Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2019

My contribution has been, “Why don’t we design classes more closely modeled to what innovators and entrepreneurs actually do.” Today the capstone class is most often experiential, team-based, hands on, focused around the search for a repeatable and scalable business model. Distribution channels, brand loyalty, etc.

Incubator 332

Incubator Lean Programming Government 332

Steve Blank

AUGUST 5, 2010

Consumer Internet investing seems to have split off from traditional Venture Capital, and is creating a new category of VC’s: Lean VC’s. Electron-based Venture Capital. When I first came to Silicon Valley the world of Venture Capital looked pretty simple. Here’s why.

Lean 263

Lean Internet Silicon Valley Venture Capital 263

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Thus it is always a question of what you qualify for, and what you are willing to give up, to turn your dream idea into a viable business. Here is my list of the ten most common sources of funding today, in reverse priority sequence, with some rules of thumb to channel your focus: 10. Solicit venture capital investors.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Small Business Administration 283

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016

Thus it is always a question of what you qualify for, and what you are willing to give up, to turn your dream idea into a viable business. Here is my list of the ten most common sources of funding today, in reverse priority sequence, with some rules of thumb to channel your focus: Seek a bank loan or credit-card line-of-credit.

Equity 120

Equity Small Business Administration SBA Syndicate 120

The Equity Kicker

JULY 8, 2019

When I started in venture capital in the late 1990s VCs were regularly lambasted for taking long summer holidays and spending too much time on the golf course. Most investors thought of their job as picking good companies and making sure governance was strong. Business model. Low handicaps weren’t good!

Portfolio 84

Portfolio LP Venture Capital Partner 84

Hearpreneur

MAY 4, 2019

What I’ve learned from my experiences as a four-time entrepreneur and an angel investor in more than thirty startups is that while it often looks as if world-altering business opportunities emerge by accident, they can, in fact, be discovered and scaled in a methodical way. How did you come up with your business name?

Cofounder 64

Cofounder Founder Entrepreneur Venture Capital 64

Babbling VC

APRIL 3, 2011

I know it goes against your business model :-) but it must tickle you that to some, the sign of success is funding and not a successful business. It's kind of funny that the majority of people coming to me are obviously looking to raise venture capital and don't have this discussion with me. This is a good one.

Venture Capital 81

Venture Capital Bootstrapping Global Valuation 81

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 2, 2013

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures led the round. This business model isn't how Electnext started, nor was investor interest always this strong. It's a tough slog, and, at the end of the day, it's tough to gather the audiences and then figure out a business model to support the effort. This helped them hone their offering.

Business Model 108

Business Model B2B Campaign Audience 108

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

I was recently contacted by an entrepreneur who was consider a few different business models for his company. Marketing channels have changed. In preparation for her reentry into VC she spoke with many mentors of hers for advice on venture capital. ” I responded. Platforms have changed. So you become jaded.

China 150

China Venture Capital Framework Partner 150

Steve Blank

JUNE 11, 2013

When you take money from investors their business model becomes yours. Sigh… What I should have been hearing is the search for the business model, specifically the progress on product/market fit, but I hear the fund raising story first at least 90% of the time. When I asked, “What are you working on?” Why small amounts?

Venture Capital 334

Venture Capital IRR Liquidity Event Business Model 334

Steve Blank

JULY 2, 2009

To an entrepreneur, being asked to join a venture firm with an Entrepreneur-in-Residence title means you have been tapped on the shoulder by the VC gods. The CDROM content business in the early 1990’s was one of the many of the long line of venture capital fads. Make game, market, sell, profit?

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 120

Steve Blank

JUNE 11, 2013

When you take money from investors their business model becomes yours. Sigh… What I should have been hearing is the search for the business model, specifically the progress on product/market fit, but I hear the fund raising story first at least 90% of the time. When I asked, “What are you working on?” Why small amounts?

Venture Capital 226

Venture Capital IRR Liquidity Event Business Model 226

Reid Hoffman

JANUARY 19, 2021

The structural role of a board of directors is corporate governance, specifically, making sure that the company is managed in accordance with the interest of the shareholders (and if liabilities exceed assets, the interest of debtholders), and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. WHAT DOES A BOARD OF DIRECTORS DO?

Startup 36

Startup Cofounder Advertising Hiring 36

Cracking the Code

OCTOBER 10, 2008

You validated our business model and added huge value to our efforts. However, as we know from the cable industry, subscription businesses can be very profitable over time. For a direct, enterprise sales business model, these thresholds are likely to be around $80,000-100,000 CMRR (approx. $1-1.2M Michael Kassing.

Software Review 48

Software Review North America Europe Metrics 48

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 28, 2011

Forget new business models for journalism. When the industry failed to hold up it’s end of that bargain—instead shoving crappy one-hit wonders down the channel—it was only a matter of time before technology enabled consumers to go around them, and the industry collapsed. It’s done.

Libya 129

Libya Syria Covenant New Jersey 129

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 24, 2010

the wave of semiconductor startups in the 1960’s/70’s, the emergence of venture capital as a professional industry, the personal computer revolution in 1980’s, the rise of the Internet in the 1990’s and finally. The New Structure of the Venture Capital industry. The Democratization of Entrepreneurship.

Silicon Valley 335

Silicon Valley United States Venture Capital Software Review 335

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

the wave of semiconductor startups in the 1960’s/70’s, the emergence of Venture Capital as a professional industry, the personal computer revolution in 1980’s, the rise of the Internet in the 1990’s and finally. Government and the enterprise are now followers rather than leaders. The founders. or Euro-centric phenomenon.

Restful 243

Restful Silicon Valley Puerto Rico San Jose 243

Reid Hoffman

JANUARY 13, 2021

Reid: It’s very entertaining that you are channeling a question from Dylan Field – Dylan is the founder of Figma, which is a Greylock investment, so Dylan and I talk to each other every so often and he is obviously a superstar entrepreneur. You compete for customers, channels and partnerships. Why do you think it’s going to fail?”

Incubator 36

Incubator IPO Networking Cofounder 36