SoCal CTO

MARCH 5, 2007

There are quite a few other Software Development Companies in Southern California working on open source and/or freemium business models. ► February (2) CTO Founders / Cofounders Part-Time Startup CTO? Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Open Source 150

Open Source Business Model Technical Cofounder Southern California 150

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

It’s the antithesis of how founders want to build a business. Rent seekers are individuals or organizations with successful existing business models who use government regulation and lawsuits to keep out new entrants that might threaten their business models. Bill Gurley’s point.)

Washington 271

Washington Government Marketing Silicon Valley 271

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

I touched on this in my post “ Founder Investor Fit “ Passing the initial filtering process. Stake – can the fund secure it’s minimum stake in the business? Most of these can sound like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many founders skip this initial research.

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder Portfolio 166

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 4, 2019

Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea. What does this mean for their early stage investors? Weak revenue architecture poses the greatest near-term risk of failure for most early stage startups.

Framework 118

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 118

Steve Blank

AUGUST 29, 2011

Max and his partners had interviewed and analyzed over 650 early-stage Internet startups. In May they released the first Startup Genome Report — an in-depth analysis on what makes early-stage Internet startups successful. It’s Not How Big It Is – It’s How Well It Performs. Happy birthday Max.

Software Review 292

Software Review Early Stage Technical Review Startup 292

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. Though RBI will displace some traditional equity VC, its much bigger impact will be to expand the pool of capital available for early-stage entrepreneurs. . So what is Revenue Based Investing?

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

YoungUpstarts

MAY 24, 2019

Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea. What does this mean for their early stage investors? Weak revenue architecture poses the greatest near-term risk of failure for most early stage startups.

Framework 104

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 104

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

This will be your calling card and a good jumping-off point to discuss your business with potential investors. Your pitch deck provides an overview of your entire business. This deck shares insights about your service or product, business model, funding needs, and the skills of your management team. Management team.

Venture Capital 144

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Security 144

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

At this stage, the idea is pitched mainly to family and friends. It is here that the groundwork is laid and the business model developed. A business plan is drawn up to attract investors and partners. The legalities of starting the business are addressed to create a structure for attracting funding.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 145

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

In very few specific cases, depending on the nature of the business, the business model might demand a considerable gestation period or extensive research and development. For these businesses, it is imperative to get funding from the start without which the company cannot be set up. Early-stage.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. Founders can now access the largest pool of risk capital that ever existed –in the form of Private Equity (Angel Investors, family offices , Venture Capitalists (VC’s) and Hedge Funds.). What does this mean for startup founders? Here’s the thing most founders miss.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Steve Blank

JUNE 11, 2009

Posted on June 11, 2009 by steveblank When my students ask me about whether they should be a founder or cofounder of a startup I ask them to take a walk around the block and ask themselves: Are you comfortable with: Chaos – startups are disorganized Uncertainty – startups never go per plan Are you: Resilient – at times you will fail – badly.

Cofounder 219

Cofounder Founder Silicon Valley Technical Cofounder 219

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 6, 2011

" Today I had two conversations with early stage startups (see Free CTO Consulting ). In both cases, the founder and I brainstormed on ways to shift the product in order to get closer to what I perceived as something that would be great. " One was an enterprise software product. Customer Validation 101.

Customer 227

Customer Fractional CTO Viral Lean 227

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

In the early stages of a startup your hypotheses about all the parts of your business model are your profound beliefs. You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite of a startup if you don’t hold any. You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite if you don’t have any.

Business Model 305

Business Model Product Development Early Stage Customer Development 305

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative. New “up-and-comer” VCs focus on early-stage companies. VCs are finding that they don’t need the “large” funds of $100M to $500M to support a portfolio, if they focus on early-stage startups.

Angel Investor 231

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Early Stage Silicon Valley 231

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Flexible VC 102: Variations.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

That’s because obtaining a pre-money valuation for a concept level technology company in excess of $1 million is difficult, particularly for a startup founder without a proven track record. By contrast, obtaining a pre-money valuation of $5 million for a business with a new viable product and even very minimal sales is somewhat reasonable.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2011

Over the last decade we assumed that once we found repeatable methodologies (Agile and Customer Development , Business Model Design) to build early stage ventures, entrepreneurship would become a “science,” and anyone could do it. Founders fit the definition of a creator: they see something no one else does.

Agile 332

Agile Customer Development Early Stage Business Model 332

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative. Business Week ran a more thorough analysis of this movement a while back, which I am summarizing here. New “up-and-comer” VCs focus on early-stage companies. Tags: entrepreneur startup investor super angels founder. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 10, 2011

Instead the business press dumped on the founders for “selling out.” Many founders mentioned this as a reason not to incorporate or grow their companies in Finland. You find early stage employees expecting to work normal hours, to get paid a regular salary, and not asking or expecting equity.

Finland 324

Finland Naming Russia Government 324

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 1, 2019

In two of these three phases – the first and third – volumes of helpful information and numerous organizations are readily available to help guide and support founders of startups. These are the consultants and books that offer founders the tools and insights needed to “cross the chasm” ( as Geoffrey Moore put it ) and begin to scale.

Cleveland 127

Cleveland Framework Marketing Early Stage 127

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

A well-organized library of best practices for founders in your vertical, which you can share as appropriate. First Round Search , Startupschool , and GSV Passport are examples of comprehensive founder resources from investors. I have developed a founder curriculum on my blog. AskAnything.VC Advantages.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

Startup founders are our ambitious problem solvers. experiments to build a product, find customers, test business models and hire amazing people. experiments to build a product, find customers, test business models and hire amazing people. Underpinning this growth is good governance. Risk and reward.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 88

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2012

I got to spend time inside his company while I was using their software to analyze early-stage ventures. What I saw reminded me of some of the best and worst things I did as a founder. Some of the engineers figuring if the founder was declaring they were toast in 90 days were updating their resumes. A Pivot a Week.

Founder 316

Founder Cofounder Advisory Board Burn Rate 316

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 31, 2023

” That was the email one of Ethena’s founders sent to me and Melanie Naranjo on 8/21/21, a bit over two years ago. Hunter Walk: One of my favorite things to do for founders is speaking with people who are considering joining their startup. I know you’ll really enjoy chatting.”

Employee 113

Employee Startup Vertical Leadership 113

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 11, 2018

Kabam, the mobile gaming company, hit a major stumbling block in its early days when its financing was lost due to the 2008 financial collapse. Co-founder Holly Liu will walk us through the the decisions that led to that outcome. As is the right business model, which is the focus of the Don’t Bet on Your First Business Model workshop.

Lean 103

Lean Las Vegas Cofounder Startup 103

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 24, 2021

For years, he went on to advise other founders about how to generate VC interest, which really could have amounted to, “Be a warm body with a pulse in a sector that firm got shut out of a deal in.” Founders get “happy ears”. The ecosystem is full of bad advice from founders that couldn’t raise.

Founder 127

Founder Term Sheet Early Stage Business Model 127

www.startuplessonslearned.com

MAY 4, 2012

Founders Dilemmas: Equity Splits. The following is an excerpt from HBS Professor Noam Wasserman’s new book, The Founders Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. Noam is one of a rare breed of business academics: he studies entrepreneurship using a rigorous empirical approach. by Eric Ries.

Equity 72

Equity Founder Technical Cofounder Cofounder 72

Steve Blank

JUNE 15, 2010

The role of a founding CEO in a startup searching for a business model is radically different than a CEO building and growing a company. So if you’re the founder of a startup, you may want to consider who you take money from. Is Your VC Founder Friendly? How many of their founders are still with their company?

Founder 231

Founder Vesting Later Stage Early Stage 231

Up and Running

APRIL 8, 2015

Do you have an early-stage startup? Your business might need a safe place to come out of its shell. A business in its early stages can often use a leg up, whether in the form of wise words from a mentor or an introduction to a strategic partner. These are very, very, very early-stage companies.

Incubator 60

Incubator Cofounder Founder Early Stage 60

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

But next the question is, ‘What happens to my business?”. The questions every startup or small business CEO needs to ask now are: What’s my Burn Rate and Runway? What does your new business model look like? If you’re an early stage company, that number may be zero. What does my business model look like now?

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

JANUARY 9, 2014

No clear vision or purpose This should be the starting point for any startup founder, but it’s often overlooked. in business we can create much deeper connections with our audience and give our startups a better chance of success. By focusing on the ‘why?’ I set up a regular design meetup for startups, UX Café , for this reason.

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Startup Cofounder Design 102

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

Organizational debt is all the people/culture compromises made to “just get it done” in the early stages of a startup. I got answers that sounded like the Tom’s – new stock grants for the executive staff, great new building, and oh, by the way, Tom and his co-founder got to sell some stock in the new round.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

That approach may work for an entrepreneur who just sold a successful business for a huge profit, but it doesn’t work for the rest of us who are not proven successes yet, or don’t even have a business yet. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

Steve Blank

JUNE 26, 2015

The first time a few brave corporate innovators tried to overlay the Lean tools and techniques that work in early-stage startups in an existing corporation, the result was chaos, confusion, frustration and ultimately, failure. Horizon 1 activities support existing business models. Horizon 1 is the company’s core business.

Lean 120

Lean Management Business Model Incubator 120

Up and Running

MARCH 12, 2019

For a lot of non-technical founders—that is, entrepreneurs with a business idea but without technical expertise— sourcing software development talent is critical. As a result, a lot of founders are turning to international outsourcing.

IP 80

IP Software Developers Software Development Intellectual Property 80

The Next Web

DECEMBER 4, 2013

Initially, your staff (even if that’s just you and a co-founder) will be your greatest asset in locating and connecting with your audience. As a startup, you’re working with limited resources and a lean business model. Starting out, you can’t hit every network and outlet full-force. Prioritize social networks.

Social Media 158

Social Media Media Viral Startup 158