Customer Development, Distribution, Management and Technology

The Customer Development Manifesto: Reasons for the Revolution.

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

After 20 years of working in startups, I decided to take a step back and look at the product development model I had been following and see why it usually failed to provide useful guidance in activities outside the building – sales, marketing and business development.

Customer Development

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley

Times Square Strategy Session – Web Startups and Customer Development

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

I was in New York last week with my class at Columbia University and several events made me realize that the Customer Development model needs to better describe its fit with web-based businesses. And without revenue how do we know if we achieved product/market fit to exit Customer Validation?” It’s an impressive portfolio.

Customer Development

Customer Development Web Developer Customer

How to Manage Supply Chain Planning Like a Pro

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

For manufacturing startups, here are several ways to achieve effective supply chain management: Understand Your Supply Chain Elements. Suppliers also have machinery and technology issues to contend with as they create customized products. Develop Relationships with Supply Chain Partners.

Management

Management Forecast Los Angeles San Francisco

Lean Innovation Management – Making Corporate Innovation Work

Steve Blank

JUNE 26, 2015

—– Lean Innovation Management. Each horizon requires different focus, different management, different tools and different goals. To move innovation faster, we now have 21 st century tools — Business Model Canvas , Customer Development , Agile Engineering – all adding up to a Lean Startup.

Lean

Lean Management Business Model Incubator

Is the Lean Startup Dead?

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

NewTV will depend on partners like telcos to distribute the content. Given Verizon just shut down Go90 , its short form content video service, it will be interesting to see if Verizon distributes Katzenberg’s offerings.). Then the cycle repeats with a new set of technologies. But NewTV doesn’t plan on testing these hypotheses.

Lean

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO

Lessons Learned: Customer Development Engineering

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 7, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, September 7, 2008 Customer Development Engineering Yesterday, I had the opportunity to guest lecture again in Steve Blank s entrepreneurship class at the Berkeley-Columbia executive MBA program. Its a nice complement on the product engineering side to his customer development methodology.

Customer Development

Customer Development Engineer San Francisco Developer

The Lean LaunchPad Class: It’s the same, but different

Steve Blank

MARCH 26, 2019

So in 2011, with support from the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (the entrepreneurship center in the Stanford Engineering School), we created a new capstone entrepreneurship class – the Lean LaunchPad. When we started this class, the concept of Lean (business models, customer development, agile, pivots, mvp’s) was new to everyone.

Lean

Lean Business Model Balance Sheet Video

How to get distribution advantage on the iPhone

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Thursday, September 18, 2008 How to get distribution advantage on the iPhone I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of iPhone-related companies lately. There are other models, in other distribution channels. On Facebook, viral distribution has proved decisive. I havent found any yet.

Distribution

Distribution San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment

Founder personalities and the “first-class man” theory of management

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, July 9, 2010 Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# theory of management At any given time, something like four percent of the US population is engaged in some form of new-company-creation. The academic research tells a very different story. What do entrepreneurs look like?

San Francisco

San Francisco Management Founder Lean

Lean Startups aren't Cheap Startups

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

For those of you who have been following the discussion, a Lean Startup is Eric Ries ’s description of the intersection of Customer Development , Agile Development and if available, open platforms and open source. The Customer Development process (and the Lean Startup) is one way to do that.

Lean

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS

A Simple Map for Innovation at Scale

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 25, 2022

Currently a market leader, they’re watching a new and relentless competitor with more money, more people and more advanced technology appear seemingly out of nowhere, attempting to grab customers and gain market share. How do they convert existing manufacturing plants (and their workforce) for a completely new set of technologies?

Framework

Framework Distribution Channel Leadership

supermac War Story 1: Joining supermac

Steve Blank

MARCH 19, 2009

The first step was to recruit a new management team. They sold to a set of customers 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. Why they were looking to me to run marketing wasn’t clear.

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review RSS

Waves of technology platforms

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 8, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 8, 2008 Waves of technology platforms I still remember the first time I switched to LAMP. That startup didnt turn out so well, but not for lack of technology. We just had our app support a few tens of thousands of customers, and it did well.

San Francisco

San Francisco Technology Continuous Deployment Lean

Can You Trust Any vc's Under 40?

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Posted on September 14, 2009 by steveblank Over the last 30 years Wall Street’s appetite for technology stocks have changed radically – swinging between unbridled enthusiasm to believing they’re all toxic. Large companies were acquiring technology startups just to get in the game at the same absurd prices.

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital

Rocket Science 5: Who Needs Domain Experts

Steve Blank

JULY 16, 2009

Meanwhile our company was pouring an enormous amount of dollars into building tools and video compression technology, while also hiring a lot of high-priced Hollywood talent like art directors, and script and story editors. Go spend some time outside the building talking to potential distribution partners.

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley RSS Video San Diego

Why The Movie Industry Can’t Innovate and the Result is SOPA

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2012

The Movie Industry and Technology Progress. In each case, the new technology produced a new market far larger than the impact it had on the existing market. In each case, the new technology produced a new market far larger than the impact it had on the existing market. And why do they continue to fight new technology?

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley Distribution Washington Channel

The Fatal Flaw of the Three Horizons Model and How To Fix It

Steve Blank

JANUARY 8, 2019

When first articulated by Baghai , Coley and White in the 20 th century, the Three Horizons model was a simple way to explain to senior management the need for an ambidextrous organization – the idea that companies and government agencies need to execute existing business / mission models while simultaneously creating new capabilities.

China

China Government Russia Acquisition

Five case studies you'll see at the Lean Startup Conference 2015

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 31, 2015

Every year, our team conducts more than 500 customer development calls to understand what challenges the community is facing. Telepathic, a new technology startup, is bringing A/B testing to the world of mass-market fiction and storytelling. We come across some interesting stories from people who are really making things happen.

Lean

Lean United States Fractional CTO Startup

Hacking for Diplomacy – The State Department Takes Notice

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

They shared their experiences of how technology has enhanced – and threatens to undermine – diplomatic work. The students “get out of the building” and test their hypotheses in front of potential beneficiaries using the Customer Development methodology, all while building and updating their Minimal Viable Products. “The

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley Washington United Kingdom Lean

Hacking for Diplomacy – The State Department Takes Notice

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

They shared their experiences of how technology has enhanced – and threatens to undermine – diplomatic work. The students “get out of the building” and test their hypotheses in front of potential beneficiaries using the Customer Development methodology, all while building and updating their Minimal Viable Products. “The

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley Washington United Kingdom Lean

I’ve seen the Promised Land. And I might not get there with you.

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2010

Management in the Transition. What lies ahead, however, is a different set of challenges: finding the new set of mainstream customers on the other side of the chasm and managing the sales growth curve. These new challenges require a different set of management and leadership skills.

Agile

Agile Development Team Review Leadership Merger

Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do?

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

What does your Chief Technology Officer do all day? When Ive asked mentors of mine who have worked in big companies about the role of the CTO, they usually talk about the importance of being the external face of the companys technology platform; an evangelist to developers, customers, and employees. Heres my take.

CTO

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review

Lessons Learned: The lean startup

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

The application of agile development methodologies which dramatically reduce waste and unlock creativity in product development. See Customer Development Engineering for my first stab at articulating the theory involved) Ferocious customer-centric rapid iteration, as exemplified by the Customer Development process.

Lean

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment

Better for whom?

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

” What spurred this blog post was someone who wrote exactly what I quoted above, in the space of project-management (PM) tools. Who knows if they’re good ideas, but at least they are actual ideas, actual proposals, in that they define “better:” PM tools assume you already know about project management.

Distribution

Distribution Differentiation Lean Restful

Why Internal Ventures are Different from External Startups

Steve Blank

MARCH 26, 2014

However, I will then argue that while these methods are necessary to managing new ventures inside a company, they are insufficient. One memorable example of this was Xerox’s internal venture capital fund, Xerox Technology Ventures (XTV). Filed under: Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan , Customer Development.

Startup

Startup Business Model Lean Russia

Marching through quicksand

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

One is explaining the world as it used to work: the importance of gatekeepers, the scarcity implied by limited distribution, and the resulting quality bar that the industry is so proud of. Mostly it is the time and expense required to create the means of distribution for that industry. What accounts for the difference?

San Francisco

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution

Startup Tools

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

signup, upgrade, trial pricing Zuora – online subscription management FeeFighters – find the cheapest credit card processors HealPay – Collections made easy Customer Support Tender – support, knowledgebase tool for your site GetSatisfaction - conversations between companies / customers.

Software Review

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics

SuperMac War Story 9: Sales, Not Awards « Steve Blank

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. He had teamed up with a former product manager at P&G to deliver seminars on just this subject. It was a management problem.

Sales

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Boston Tech Community (Fall 2013 Edition)

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Mass TLC Unconference: Large annual conference put on by the MA Technology Leadership Council. Lean Startup Circle Boston – Meetup dedicated to the lean startup and customer development methodology. Belmont Technologies – CAD in the Cloud (backed by Northbridge and NEA). Next major event? Future M on Oct 16.

Boston

Boston Technical Review Community Cofounder

This Week in Venture Capital – Episode 2

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 15, 2010

They bought distribution and engineering talent. Rumored: Digital Sky Technologies. Stitcher - San Francisco-based service that lets users customize talk radio programming on their mobile devices. I like EdgeCast and spent time with the management team. Twitter bough their most used iPhone client. No big surprise.

Venture Capital

Venture Capital Affiliate Valuation San Francisco

Going to Trade Shows Like it Matters – Part 2

Steve Blank

MAY 22, 2009

Everyone should have a chance to walk the floor looking for deals, technology, distribution, customers, etc. And that most of the post on trade shows was describing how to prepare and manage a physical presence in a trade show booth. What didn’t? Go to trade shows like it matters.

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development

Lessons Learned: Principles of Lean Startups, presentation for.

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 4, 2008

As Ive written previously , lean startups are built upon three main trends: Technology commoditization. It is becoming easier and cheaper for companies to bring products to market, leveraging free and open source software , cloud computing, open social data (Facebook, OpenSocial ), and open distribution (AdWords, SEO).

Lean

Lean San Francisco Agile Continuous Deployment

Lessons Learned: Great open source scalability tools from Danga

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 5, 2008

MogileFS - "Distributed (meta) file system. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? Thoughts on scientific product development Lo, my 5 subscribers, who are you? Pay less for storage.

Open Source

Open Source San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean

Lessons Learned: Just-In-Time Scalability

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? Thoughts on scientific product development Lo, my 5 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

San Francisco

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Agile Lean

The Leading Cause of Startup Death – Part 1: The Product.

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

This series of posts is a brief explanation of how we’ve evolved from Product Development to Customer Development to the Lean Startup. The Product Development Diagram Emerging early in the twentieth century, this product-centric model described a process that evolved in manufacturing industries. None of mine did.)

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development

The new startup arms race (for Huffington Post)

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 22, 2010

The cost of creating new companies is falling rapidly, and access to markets, distribution, and information is within the reach of anyone with an Internet connection. For example, over 25% of the technology companies founded between 1995-2005 had a key immigrant founder. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

San Francisco

San Francisco Indiana Lean Startup

Smarticus — 10 things you could be doing to your code right now

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? Thoughts on scientific product development Lo, my 5 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

Software Review

Software Review San Francisco Technical Review Continuous Deployment

Lessons Learned: The three drivers of growth for your business.

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? Thoughts on scientific product development Lo, my 5 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

San Francisco

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire

Andrew Chen: Growing renewable audiences

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 12, 2008

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? Thoughts on scientific product development Lo, my 5 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

Audience

Audience San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean

Lessons Learned: SEM on five dollars a day

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 13, 2008

Those rates gave us a map that told us a lot about our customers; insights that proved stable even when the company grew orders of magnitude bigger. Only much later did I realize that this was an application of customer development to online marketing. Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science?

SEM

SEM San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment

Lessons Learned: Ideas. Code. Data. Implement. Measure. Learn

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? Thoughts on scientific product development Lo, my 5 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

San Francisco

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC

Women 2.0 » FounderDating: How I Found My Co-Founder

www.women2.org

MARCH 8, 2012

After quitting my job and starting Sorced , I spent a few months validating my business concept by creating the product mockups and doing customer development. Opportunity Management: Now that I had a few people of interest, the courtship began. Our mission is to increase the number of female founders of technology startups.

Cofounder

Cofounder Technical Review San Francisco Founder

Startup Resources

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Every startup faces multiple choices and decisions when it comes to technology. Steve Blank on Lean Customer Development. Task Management. Project Management Tools. Subscription Payments / Management. Managing APIs. Customer Relationship Management. Contractor Management.

Software Review

Software Review Technical Review Startup

Lessons Learned: Test-Driven Development as andon cord

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 1, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 1, 2008 Test-Driven Development as andon cord You cannot control what you cannot see, and the hardest part of managing software projects is that the final product is so intangible. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup?

San Francisco

San Francisco Developer Continuous Deployment DC

The Customer Development Manifesto: Reasons for the Revolution.

Times Square Strategy Session – Web Startups and Customer Development

Trending Sources

How to Manage Supply Chain Planning Like a Pro

Lean Innovation Management – Making Corporate Innovation Work

Is the Lean Startup Dead?

Lessons Learned: Customer Development Engineering

The Lean LaunchPad Class: It’s the same, but different

How to get distribution advantage on the iPhone

Founder personalities and the “first-class man” theory of management

Lean Startups aren't Cheap Startups

A Simple Map for Innovation at Scale

supermac War Story 1: Joining supermac

Waves of technology platforms

Can You Trust Any vc's Under 40?

Rocket Science 5: Who Needs Domain Experts

Why The Movie Industry Can’t Innovate and the Result is SOPA

The Fatal Flaw of the Three Horizons Model and How To Fix It

Five case studies you'll see at the Lean Startup Conference 2015

Hacking for Diplomacy – The State Department Takes Notice

Hacking for Diplomacy – The State Department Takes Notice

I’ve seen the Promised Land. And I might not get there with you.

Lessons Learned: What does a startup CTO actually do?

Lessons Learned: The lean startup

Better for whom?

Why Internal Ventures are Different from External Startups

Marching through quicksand

Startup Tools

SuperMac War Story 9: Sales, Not Awards « Steve Blank

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Boston Tech Community (Fall 2013 Edition)

This Week in Venture Capital – Episode 2

Going to Trade Shows Like it Matters – Part 2

Lessons Learned: Principles of Lean Startups, presentation for.

Lessons Learned: Great open source scalability tools from Danga

Lessons Learned: Just-In-Time Scalability

The Leading Cause of Startup Death – Part 1: The Product.

The new startup arms race (for Huffington Post)

Smarticus — 10 things you could be doing to your code right now

Lessons Learned: The three drivers of growth for your business.

Andrew Chen: Growing renewable audiences

Lessons Learned: SEM on five dollars a day

Lessons Learned: Ideas. Code. Data. Implement. Measure. Learn

Women 2.0 » FounderDating: How I Found My Co-Founder

Startup Resources

Lessons Learned: Test-Driven Development as andon cord

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