Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Commit to a major customer.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

These investments are a tremendous help to your startup because they will serve as a stepping stone to reach your target eventually. I will tell you brief details about seed stage funding, and deal sourcing on this page, so read the conclusion until the end. With startup funding, these companies can get through this phase.

Seed Stage 124

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 124

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2017

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Customer 191

Customer Entrepreneur Technical Review Dilution 191

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Some of the best and brightest wanted to work for defense contractors or corporate research and development labs. And the best startups spun out of Stanford were building components for weapon systems. Indeed, Silicon Valley was born as a center for weapon systems development and its software and silicon helped end the Cold War.

Government 308

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Commit to a major customer.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2019

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Technical Review 255

Technical Review Dilution Early Stage Product Development 255

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. The goal of their startup in this stage becomes “getting funded.”

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

Finally, I’ll write about how Eric Ries and the Lean Startup concept provided the equivalent model for product development activities inside the building and neatly integrates customer and agile development.

Customer Development 224

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 224

YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

You envision your business as the next Uber or Spotify, yourself as the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, reaching that prestigious ‘unicorn’ startup status in record time. Like most entrepreneurs, you’ve probably mapped out the business plan, dreamed up the layout and you’re already snapping up domains and emailing developers with your plan.

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Startup companies often face numerous obstacles that stand in the way of their desired level of success—from lack of planning to inability to scale up or poor management to neglecting marketing. Among these obstacles exists the idea of product viability and adaptability. One of the most important involves testing and early feedback.

Software Review 100

Software Review Management Early Stage Startup 100

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

by Arsalan Sajid, startup community manager at Cloudways. Life is not a box of chocolates and startups are not always easy to start. There is a complete process that governs the startup lifecycle including inception to exit. They make money by starting a product from scratch and then selling it in thousands of dollars.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 10, 2012

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Startup 254

Startup Technical Review Dilution Early Stage 254

View from Seed

JULY 5, 2022

Investors, customers, regulators, and all key stakeholders are demanding more transparent corporate sustainability disclosures. RH: Who are your customers? CC: Our customers are companies that are collecting, managing, and tracking their ESG data. . RH: What’s your favorite thing about being an early-stage founder?

DC 156

DC Software Review Government Boston 156

YoungUpstarts

MAY 30, 2019

by Will Koffel , head of the Google Cloud Startup Program in the Americas. In 2013, I left a CTO job overseeing a 50-person product engineering team for the same job at a four-person startup. ” Most early startups don’t understand the distinction between the two. Manage Your Workflow — Or Else.

Management 138

Management Product SCRUM Early Stage 138

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

I believe the Maker Movement and hardware startups with limited resources are made for each other. In today’s fast moving market, the basic product development cost and time are critical to survival. They come at the early stage while a startup has no revenue or valuation, so professional investors are hard to find.

Startup 397

Startup Cofounder Incubator Early Stage 397

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 26, 2022

Designing new hardware products that have a positive impact on customers is no small feat. There are several elements that go into hardware product design that taps an unaddressed customer need, has the customer WOW factor, and succeeds long term in the market. Next is the product level planning.

Design 132

Design Development Team Review Product Technical Review 132

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

Most startups view venture capital funding as a blessing from above — eager to take it as soon as they can get it. In exchange, founders agree to transition their company into a new phase that requires them to start catering to investors’ needs in addition to those of its customers and employees. Focus on Product Development First.

Early Stage 85

Early Stage Venture Capital Bootstrapping Pre-Money Valuation 85

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

If you’re interested in recruiting sales people, I wrote on the topic of startup sales people: who to hire & when – understanding the roles of Journeymen, Mavericks & Superstars. Evangelical sales – Understanding startup sales people and process. I only found out through customer meetings.

Hiring 346

Hiring Sales Startup Early Stage 346

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Early Stage Incubator Government 256

Mucker Lab

MAY 28, 2020

Like a teenager with a million-dollar allowance and an identity crisis, a startup with too much capital and no product-market fit will become capable of making larger mistakes. As an investor, I root for startups. Before you indulge in marketing, sales and blinged-out offices, find product-market fit.

Startup 78

Startup Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Review 78

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 7, 2017

Launching your startup in a down economy doesn’t make it any less likely to last. Two conditions that do matter to your startup’s out-year viability are the cost and length of its product development cycle. Focus on Your Minimum Viable Product. Full treatment of product components and functions.

Cost 100

Cost Developer Small Business Administration Marketing 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2011

There are unknowns at every turn, leading product development, attracting customers, managing cash, and dealing with human resources and office politics. Probably 80% of the startups I know have found human resource issues to be the most treacherous. Stretch” goals in early-stage are not advised.

Advisory Board 232

Advisory Board Startup Forecast Early Stage 232

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2013

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Entrepreneur 252

Entrepreneur Marketing Technical Review Dilution 252

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2010

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Startup 227

Startup Technical Review Dilution Early Stage 227

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

In the startup world, opportunities are fleeting, and obstacles are ubiquitous. Competition from other startups and established incumbents, constraints on time and capital, and limited access to talent and technology resources are just a few of the hurdles nearly every first-time founder faces while trying to build a business.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

In the early stages of a startup your hypotheses about all the parts of your business model are your profound beliefs. You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite of a startup if you don’t hold any. Here’s how I learned why they were critical to successful customer development.

Business Model 305

Business Model Product Development Early Stage Customer Development 305

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 10, 2020

For a startup in the B2B market, that means there’s a reasonably steep hill to climb right from the beginning. Here is a startup guide to creating an ideal customer profile. There’s no way that a startup can acquire the same volume of data that more established competitors already have collected.

Customer 180

Customer Startup Analytics B2B 180

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. Over its lifetime a Lean Startup may spend less money than a traditional startup. Lets see why.

Lean 244

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 244

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

In today’s fast moving market, the basic product development cost and time are critical to survival. They come at the early stage while a startup has no revenue or valuation, so professional investors are hard to find. Countless startup teams have already been spawned from these.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

A marketing growth strategy goes deeper into customer relationships to uncover opportunities that engage, activate, and retain. This philosophy comes from The Lean Startup methodology , which relies on testing hypotheses to better understand your customers’ pain points and goals. Your customers want different things.

Marketing 115

Marketing Framework Metrics Channel 115

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2015

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage.

Product Development 120

Product Development Developer Product Angel Investor 120

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Validated learning about customers Would you rather have $30,000 or $1 million in revenues for your startup? In an early-stage startup especially, revenue is not an important goal in and of itself. Don’t startups exist for the same reason?

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2012

There are unknowns at every turn, leading product development, attracting customers, managing cash, and dealing with human resources and office politics. Probably 80% of the startups I know have found human resource issues to be the most treacherous. Stretch” goals in early-stage are not advised.

Advisory Board 240

Advisory Board Forecast Early Stage Product Development 240

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Marketing 238

Marketing Entrepreneur Technical Review Dilution 238

The Next Web

OCTOBER 3, 2012

Andrew is the co-founder and CTO of Parse.ly , a technology startup that provides big data insights to the web’s best publishers. Startups die due to a variety of causes. In 2007, Paul Graham gave a variety of causes for startup death in How Not To Die. Distraction is fatal to startups.

Cofounder 155

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Technical Review Software Review 155

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. After celebrating success at that level, they often find themselves ill-prepared to move to the next stage, for scaling their business into a high-performing enterprise. Switch your attention from product development to sales.

Mezzanine 368

Mezzanine Private Equity Bandwidth Metrics 368

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2010

There are unknowns at every turn, leading product development, attracting customers, managing cash, and dealing with human resources and office politics. Probably 80% of the startups I know have found human resource issues to be the most treacherous. Stretch” goals in early-stage are not advised.

Advisory Board 125

Advisory Board Startup Forecast Early Stage 125