Business Model Forecast Metrics Product Development 
Steve Blank
SEPTEMBER 5, 2018
Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits. Startups wrote business plans, generated expansive 5-year forecasts and executed (hired, spent and built) to the plan.
Steve Blank
MAY 14, 2012
Any dispassionate observer would recognize that on Day One, a start-up has no customers, and unless the founder is a true domain expert, he or she can only guess about the customer, problem, and business model. Executives look at that date and the calendar, working backward to ignite fireworks on the day the product is launched.
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Up and Running
FEBRUARY 10, 2021
After all, nothing could be worse than arriving at an investor meeting and then getting a request for a business plan and not having one ready. Beyond understanding your business strategy, investors will also want to understand your financial forecasts. Your financial forecast should help you figure this out.
Startup Lessons Learned
SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
Own the development methodology - in a traditional product development setup, the VP Engineering or some other full-time manager would be responsible for making sure the engineers wrote adequate specs, interfaced well with QA, and also run the scheduling "trains" for releases. Labels: product development 15comments: mukund said.
Startup Lessons Learned
JUNE 5, 2009
Companies that reliably fail to make their forecasted numbers are exceptionally prone to “management retooling.&# In a startup context, numbers like gross revenue are actually vanity metrics, not actionable metrics. I think the problem with this approach is not the presence of the spreadsheet, but how it’s used.
Up and Running
FEBRUARY 12, 2022
Just don’t invest the time in creating a lengthy version of your business plan with overly detailed metrics and milestones for the next five-plus years. A long-term business plan like this is different from a traditional business plan in that it’s lighter on the details and more focused on your strategic direction.
Steve Blank
JANUARY 10, 2011
The VP of an operating division had run into trouble in product development; the product was late and getting later. The revenue plan had the new product baked into the numbers and it was clear that this division General Manager was going to crater his forecast (happens all the time, nothing new here.)
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