking at new and exciting business models. My friend Tony Scott did an outstanding interview with Anand Deshpande , their CEO recently in which Anand discussed his vision for where he wants to take the OPD business. Note, I said, validated. Not just assumptions.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 15, 2020

1:44) We discuss running the Mavs, a completely shuttered organization that can't pivot the way a small business could, and what the team is doing to connect with fans (3:28) Mark's work and family life during the pandemic. ( Things are changing in digital marketing, changing dramatically. Human talent, marketing, engineering, R&D.

Dallas 68

Dallas Employee Government Social Media 68

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

However, liked the team, and Dennis Mink, FootFeeds CEO, convinced me of the value in check-ins as a white label service for brands to market to their customers. I take CFO roles in early stage companies and participate on the management team during the early financings and business model development phases. ► October. (1).

Technical Review 38

Technical Review San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 38

Professor VC

DECEMBER 18, 2008

Many entrepreneurial programs feature a business plan competition, which is a great exercise. At SJSU, we also have a business plan competition in the spring, which ideally allows the students to build a viable business model around their NIF projects. She is planning on starting the business upon graduation.

San Jose 28

San Jose Silicon Valley Technical Review Angel Investor 28

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2012

Otherwise, sales, marketing, and operational costs will kill you. It’s tempting here to simply calculate one percent market share, and assume anyone can do at least that much. Your “burn rate” or net cash flow out is usually the single most important survival parameter to a startup. Next comes sales volume by channel.

Forecast 238

Forecast Burn Rate .Net Business Model 238

Professor VC

APRIL 7, 2011

3 comments: Marketing Services. I take CFO roles in early stage companies and participate on the management team during the early financings and business model development phases. If were not, lets go down on the ship together and hopefully stay out of those lawyer (I mean shark) infested waters.". Steve Bennet. at 1:33 PM.

San Jose 36

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Valuation 36

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2013

Otherwise, sales, marketing, and operational costs will kill you. It’s tempting here to simply calculate one percent market share, and assume anyone can do at least that much. Your “burn rate” or net cash flow out is usually the single most important survival parameter to a startup. Next comes sales volume by channel.

Forecast 238

Forecast Business Plan Burn Rate .Net 238

Professor VC

JULY 31, 2008

This whole process got me thinking about the textbook business model. A bill pending in Congress would require publishers to sell "unbundled" versions of the books and disclose book prices to faculty in their marketing materials. Labels: business models , Grateful Dead , textbook. Steve Bennet. at 7:05 PM.

San Jose 28

San Jose Software Review Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

In future posts I’ll describe how Eric Ries and the Lean Startup concept provide the equivalent model for product development activities inside the building and neatly integrates customer and agile development. The difference is that the ones that succeed invent a Customer Development model.

Customer Development 242

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 242

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 19, 2016

Then come the marketing, sales, and accounting considerations. While you absolutely need to keep an eye on earnings and burn rate, human capital is ultimately the fuel that makes the machine run. His investment in human capital was as much a part of his business plan as market opportunity and fundraising.

Startup 100

Startup Burn Rate Cofounder Salary 100

Professor VC

JUNE 6, 2008

It seems appropriate to have this discussion as Kent Desormeaux grabs Big Browns reins and goes after the Triple Crown tomorrow at Belmont.There is an age old debate in the venture business on whether it is better to bet on the horse (business/market) or the jockey (management team/founders). Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?

San Jose 28

San Jose Technical Review Norway Angel Investor 28

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 26, 2008

Challenge the Status Quo - StubHub entered an industry dominated by a couple of large players who had a vested interest to block the legality of their business of providing a marketplace for the sale of tickets in the secondary market. He definitely had a lot of people tell him that it couldnt be done. Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?

Technical Review 28

Technical Review San Jose Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2011

Otherwise, sales, marketing, and operational costs will kill you. It’s tempting here to simply calculate one percent market share, and assume anyone can do at least that much. Your “burn rate” or net cash flow out is usually the single most important survival parameter to a startup. Next comes sales volume by channel.

Forecast 230

Forecast Burn Rate Startup .Net 230

Professor VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

It did not show how many scores were on the list, but given the number of blackberrys in the market, it has to be a big number. I take CFO roles in early stage companies and participate on the management team during the early financings and business model development phases. My score was #471. Do they have jobs? ► July. (1).

San Jose 28

San Jose Technical Review Angel Investor Silicon Valley 28