Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Friends and family will likely not expect the same level of sophistication on the business model and financials as a professional investor, but they do expect to see certain things. In high technology, this is called “release early and iterate,” which allows you to make corrections as you go, as well as adjust for the market changes.

Early Stage 247

Early Stage Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 247

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

They prefer to see a rational staged plan, already in progress, with some checkpoints achieved, as well as future ones planned. A proven business model, ready to scale, is particularly attractive. Contrary to popular belief, most investors are not looking for entrepreneurs who are desperate for funding.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Apply for contests and business grants. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 1, 2023

As an early-stage company that just closed our seed round at $8.1 So what does an early-stage company do to avoid the doom and gloom plaguing the world of startups? And they probably never will be unless business model viability is reassessed across the board. That includes us. they still aren’t profitable.

Early Stage 112

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 112

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. Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. Technology Jobs in Southern California – a Rebound. in Computer Science.

Open Source 150

Open Source Business Model Technical Cofounder Southern California 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

They prefer to see a rational staged plan, already in progress, with some checkpoints achieved, as well as future ones planned. A proven business model, ready to scale, is particularly attractive. Contrary to popular belief, most investors are not looking for entrepreneurs who are desperate for funding.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Apply for contests and business grants. Set expectations accordingly.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Steve Blank

JUNE 27, 2017

This article originally appeared in the Harvard Business Review. As more and more companies face disruption from globalization, new technology, and startups that have more capital than the incumbents, the continuing cry from Wall Street investors is, “Why can’t companies be as innovative as startups?”.

Startup 275

Startup New York City Valuation Distribution 275

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 4, 2019

Product architecture – the collection of defining technologies, applications and features in your product – is one of the fundamentals critical to achieving traction. Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea.

Framework 127

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 127

YoungUpstarts

MAY 24, 2019

Product architecture – the collection of defining technologies, applications and features in your product – is one of the fundamentals critical to achieving traction. Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea.

Framework 113

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 113

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

And with the technology available these days, it is convenient to invest in emerging startups. Of late, with the advent of new technology and the spread of the internet to nearly all corners of the country, Indians have taken up a new kind of shop! At this stage, the idea is pitched mainly to family and friends.

Technical Review 146

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 146

Steve Blank

AUGUST 29, 2011

After 50 years of technology entrepreneurship it’s still an art. 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. Happy birthday Max.

Software Review 292

Software Review Early Stage Technical Review Startup 292

Up and Running

AUGUST 1, 2018

3 steps to take as an early stage entrepreneur. Explosive growth has always come from identifying points of friction or market breakdown and orchestrating capabilities (skill sets, behavioral patterns, and technology assets) to overcome them. No customers, no business. Let’s see how. No capabilities, no execution.

Early Stage 69

Early Stage Business Model Entrepreneur Social Media 69

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

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. We competed with other technology companies, and, like Bill Gurley, largely ignored whatever was going on in Washington.

Washington 271

Washington Government Marketing Silicon Valley 271

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

It is possible to attract a venture capital partner with an idea for a business, but most deals are closed after the business has a founding team , a minimum viable product or MVP, and customers. They often invest in the technology industry and in other areas with great potential for growth. Pitch Decks and Presentations.

Venture Capital 144

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Security 144

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. Technology pilots.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Early Stage Incubator Government 256

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Apply for contests and business grants. Set expectations accordingly.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Apply for contests and business grants. Set expectations accordingly.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 4, 2020

Yet, especially in the early stages of your business, you will have to drive the whole of that process. There is nothing wrong with starting a traditional business, but Necessity Entrepreneurs pursue business ideas that have significant growth potential. Is your business idea disruptive? Are you tech-savvy?

Entrepreneur 205

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Silicon Valley Bandwidth 205

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Apply for contests and business grants. Set expectations accordingly.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Apply for contests and business grants. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

That means you need to lead with your credentials, rather than your disruptive technology. Make sure these cover your business model and exit strategy, so the angels see how both of you will make a reasonable return. Early stage research and development won’t excite angels. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Capital investments are like gasoline on a startup business’s metaphorical fire. They allow you to hire more people, purchase new technology, and establish new business connections, among many other benefits. Takeaway lesson: A shocking number of technology startups never even get their first product out the door.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 10, 2011

I was invited to Finland as part of Stanford’s Engineering Technology Venture Program partnership with Aalto University. You find early stage employees expecting to work normal hours, to get paid a regular salary, and not asking or expecting equity. Startup incubators, business angels and VCs are starting to emerge.

Finland 324

Finland Naming Russia Government 324

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

They prefer to see a rational staged plan, already in progress, with some checkpoints achieved, as well as future ones planned. A proven business model, ready to scale, is particularly attractive. Contrary to popular belief, most investors are not looking for entrepreneurs who are desperate for funding.

Angel Investor 268

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Early Stage 268

Steve Blank

MARCH 2, 2011

corporation – starting a new technology division bringing disruptive technology to market at General Electric. One of GE’s new divisions – GE’s Energy Storage – has been given the charter to bring an entirely new battery technology to market. He’s as good as any startup CEO in Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley 222

Silicon Valley Agile Customer Development Early Stage 222

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Apply for contests and business grants. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Steve Blank

JUNE 25, 2009

Twenty eight years ago I was the bright, young, eager product marketing manager called out to the field to support sales by explaining the technical details of Convergent Technologies products to potential customers. Convergent Technologies was one of those OEM suppliers. Their engineers hated us.

Technology 138

Technology Silicon Valley Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE 138

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. Technology costs are plummeting, meaning you can do more with less.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2007

Most often I'm being brought in the early stage, Start-up or Expansion (as the company looks at new product lines). My focus in this post is on the Early and Start-up stages - expansion is more of a consulting, focused project role and it acts different. Roger Smith ) This helps explain where I normally play.

Fractional CTO 231

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review Early Stage 231

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

Seed-stage compatible: Like traditional equity VC investors, Flexible VCs accomodate early-stage investment risk within their portfolios better than a traditional RBI funder. Eligible for favorable treatment under Qualified Small Business Stock exemption, if structured as equity. Typical business stage.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2023

As an advisor to early-stage entrepreneurs, I see a lot of dreams, but not so many business results. The business world doesn’t thrive with yet another social media or dating site – it’s begging for paradigm shifts in the technology or business model. Never give up in the face of adversity.

Startup 264

Startup Early Stage Social Media Business Model 264

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2012

I always hate it when I see startups invest millions of dollars in technology before they validate their ideas in the market, only to find that customers seem to be looking for something slightly different. Test your idea early in a form that is easy and inexpensive to modify. Leverage the technology to change directions as needed.

Startup 242

Startup Database Early Stage Distribution 242

Steve Blank

JUNE 19, 2014

Over the last two and a half years the National Science Foundation I-Corps has taught over 300 teams of scientists how to commercialize their technology and how to fail less, increasing their odds for commercial success. There may come a day that one of these teams makes a drug, diagnostic or medical device that saves your life.

Lean 269

Lean SBIR Intellectual Property Customer Development 269

Steve Blank

MARCH 8, 2011

It was designed to bring together many of the new approaches to building a successful startup – customer development, agile development, business model generation and pivots. Startups are in fact only temporary organizations, organized to search –not execute–for a scalable and repeatable business model.

Lean 298

Lean Business Model Customer Development Guinea 298