Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Underwriters realized that as long as the public was happy snapping up shares, they could make huge profits on the inflated valuations (regardless of whether or not the company should have ever been public.) The valuations for acquisitions were nothing like the Internet bubble, but there was a path to liquidity, difficult as it was.

Silicon Valley 233

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 233

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 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Convertible debt financings have become an increasingly attractive approach for seed rounds because it delays the valuation discussion, costs less from a legal standpoint, and is an easier financial instrument to “keep raising more small amounts of money” on. Three months in, the burn is now at $70k/month.

Burn Rate 152

Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 152

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

A major angel group used Influitive , an advocate management tool, to track, activate and motivate their members. 4) Manage deal flow. For example, we created a pipeline management tool that automatically adds deals along with relevant information (such as attachments received) to our funnel. Pitchbot.vc 5) Due diligence.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

David Teten

MARCH 28, 2012

The objective of the research is to define a blueprint for how investors can help portfolio companies succeed through operational (non-financial) support, including but not limited to facilitating shared services, recruiting, knowledge sharing, and enhancing management skills.

Portfolio 144

Portfolio Private Equity Venture Capital Early Stage 144

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

They’re deep into Customer Development ,” he said. Klout Puts Metrics Into Social Media Management - Tim Berry's Blog - Planning Startups Stories , May 21, 2010 I really like klout.com for three good reasons: 1.) Valuation is an important aspect of VC deal terms, and a major determinant of your ultimate outcome.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

Steve Blank

JANUARY 13, 2011

In November 2010 as part of my interview about entrepreneurs and Customer Development , the Shoshin Project also asked me about my thoughts on investing in innovation. They wanted some words of wisdom for their investment bank and hedge fund customers. Fast forward to today.

Venture Capital 261

Venture Capital Valuation Customer Development Video 261

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

Their need to get into high-profile deals has driven late-stage valuations into unicorn territory. We now have specific management tools to grow startups. Fourth, in the last decade, corporate investors and hedge funds have jumped into later stage investing with a passion.

Restful 238

Restful Silicon Valley Puerto Rico San Jose 238

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

The law of large numbers (of customers) says you cant help but make at least some money - your valuation is determined by how well you monetize the tidal wave of growth. In this model, you take some fraction of the lifetime value of each customer and plow that back into paid acquisition through SEM, banner ads, PR, affiliates, etc.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2010

In fact, Google’s offer for $15 Million was equal to the highest valuation from the venture firms. It means someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business. Posted in Customer Development, Durant versus Sloan, Technology, Venture Capital. The question was: what did the founders want to do?

Hockey Stick 296

Hockey Stick Venture Capital Startup Cofounder 296

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

This changed their interest from managing your board for their liquidity to managing the board for all shareholders. Some of the old-line venture firms have changed their strategy, but some are still locked into last decade’s model while the partners are living off of their management fees and go through cargo cult like rituals.

Venture Capital 302

Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 302

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 28, 2008

Most important slide: valuation Promising results Key questions: can you monetize that traffic? (or The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? how big is the market?

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 128

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Steve Blank on Lean Customer Development. Task Management. Project Management Tools. Subscription Payments / Management. Managing APIs. Customer Relationship Management. Contractor Management. Private beta invitations & management: Prefinery. Scanning / Document Management.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 27, 2011

This is lean development without any customer development. Flips, on the other hand, thrive on trends: what better time for an entrepreneur to create a startup than when valuations are up, investments are quick, exits are plenty and deal flow is increase? The focus is on building. 1: Find a Simple Idea. Flip or Lean?

Lean 144

Lean Startup Agile Coder 144

grasshopperherder.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Valuations. I was approached with one sweat equity offer that placed the valuation of the company at >$5 million pre-money and before even a seed round of funding. I would be very wary of accepting a valuation like this, simply because I’m not qualified and as a consultant, I shouldn’t have to be. Management (1).

Sweat Equity 41

Sweat Equity Equity Cofounder Non-Compete 41

Rob Go

JULY 16, 2012

What many of the insights around Customer Development have been really impactful to my thinking, there is something that has always bothered me as the “Lean Startup Movement” has gotten more and more formulaic. Similarly, I have an unfinished blog post in my drafts folder about how “traction” is overvalued.

Lean 47

Lean Framework Venture Capital Valuation 47

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

Tools that technical people have had for years (project management methods and tools, programming frameworks, etc.) are just emerging for business people (customer development, business model generation,). Marcin Grodzicki • Nov 16, 2010 If it comes to start-up environment, I think developer can also be the designer.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Startup CTO Hire Cofounder 51