Steve Blank

MAY 13, 2015

My guests this week on Bay Area Ventures on Wharton Business Radio on SiriusXM Channel 111 were: Kathryn Gould co-founder of Foundation Capital. Tune in on SiriusXM Channel 111 Monday June 29th 4pm PST/7pm EST for our next interesting program – Hacking for Defense in Silicon Valley.

Channel 120

Channel Silicon Valley Cofounder Venture Capital 120

Steve Blank

JULY 14, 2015

My guests on Bay Area Ventures on Wharton Business Radio on Sirius XM Channel 111 were: Alexander Osterwalder – inventor of the Business Model Canvas. Do the channels you imagine to reach these customers actually want to work with you? Oren Jacob , ex-CTO of Pixar and now CEO of ToyTalk. Because customers don’t care about your idea. …

Channel 120

Channel Business Model Cofounder Business Plan 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 3, 2018

It does mean that success in building a company that scales depends on finding product/market fit, enough customers, enough financing, enough great employees, distribution channels, etc. These are entrepreneurial skills you need to rapidly acquire or find a co-founder who already has them. Lessons Learned.

Technical Review 334

Technical Review Entrepreneur Artificial Inteligence Agile 334

Steve Blank

JULY 2, 2015

My guests this past week on Bay Area Ventures on Wharton Business Radio on Sirius XM Channel 111 were: Pete Newell , managing partner of BMNT Partners. John Kuhn , who works at BMNT Partners. Matt Weingart, program development manager in the Strategic Development Office at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Channel 120

Channel Japan Bosnia Silicon Valley 120

Steve Blank

MARCH 12, 2014

Therefore we needed them to think and learn about two parts of a startup; 1) ideation - how to create new ideas and 2) customer development – how do they test the validity of their idea (is it the right product, customer, channel, pricing, etc.).

Lean 334

Lean Customer Development Startup Silicon Valley 334

Steve Blank

JANUARY 2, 2014

Part 6: Distribution channels in Life Sciences. It includes reimbursement, regulation, IP, validation, channel access, etc. Part 3: described what we’re going to do about it. Part 4: This Will Save us Years – Customer Discovery in Medical Devices. Part 5: Value proposition and customer segments in Life Sciences.

Lean 240

Lean Algorithm Customer Development IP 240

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 15, 2019

Disruption today is more than just changes in technology, or channel, or competitors – it’s all of them, all at once. The type of disruption most companies and government agencies are facing is a once-in-every-few-centuries event. And these forces are completely reshaping both commerce and defense.

Government 315

Government Technical Review Acquisition Metrics 315

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

And enterprise customers in a race to reconfigure strategies, channels, and offerings to deal with disruption provide a willing market for startup tools and services. Companies struggle to compete while reconfiguring legacy distribution channels, pricing models and supply chains.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Activities define the unique expertise your company needs to deliver the value proposition, customers, channels, customer relationships and/or revenue. (If “Activities” is where you define the most important things your company must do to make the rest of your business model work. If you’re a startup it’s easy to get confused on this step.

Cofounder 335

Cofounder Founder Intellectual Property Business Model 335

Steve Blank

MAY 6, 2015

Learning could be about product features, customer needs, the right pricing and distribution channel, etc.) These hypotheses span the gamut from who’s the customer(s), to what’s the value proposition (product/service features), pricing, distribution channel, and demand creation (customer acquisition, activation, retention, etc.).

Lean 120

Lean Agile Business Model Customer Development 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 4, 2011

How can we attract buyers to our channel before they make purchasing decisions? as well as channel partners and cloud industry technology consultants. We pointed out that get, keep and grow customers are different for physical versus virtual channels. Then different again for direct and indirect channels.

Customer 234

Customer Business Model Nebraska Cloud 234

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 9, 2013

Now that you’ve gotten to know your potential channel and customers, regardless of how much money you’re going to make, will you enjoy working with these customers for the next 3 or 4 years? (see 0:30 in the video below). ——– 1. Do you want to spend the next 3 or 4 years of your life doing this?

Cofounder 325

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Liquidity Event Lean 325

Steve Blank

JULY 20, 2015

My guests on Bay Area Ventures on Wharton Business Radio on Sirius XM Channel 111 were: Errol Arkilic , former program director for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps), now founder of M34 Capital. Steve Weinstein , CEO of MovieLabs. Venk Shukla , president TiE Silicon Valley and general partner, Monta Vista Capital.

Government 120

Government Channel Lean Southern California 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 9, 2009

Five Easy Pieces – The Marketing Mission After a few months of talking to customers , talking to our channel and working with sales we defined the marketing Mission (our job) was to: Help Sales deliver $25 million in sales with a 45% gross margin. Two paragraphs, Five bullets. It didn’t take more.

Silicon Valley 259

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS PR 259

Steve Blank

MAY 20, 2020

Delivery/Distribution Channel innovation. Market on all your channels —Share about your new offering everywhere your audience is, whether that’s your website, email list, or on social media. Market on all your channels. Resource pivots. How can you use/repurpose your existing resources for new offerings? Do Customer Discovery.

Small Business 434

Small Business Jordan Green Social Media 434

Steve Blank

APRIL 30, 2009

SuperMac sold our graphic boards for the Macintosh through multiple distribution channels: direct sales to major accounts, national chains, independent rep firms, etc. But the computer retail channel was a large part of our sales. Or blame my MarCom department who approved it. Worry about the sales results. What did we learn?

Sales 120

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas 120

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2016

These topics were the focus of interviews with the latest guests on Entrepreneurs are Everywhere , my radio show on SiriusXM Channel 111 (airing weekly Thursdays at 1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern). Tune in Thursday at 1 pm PT, 4 pm ET on Sirius XM Channel 111. Want to be a guest on the show?

Detroit 120

Detroit Baltimore Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

Steve Blank

MARCH 11, 2016

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know I believe that: a product is just a part of a startup, but understanding customers, channel, pricing, – the business model – is what turns a product into a business. Diagrams of key parts of the Canvas –customer flow, channel, get/keep/grow (before and after). Pivot stories.

Lean 120

Lean Incubator Business Model Channel 120

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

Successful founders have a laser-like focus and commitment; a keen understanding of customers’ needs; and a tenacious spirit, said the latest guests on Entrepreneurs are Everywhere , my radio show on Sirius XM Channel 111. Tune in Thursday at 1 pm PT, 4 pm ET on Sirius XM Channel 111. Reetu Gupta. Mandela Schumacher-Hodge.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Entrepreneur India Maryland 120

Steve Blank

MARCH 19, 2009

They sold their product through the computer retail channel, something I knew nothing about. They had an existing distribution channel and their dealers and customers thought they knew who the company was and what it stood for. The first step was to recruit a new management team. They sold to a set of customers I knew nothing about.

Silicon Valley 146

Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review RSS 146

Steve Blank

JUNE 3, 2013

The Roominate dollhouse building kits are being sold via their own website and soon, retail channels. They outlined their retail channel and PR strategy and told me about the type of consultants they wanted to hire. Hiring Channel Sales. “So So what would the retail channel consultant do?” They learned a ton.

PR 314

PR China Lean Channel 314

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

Those were the messages from the two latest guests on Entrepreneurs are Everywhere , my radio show on Sirius XM Channel 111. Clips from their interviews are below, but first a word about the show: Entrepreneurs are Everywhere airs Thursdays at 1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern on Sirius XM Channel 111. Listen to Anand’s full interview here.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Cofounder Channel 120

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Today’s workforce has radically different expectations, brands are losing their power, physical channels are being destroyed by virtual ones, market share is less important than market creation, and software is eating world. For example, Coke added snack foods, which could be distributed through its existing distribution channels.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Emphasis should be on the discovery done for that weeks assigned canvas component (channel, customer, revenue model) but include other things you learned about the business model. Here’s what we found (Customer Discovery during the week). Here’s what we’re going to do (for next week).

Lean 333

Lean Web Coder Business Model 333

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2016

Each transformation – from a new computer distribution channel – Apple Stores to disrupting the music business with iPod and iTunes in 2001; to the iPhone in 2007; and the App store in 2008 – drove revenues and profits to new heights.

Azure 120

Azure Business Model Cloud Artificial Inteligence 120

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2016

Each transformation – from a new computer distribution channel – Apple Stores to disrupting the music business with iPod and iTunes in 2001; to the iPhone in 2007; and the App store in 2008 – drove revenues and profits to new heights.

Azure 120

Azure Business Model Cloud Artificial Inteligence 120

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 29, 2015

Both of these traits made all the difference for the two latest guests on Entrepreneurs are Everywhere , my radio show on Sirius XM Channel 111. Clips from their interviews are below, but first a word about the show: Entrepreneurs are Everywhere airs Thursdays at 1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern on Sirius XM Channel 111. Phil Randazzo.

Las Vegas 120

Las Vegas Entrepreneur Cofounder Nevada 120

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 31, 2014

But other critical hypotheses such as activities, resources, partners, channels needed testing offshore. channel partners and Chinese manufacturers and customer acquisition and activation programs outside their home country. to understand distribution channel landscape, potential partners and rough cost of customer acquisition.

Global 335

Global Australia Silicon Valley China 335

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 11, 2014

They had direct interaction with customers and controlled a sales channel which allowed them to negotiate their own deals with customers. Skunk works had control over their sales channel and had direct customer feedback. World-class R&D groups that didn’t control the channel often saw their innovation die internally.

Channel 286

Channel Customer Development Distribution Restful 286

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 30, 2012

You’ll refine your business model by iterating or pivoting your product, your target customers, pricing, channels, partners, etc. You’ll take the suggestions from the meeting, get out of the building and talk to ten plus customers per week.

Startup 335

Startup Lean Incubator America 335

Steve Blank

JUNE 26, 2015

Here the company executes a known business model (known customers, product features, competitors, pricing, distribution channel, supply chain, etc.) Horizon 3 is focused on unknown business models. Horizon 1 is the company’s core business. It uses existing capabilities and has low risk in getting the next product out the door.

Lean 120

Lean Management Business Model Incubator 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

These include the product itself, the customer, the distribution channel, revenue model, how to get, keep and grow customers, resources and activities needed to build the business and costs.). Remember, the definition of a startup is a temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. (

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

as a distribution channel have vastly reduced the amount of capital a startup needs at the early stage when the risk is greatest. However, four critical advances over the past decade (cloud, accelerators, Lean, and Angels) not only changed the math for tech investing but made regional tech clusters possible.

Early Stage 286

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 286

Steve Blank

JUNE 3, 2013

The Roominate dollhouse building kits are being sold via their own website and soon, retail channels. They outlined their retail channel and PR strategy and told me about the type of consultants they wanted to hire. Hiring Channel Sales. “So So what would the retail channel consultant do?” They learned a ton.

PR 206

PR China Channel Lean 206

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

In Discovery startups take all their hypotheses about the business model: product, market, customers, channel, etc. The Customer Development process is the way startups quickly iterate and test each element of their business model , reducing customer and market risk. The first step of Customer Development is called Customer Discovery.

Burn Rate 248

Burn Rate Silicon Valley Marketing Boston 248

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2010

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know I believe that: 1) a product is just a part of a startup, but understanding customers, channel, pricing, etc. How does it differ on the web versus other channels? Did anything change about Value Proposition or Customers/Users or Channel? Direct channels, indirect channels, OEM.

Wiki 311

Wiki Lean Management Business Model 311

Steve Blank

JANUARY 14, 2014

A pivot may mean you changed your customer segment, your channel, revenue model/pricing, resources, activities, costs, partners, customer acquisition – lots of other things than just the product. A Pivot is not just changing the product. A pivot can change any of nine different things in your business model.

Business Model 330

Business Model Lean Customer Development Channel 330