Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 29, 2009

Like a financial debt, the technical debt incurs interest payments, which come in the form of the extra effort that we have to do in future development because of the quick and dirty design choice. We can choose to continue paying the interest, or we can pay down the principal by refactoring the quick and dirty design into the better design.

Technical Review 168

Technical Review Software Review San Francisco Lean 168

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

One way to conceive of our goal in an early-stage venture is to incrementally “fill in the blanks&# for the business model that we think will one day power our startup. For example, say that your business model calls for a 4% conversion rate – as ours did initially at IMVU.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

What matters is proving the viability of the company’s business model, what investors call “traction.&# It should be even more important to the founders themselves, because it demonstrates that their business hypothesis is grounded in reality. And yet their numbers continue to grow, month after month.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 27, 2009

and lean manufacturing to guide the creation of technology businesses that create disruptive innovation. This presentation will empower entrepreneurs and managers to: -Identify a profitable business model faster and cheaper than your competitors. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

Lean 60

Lean Austin San Francisco Continuous Deployment 60

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

You have to know your business model. Most startups launch before theyve figured out what business theyre in. Founders push for it. In some ways, founders are even worse. My experience is that many founders actually have a deep anxiety that maybe they are not succeeding. Most startups arent so fortunate.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 28, 2009

On the one hand, I think they have an urgent problem, and need to invest 100% of their energy into finding a business model (or another form of traction). Fortunately, my co-founders are also engineers and understand the need for some of the stuff I do. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

San Francisco 79

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 79

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 6, 2008

Whats needed is a disciplined methodology for understanding the needs of customers and how they combine to form a viable business model. The site hung on to its design philosophy of being an island cut off from the rest of the Web, and paid the price. Thats what business is designed to do. How did they do it?

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Agile 128

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 18, 2010

What differentiates them is their disciplined approach to determining when to spend money: after the fundamental elements of the business model have been empirically validated. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Lean 167

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Startup 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 21, 2010

A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty. Most businesses – large and small alike – are typically excluded by this context. Startups are designed to confront situations of extreme uncertainty. Let’s take each of these pieces in turn.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco Startup Lean Continuous Deployment 168

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 16, 2010

Rashmi Sinha, co-founder and CEO of SlideShare , describes an early version of the analytics package that’s part of the Pro accounts the company announced today. With careful and continuous learning processes, SlideShare is inverting that idea and going to market with a validated product. What prompted the process change?

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Analytics Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2010

We have to continually invent new categories of products, new platforms, and new business models – all extremely risky bets. When private capital is available in sufficient quantities to satisfy investor and founder liquidity needs, why go IPO? No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

IPO 166

IPO San Francisco Lean Silicon Valley 166

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 8, 2009

In particular, we would cover customer development, continuous deployment, minimum viable product, and actionable metrics. Because of the cost and intensity of this program, it is designed for startups with significant venture backing or who have reached profitability. I love the business model. Great idea.

Lean 102

Lean Programming San Francisco Continuous Deployment 102

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 17, 2009

Eric Ries, a co-founder of IMVU, is a strong proponent of this process and very successfully used it at IMVU. Identify a profitable business model faster and cheaper than your competitors. Continuously discover what customers want to buy before building or making follow-on investments in new features.

Lean 60

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 60

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

No business model, either. In fact, I remember sending him and his obscure-to-me co-founder (aka Reid Hoffman ) a bug report early-on, instead of taking them up on their offer of an in-person meeting. All my products and ideas focus on early cash and a business model that works from the first day. And Google?

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94