Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

In an era of “launch and learn&# is there a need for a business plan? I have seen really great product people espouse the death of the business plan. So, definition: when I talk about a business plan I’m not talking about a 40-page Word document outlining your market approach.

Business Plan 334

Business Plan AJAX Venture Capital Technical Review 334

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Given the stock market was buying “the story and vision” of anything internet, inflated expectations were more important than traditional metrics like customers, growth, revenue, or heaven forbid, profits. Startups wrote business plans, generated expansive 5-year forecasts and executed (hired, spent and built) to the plan.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

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. We were changing the business model when we changed executives. Ritualized Crises.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Management Business Model Customer Development 247

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

You would think that would be enough to get wrong, but entrepreneurs and investors compound this problem by assuming that all startups grow and scale by executing the Revenue Plan. Reality Meets the Plan. The VC’s were very concerned that the revenue the financial plan called for wasn’t being delivered by the sales team.

Revenue 230

Revenue Balance Sheet Hockey Stick Burn Rate 230

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup’s life are burn rate and cash balance. Filed under: Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan , Business Model versus Business Plan , Teaching , Venture Capital. There’s a better way.

Silicon Valley 290

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 290

VC Cafe

JULY 26, 2020

In fact, they were screaming at them to dramatically reduce their burn rates. Most principles of Lean Startup remain true, as described by Steve Blank in The Lean Startup Changes Everything : Business Plans are dead: Startups a series of hypothesis that need to be tested. It was a nuclear winter for startup capital.”

Lean 214

Lean Seed Capital Startup Burn Rate 214

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup’s life are burn rate and cash balance. Filed under: Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan , Business Model versus Business Plan , Teaching , Venture Capital. There’s a better way.

Silicon Valley 258

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 258