View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

But in a FOMO world, more investors are willing to take a chance on a founder that they don’t know, but seems to match some of the heuristics of other high quality founders. Business Models and Sectors. VCs are always founder focused no matter the market environment.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

In my view, every startup in today’s world would do well to adopt a management system with the same key objectives: Start with a customer-obsessed business model. For example, when delivery costs and delays were still a major online sales hurdle, Amazon Prime membership was invented to offer free next day shipping.

Global 308

Global Marketing Technical Review Algorithm 308

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

By removing physical boundaries, the care delivery modality provides an obvious advantage to more efficiently match geographically unbalanced provider supply with patient demand. . Patient-facing cost is a key driver of healthcare accessibility. Affordability . Logistical Friction. Scalable Go-To-Market .

Vertical 156

Vertical Software Review Portfolio Demand 156

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Surprisingly if you’ve filled out the business model canvas you already know who you need. She started by sketching her business model canvas on a napkin, but somehow the conversation quickly shifted to what was really on her mind. ——-. I told Radhika this is a perennial question for startups.

Cofounder 335

Cofounder Founder Intellectual Property Business Model 335

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

Most large companies manage three types of innovation: process innovation (making existing products incrementally better), continuous innovation (building on the strength of the company’s current business model but creating new elements) and disruptive innovation (creating products or services that did not exist before.).

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

Without any prior agreements in place, this can cause a ton of problems that can lead to the collapse of the business. They tend to overlook costs like renting an office space, marketing, or employee benefits, which can be expensive. While that example is more extreme, the same principle applies to any business. Lack of funding.

Startup 165

Startup Demand Business Model Founder 165

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 18, 2020

The first is the cost of entry. In addition, the average Wayback Burger space is 1,600 to 1,800 square feet, which means that real estate, buildout, and equipment costs are lower. It would be tough to match the ingenuity and creativity and technological prowess that millennials are known for.

Entrepreneur 207

Entrepreneur Technical Review United States Mobile 207

VC Cafe

JUNE 26, 2023

where rather than sift through noise to find an answer, users will generate a specific result to match their needs. Makes sense, as companies can adopt a SaaS model and not require huge scale to monetise via advertising.

Generative AI 175

Generative AI Search ChatGPT Technical Review 175

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Dave was building a mobile app for matching college students who needed to move within a local area with potential local movers. As the farm fields flew by on the interstate I listened as Dave described how he translated his vision into a series of hypotheses and mapped them onto a business model canvas. Customer Discovery.

Cofounder 336

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Coder 336

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

The cost of entry for tech startups continues to go down. Twenty years ago, it cost several million dollars to launch an e-commerce startup, which can be done today for a few thousand dollars. Mobile and web software apps may cost even less. Super angels have greater scope to match talent with a startup.

Angel Investor 342

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Portfolio 342

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

We’ll sell them the CDROM drives as well.” (The Kodak CDROM drives were the size of professional audio equipment and depending on the model, costing $600-$1000 in today’s dollars.) (And To this day I remember being lectured by a senior Kodak executive, “Steve you don’t get it, we’re experts at selling to consumers.

Search 266

Search Marketing Forecast Burn Rate 266

Steve Blank

APRIL 4, 2011

This week they were testing who the customer, user, payer for the product will be (and discovering if they have a multi-sided business model , one with both buyers and sellers.) Or were they 2) an information exchange, providing matching services for cloud computing buyers and sellers, providing matching services.

Customer 237

Customer Business Model Nebraska Cloud 237

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Yet, according to statistics from the Small Business Association (SBA), over half of new businesses offer something else - personal professional services, including consulting, business coaching, and advisory services. Maximize repeat business with existing clients. Set pricing to assure both revenue and profit.

Differentiation 141

Differentiation SBA Social Media Dividend 141

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2012

The alternatives range from giving it away for free (like Twitter), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). The implications of the decision you make are huge, defining your brand image, your funding requirements, and your long-term business viability. Freemium” model.

Business Model 282

Business Model Revenue Portfolio Differentiation 282

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2023

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. Most entrepreneurs think about how they can improve cost or usability by ten or twenty percent. Becoming an entrepreneur is easy, but winning is still tough.

Angel Investor 297

Angel Investor Leadership Social Network Startup 297

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. They believe in you above all else.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Early Stage Incubator Government 256

Steve Blank

MAY 6, 2015

It’s a really big idea because what you build needs to match the hypothesis you want to test. Luckily Alexander Osterwalder’s business model canvas presents a visual overview of the nine components of a business on one page. activities necessary to implement the business model. Generating Hypotheses.

Lean 120

Lean Agile Business Model Customer Development 120

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 8, 2021

You can devise a streamlined, efficient workflow from scratch – but there’s no guarantee the “practice” is going to match the “theory.” But with efficient employees, your costs decrease, customer loyalty increases, and your business model will have a much better chance of success. Experimental workflows.

Employee 127

Employee Product Startup Software Review 127

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MAY 10, 2010

In fact, 3 of the 10 selected companies from the past two years has followed this business model. To see this done right, consider Threadless , a bootstrapped marketplace matching people seeking unique T-shirts with people who invent them. What are other advantages or pitfalls of marketplace-style businesses?

Business Model 310

Business Model Finder SEO Bootstrapping 310

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2023

As a business consultant, I’m often asked for some pragmatics on how to accomplish these objectives on a regular basis, without losing control or costing a fortune. In reality, many companies now offer a “ clicks and bricks ” business model, with shopping online, and then completing the purchase and support at a physical location.

Differentiation 274

Differentiation Social Media Customer Matching 274

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 12, 2017

But while that particular model has seen success, it certainly won’t be the only way that companies will be able to create greater personalization and serendipitous discovery for their customers. It is very difficult to win over customers without matching the jaw-dropping value and service that Amazon has trained consumers to expect.

Internet 209

Internet eCommerce Bankruptcy Technical Review 209

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

The first will be commodity businesses that are valued for their ability to execute their current business model. The second class will be firms with a demonstrated ability to continually innovate and reinvent their business models. These innovations do not require change in a company’s existing business model.

Private Equity 326

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 326

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2016

I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. It’s important to learn from your own mistakes, but it’s even smarter to learn from someone else’s mistakes, without paying their high price in time lost, cost, and pain. Assume passion level defines business opportunity.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. They believe in you above all else.

Early Stage 412

Early Stage Angel Investor Incubator Government 412

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

The cost of entry for tech startups continues to go down. Twenty years ago, it cost several million dollars to launch an e-commerce startup, which can be done today for a few thousand dollars. Mobile and web software apps may cost even less. Super angels have greater scope to match talent with a startup.

Angel Investor 314

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Startup 314

Steve Blank

MARCH 2, 2011

Working with him, I’ve been impressed to watch his small team embrace Customer Development (and Business Model Generation ) and search the world for the right product/market fit. And they’ve continuously iterated and gone through a few pivots of their business model.

Silicon Valley 229

Silicon Valley Agile Customer Development Early Stage 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

For example, I find that more people now look for a great total experience , including selection choices, ease of return, and friendly support, versus just the lowest cost transaction. Scan for unmet needs to match new products. Be a first responder, rather than the last, to make business model and strategy adjustments to compensate.

Marketing 405

Marketing Flash Social Media Metrics 405

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2020

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. Most entrepreneurs think about how they can improve cost or usability by ten or twenty percent. Becoming an entrepreneur is easy, but winning is still tough.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Leadership Social Network Matching 359

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology." " Investors want to buy into an entrepreneur with a startup that can provide evidence of an ability to double customer productivity, at half the cost, with patented technology.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Technical Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. It’s important to learn from your own mistakes, but it’s even smarter to learn from someone else’s mistakes, without paying their high price in time lost, cost, and pain. Assume passion level defines business opportunity.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

Outside investors are most interested in scaling a proven business model, not research and development. The best technologies are barely invisible and low cost. The reality is that consumers and businesses alike are afraid of new technologies, due to the learning curve, potential quality problems and side effects.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Often you can't tell if something like a search engine or matching algorithm is really going to have better results until you use it. How much is it costing you to get users? That said, you likely could have still come up with some cheaper way than building the iPod. Results of Algorithms. How much are you making from your users?"

Algorithm 264

Algorithm Metrics Viral Venture Capital 264

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

Dan Kozikowski, Partner and Head of Platform, First Mark Capital , said to me, “Firms should match services to the stage-specific needs of companies. Then, pluck the low-hanging fruit: easy, low-cost, and highly scalable infrastructure. For example, recruiting writ large is useful at all stages of development. Is the service scaleable?

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 9, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

The Next Web

OCTOBER 25, 2012

The startup’s mobile app integrates smartly with users’ Facebook graph and iOS address book to make for relevant matches. That’s also the (freemium) business model: monetizing the communication features and possibly giving users the ability to buy ‘promoted spots’ in the future. BetterInternet.

Software Review 132

Software Review Startup Business Model Technical Review 132

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing.

Technical Review 399

Technical Review Product Advisory Board Business Model 399