A student come up to me before class the week before their business plans were due this past semester looking very dejected. The more she tried to pivot the business model, the more she uncovered evidence that convinced her that she had reached a dead end. It feels like your reputation is riding on getting the business launched. MORE >>

The Stanford Lean LaunchPad class was an experiment in a new model of teaching startup entrepreneurship. What really matters are the business model canvas diagrams in the body and appendix of each presentation. Many entrepreneurship courses focus on teaching students “how to write a business plan.” Syllabus is  here. MORE >>

Tim Berry offers a video investigating business models and plans. He uses Osterwalder as his business model representative. From Tim Berry: What I really don’t like is people saying “don’t do a business plan; do a business model instead.” And that’s very compatible with business planning. MORE >>

In my 21 years as an entrepreneur, I would come up for air once a month to religiously read the Harvard Business Review. For decades this revered business magazine described management techniques that were developed in and were for large corporations –  offering more efficient and creative ways to execute existing business models. MORE >>

Dave learned a framework called OGSM (Objectives / Goals / Strategies / Measures) after his company Bzzagent was acquired by market research firm dunnhumby. With the current focus on fast iteration and pivots, it's easy to forget that businesses mostly evolve in big steps : it feels like they move up different rungs on the ladder. MORE >>