article thumbnail

Is the Lean Startup Dead?

Steve Blank

Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits. First Movers” didn’t understand customer problems or the product features that solved those problems (what we now call product-market fit). IPOs dried up.

Lean 335
article thumbnail

Which Fundraising Round Should You Skip?

View from Seed

As a first time founder, having a few million dollars in the bank after a successful seed raise may seem like a huge amount of capital, and it’s easy to lose discipline around your burn rate. Unlike in B2B, you don’t necessarily want to use a second-seed round to get to metrics that every investor will appreciate.

Dilution 149
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Create Structure out of the Gate and You’ll Thank Yourself Later

Feld Thoughts

Early customer development talks are going great which keeps the team really excited. Three months in, the burn is now at $70k/month. No updates, screen comps, or metrics have been publicly shared yet. This is all a part of the normal product and customer development process,” the CEO tells the team.

Burn Rate 152
article thumbnail

No Accounting For Startups

Steve Blank

If you are following Customer Development , the answer is easy. Board meetings are about measuring progress measured against the hypotheses in Customer Discovery and Validation. Do the metrics show that the business model you’re creating will support the company you’re trying to become? Startup Metrics.

article thumbnail

Reinventing the Board Meeting – Part 1 of 2

Steve Blank

The Wrong Metrics. Traditional startup board meetings spend an insane amount of wasted time using Fortune 100 company metrics like income statements, cash flow, balance sheet, waterfall charts. The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup’s life are burn rate and cash balance.

article thumbnail

Why Board Meetings Suck – Part 1 of 2

Steve Blank

The Wrong Metrics. Traditional startup board meetings spend an insane amount of wasted time using Fortune 100 company metrics like income statements, cash flow, balance sheet, waterfall charts. The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup’s life are burn rate and cash balance.

article thumbnail

What's Wrong With Today's Board Meetings: Part 1

ReadWriteStart

Steve Blank is a retired serial entrepreneur, educator, thought leader and creator of the rigorous "Customer Development" methodology that helps startups optimize their chances for success while reducing risk. The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup's life are burn rate and cash balance.