Steve Blank

APRIL 12, 2010

Go with your gut and do what you think the market is telling you. The Search for the Business Model. A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. Investors bet on a startup CEO to find the repeatable and scalable business model.

Business Model 332

Business Model Agile Customer Development Startup 332

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capitalists) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Apply for contests and business grants. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

VC Cafe

APRIL 4, 2024

App developers, and game developers know this problem well and there’s something we can learn from them. By the way, this not just about marketing or PR. This is the an important part of Hamilton Helmer’s 7 Powers , a solid framework for business strategy. A good example of this is Runway ML.

Generative AI 78

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence Technical Review ChatGPT 78

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

I asked Tsutsumi-san to write a guest post for my blog to describe his experience with Customer Development in Japan. Leveraging my marketing skills, I successfully made what Steve calls an “onslaught launch”, generating a lot of press coverage and apparent early success. ————-. But customers didn’t agree.

Japan 292

Japan Customer Development Developer Customer 292

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 3, 2016

With the Android platform continuing to grow in popularity across the globe, the need for application development has never before been greater. In order to gain access to the growing number of mobile users around the world who are using their smartphones or tablets to conduct business, an Android application makes a great deal of sense.

Offshore 100

Offshore Developer Application Development Mobile 100

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

I was in New York last week with my class at Columbia University and several events made me realize that the Customer Development model needs to better describe its fit with web-based businesses. And without revenue how do we know if we achieved product/market fit to exit Customer Validation?”

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Apply for contests and business grants. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

Developing the ideal product the first time around is unlikely, high risk, and very expensive in today’s chaotic market. More success has been logged with companies like Amazon, which lightly funds many business model experiments each year, and is not hesitant to pivot or learn from failures.

Artificial Inteligence 286

Artificial Inteligence Technology Leadership Business Model 286

The Startup Magazine

JULY 16, 2021

The lesson of the pandemic era is clear, as market conditions change, business models must evolve. Success is not, as you would think, about having stable business models across market conditions. Find a Defensible Market Segment. Clarify What Your Company’s Profit Segmentation Is.

Business Model 167

Business Model Aggregator Revenue Analytics 167

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

After 20 years of working in startups, I decided to take a step back and look at the product development model I had been following and see why it usually failed to provide useful guidance in activities outside the building – sales, marketing and business development. Product Development Diagram 1.

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2022

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. According to Tim Cook at Apple, there are over 34 million registered developers in 2022. The ideal business model is to establish a direct-to-consumer service that enables you to bill the customer directly.

Developer 345

Developer Mobile Revenue Advertising 345

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step. Seed capital is a component of the initial investments made in young businesses. After that, the money is used to maintain the company’s expansion. Hence they will miss the finish line.

Seed Stage 127

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 127

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Not just any carpet cleaning business, but specifically an endeavor in dry carpet cleaning services. This blog aims to guide you through the process, from the initial steps of conducting market research to operational management, hiring staff, and more. This encompasses every aspect of the client’s interaction with your business.

Balance Sheet 109

Balance Sheet Technical Review Business Model Business Plan 109

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. ” Fire, Ready, Aim. IPOs dried up.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more. Even non-profits need a profitable business model to offset staff and operating costs. Assume passion level defines business opportunity. Not every great idea is a viable business.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Up and Running

OCTOBER 13, 2021

During the last few years, marketers have turned toward more personalized experiences to win customers over. What is personalized marketing? Personalized marketing is when a business delivers individualized content to current and prospective customers. Why is personalized marketing effective? Give them gifts.

Customer 118

Customer Marketing Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 118

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

But the product/market fit of this first iteration is a swing and a miss. Marketing and capital expenses (new factory, high R&D expense) were predicated on consumer-scale sales. I got a preview of PhotoCD when I was the head of marketing at SuperMac , a supplier of hardware and software for graphics professionals.

Search 256

Search Marketing Forecast Burn Rate 256

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

After that, you can upgrade it, based on the market feedback. To make the process easier, we suggest that you hire a web developer and tell them how you want the site to appear. Because of this, you’ll have to create and market a site that suits your target audience. Create a Business Model. Core Features.

Marketing 100

Marketing Web Development Campaign Audience 100

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2014

Product/Market fit now has its own book. It has three parts: a business model canvas to frame hypotheses, customer development to get out of the building to test those hypotheses and agile engineering to build minimum viable products. Teaches you how to use Customer Development to test it. Product/Market fit.

Business Model 335

Business Model Design Customer Development Lean 335

YoungUpstarts

MAY 18, 2017

However, when it comes to MLM product development, marketing ideas and compensation plan strategy, being a creative copycat could be a legal and ethical shortcut to achieving your business goals for your new MLM, party plan or direct selling company. The real definition of copycat marketing is in the name.

Marketing 113

Marketing Seattle Operations California 113

ConversionXL

JUNE 2, 2022

Every business needs leads. The biggest challenge for marketers is getting them. Account-based marketing (ABM) and lead generation both offer a way to do this. Account-based marketing is a team sport. A higher ROI than any other type of marketing. ABM treats each account as a target market. The result?

Lead Generation 94

Lead Generation Marketing Sales Cycle Campaign 94

Steve Blank

JUNE 23, 2020

The pandemic has upended the business models of most startups and existing companies. Suppliers are going out of business or requiring cash-up-front terms. Revenue models and forecasts are no longer valid. In sum, whatever business model you had at the beginning of the year may be obsolete. Here’s how.

Customer 436

Customer Marketing Customer Development Lean 436

Steve Blank

AUGUST 23, 2010

At times I’ll do what I consider an extension of teaching; a two-day Customer Discovery/Validation intensive session with a large corporation serious about Customer Development at my ranch on the California Coast. Rather, it is a organization searching for a business model (inside a company that’s executing an existing one.)

Customer Development 235

Customer Development Developer Customer South America 235

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2023

No matter how well your business seems to have worked for you up to this point, you can be certain that it will need to be heavily transformed for tomorrow’s new world-wide economy and no industry sector boundaries. Most great business leaders, including Jeff Bezos , maintain a key internal team to study and implement the next steps.

Partner 350

Partner Operations Metrics Leadership 350

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 25, 2010

It’s the combination of Business Model Design and Customer Development. Business Model Design. Today every business organization from startup to large company uses the words “business model.” More importantly they showed how any company’s business model could be defined in 9 boxes.

Customer Development 329

Customer Development Business Model Developer Customer 329

The Entrepreneurial Mind

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Developing a sound business model is key to the successful launch of a business. But you should never assume the business modeling is finished once the business begins to grow. Keeping a business model current is critical for long-term success. Who is my target market?

Business Model 76

Business Model Charlotte Raleigh Technical Review 76

Start Up Blog

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

1) A new technology + (2) A new business model If we only have one, the incumbents can usually adapt. They can plug the new tech into the existing business model. Or, they can revert the old technology into a new business model. Each time they sold the new tech in the old business model.

ChatGPT 90

ChatGPT Technical Review Generative AI Azure 90

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

A proven business model, ready to scale, is particularly attractive. A strategy of learning and willingness to pivot, based on market feedback, is a great survival skill and attitude, cherished by investors. Many key insights to success in any business can’t be learned from books or the Internet.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 8, 2023

Keeping up with trends is the reality show of the e-commerce world, which is constantly developing, gaining a significant market share, and driving online sales. The story behind its substantial growth in the market is simple: people love to shop in the most convenient way possible, and a smartphone is a perfect way to do it.

eCommerce 185

eCommerce Technical Review Software Review Analytics 185

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 1, 2019

In the first post , we drilled down into the often-overlooked notion of “market-engineering” and why it’s so critical. Go-to-Market. But when it comes to that crucial second phase – go-to-market – entrepreneurs find themselves devoid of help and support. In other words, they need go-to-market traction. Go-to-Product.

Cleveland 150

Cleveland Framework Marketing Early Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more. Even non-profits need a profitable business model to offset staff and operating costs. Assume passion level defines business opportunity. Not every great idea is a viable business.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Transformify

SEPTEMBER 12, 2017

What are the drivers behind these figures and why Africa is so polarized when it comes to skills development and unemployment rates? Reaching out to new markets and opportunities requires skills, experience, and networks that are usually developed by those who have studied abroad.

Africa 75

Africa Benin Seychelles Nigeria 75

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 27, 2018

As you prioritize your product rollout tasks, a mobile app, whether it is “the” product, or an adjunct marketing tool, is critical to the customer experience. Getting the right app design elements, the right experience, and the right development resources lined up will make your rollout much quicker and with fewer headaches.

Mobile 60

Mobile Social Media Marketing Business Model 60

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

I feel like “conversion rate optimization” is in 2013 what “social media marketing” was in 2009. Not because they have a conversion problem but because they never really nail the product or how to market it. This is a customer development problem. So What is Customer Development? image source.

Customer Development 126

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 126

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 13, 2024

Startups in the cybersecurity sector are facing a daunting market environment , contending with decreased valuations and increasing pressure to sell while competing for vital funding and collaborations.

Down Round 154

Down Round Marketing Artificial Inteligence Startup 154

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Commercial open source companies – being open source is a powerful way to gain developer adoption and sell to enterprises a lot sooner. New enterprise resource planning software (ERPs) – new startups that build software that helps businesses run. Looking for startups solving practical use cases that go beyond gaming.

Artificial Inteligence 177

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 177

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 5, 2017

Because Millennials participate so much of their daily lives online — from communicating with friends to reviewing restaurants — they represent a hugely lucrative market for brands. Millennials shop online more than Gen X’ers and certainly more than Baby Boomers, making them an obvious target market for ecommerce platforms.

Marketing 150

Marketing eCommerce Technical Review Social Media 150