David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

So you’re interested in raising capital from a Revenue-Based Investor VC. A new wave of Revenue-Based Investors (“RBI”) are emerging. For background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. We have a special program if you are pre-seed and need product development.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

I asked Tsutsumi-san to write a guest post for my blog to describe his experience with Customer Development in Japan. But customers didn’t agree. This made me believe deeply in the extreme importance of talking to customers before investing time and money, something I took to my next startup. The first meeting with Steve.

Japan 296

Japan Customer Development Developer Customer 296

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. 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 264

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 264

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. So what’s wrong the product development model?

Customer Development 241

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 241

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 22, 2023

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners about the 2023 trends they see in their industry and here are the responses. #1- Consumers are becoming increasingly health-conscious and seeking to understand their options for treatments and healthcare products. We've also seen extensive use of technology and increased remote working.

Artificial Inteligence 123

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Entrepreneur Social Media 123

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

Besides the general focus on customer and product development, an entrepreneur should foresee the next moves that will serve to guide him on the right path. When an entrepreneur can forecast his next moves, even his/her employees become part of the moves the business makes. Photo Credit: Adit Jain.

Forecast 128

Forecast Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Technical Review 128

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

It drives media attention and fosters customer retention rate, which is why most companies strive to have it in their mission statement. It seeks to solve customer problems in a better and modern way and helping such companies edge the competition. One of the companies that's known for innovation is Apple. 5- Shiseido. 7- Virgin Group.

Technical Review 122

Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review SEO 122

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. Three to six months after first customer ship, if Sales starts missing its numbers, the board gets concerned.

Customer Development 228

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 228

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 26, 2022

Here's what entrepreneurs predict for business in 2022. #1- You're likely going to be experiencing revenues in waves, owing to the pandemic booms and dips, and the varying regulations. 16- Customer focus. In 2022, businesses should be laser-focused on putting the customer first. 1- Use of real-time payments.

Software Review 121

Software Review Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur 121

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. ” Fire, Ready, Aim.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 30, 2020

We asked some entrepreneurs and business owners, why they started their businesses: #1- From personal experience. Customers would often ask me about business credit but I knew nothing about it and couldn’t find anything about it online. The post 23 Entrepreneurs Explain Why They Started Their Business appeared first on Hearpreneur.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review SEO 145

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

by Steve Owens, Founder and CTO of Finish Line Product Development Services. Poor Product – 17%. Ignore Customers – 14%. Product Mis-Timed – 13%. Rule #2: Revenue is your first priority. One key attribute of great entrepreneurs is to surround themselves with the best.

Startup 133

Startup Revenue Product Development Distribution 133

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. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

K9 Ventures

AUGUST 13, 2010

SneakerLabs’ first product was a Java-based chat server and client. One of our first customers was a stock trading company in NY that wanted to host live stock chats. Another customer was my alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University, who was using it to host online class discussions for its distance education program. Not so fast.

Revenue 72

Revenue Developer Java Customer Development 72

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 7, 2022

It's difficult to be rejected for your efforts and time, especially when you merely wanted to do what was best for the customer. And, maybe most importantly, we get to do what is best for our customers. I started Pi Tech because I enjoy launching and iterating software products. I have no superiors who can tell me no.

Entrepreneur 116

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Non-Compete 116

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. Street Smarts - OK, so you’re a tenacious person – you never give up. .&# They know instinctually how customers buy and how to excite them.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Burn Rate Cofounder Sales 306

Hearpreneur

APRIL 13, 2022

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners who are their favorite disruptors and here are the responses; #1- Elon Musk. One of the most important lessons entrepreneurs can learn from Dropbox is to adopt the lean start-up methodology and start. He is a serial entrepreneur and has started several successful companies. 7- Netflix.

Artificial Inteligence 78

Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 78

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? All things being equal, of course, you’d rather have more revenue rather than less. And yet revenue alone is not a sufficient goal.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

Pattern Recognition One of the great things about being an entrepreneur is that you are constantly running a pattern recognition algorithm against a continual collection of customer and market data. But at times it’s why entrepreneurs can sink their own companies. Other times it’s just plain dumb.

Customer 201

Customer Silicon Valley RSS California 201

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 30, 2019

New product development is an essential part of the entrepreneurial landscape. Many people become entrepreneurs because they see a need or problem in the marketplace and have an idea to address it, improve the user experience or simply create a new efficiency. Why would a company want to introduce a new product?

Product Development 113

Product Development Developer Product Demand 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2015

Image via Flickr by Side Wages Some entrepreneurs forget that they need an innovative business model along with an innovative solution to have a successful startup. In fact, both customers and investors often avoid the perceived high risk of innovative technology pitches. If we design a great product, investors will find us."

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Startup Angel Investor Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

This technology is not only spawning a new generation of entrepreneurs, but is also changing the educational landscape, all the way down to early grade school. In my view as an advisor to new ventures, the Maker Movement is an integral part of a new age of the entrepreneur. These ideas can grow quickly into real products.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. When entrepreneurs become prisoners of hope, they look for others to solve their problem.

Entrepreneur 267

Entrepreneur Burn Rate Angel Investor Operations 267

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 24, 2017

In the last few days of 2017, we took some time to ask a few entrepreneurs and business what their biggest business accomplishments were. #1- We’re very new to the industry, and while we’re passionate about the product, there have been obstacles every step of the way – production, shipping, distribution, etc.

Las Vegas 87

Las Vegas Entrepreneur Software Review Community 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2022

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. When entrepreneurs become prisoners of hope, they look for others to solve their problem.

Burn Rate 382

Burn Rate Angel Investor Operations Demand 382

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

Muun found a market need but failed to compete with bigger names that provided customers with authoritative content and resources. One neglected its positioning by failing to target the biggest pain point, and the other failed to build a brand that its customers could trust above the other major players.

Marketing 110

Marketing Product Audience Equity 110

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Thus entrepreneurs were able to build prototypes and design new products without the traditional huge prototyping cost. The movement has long since spread across the country and across the globe, spawning innovative products such as the MakerBot Digitizer and all the things you can access from Thingiverse.com.

Startup 397

Startup Cofounder Incubator Early Stage 397

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 31, 2016

Often entrepreneurs and business owners create their New Year’s Resolutions around their business. It could be more revenue, hiring clients or launching a new product or service, but every new year is an exciting time because it’s ripe with opportunity. 1 – Developing Software. Image Credit: Shiree Odiz.

Entrepreneur 69

Entrepreneur Software Review New Zealand Mobile 69

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

The good news is that everyone expects entrepreneurs to make mistakes, since founders explore uncharted territory. Assume you already know what your customers need and want. Just because you love a new solution doesn’t mean your customers will love it. Forecast revenue growth that defies business principles.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Forecast Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for a disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to InvoiceTracker. Resist the urge to delegate accounting decisions, under the assumption that incoming revenue takes the pressure off.

Startup 335

Startup Social Media Metrics Viral 335

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 17, 2018

As a new entrepreneur or business owner, the most important thing you will do is hire talent. impactful work (we point to specific features that are being used by 100s of customers) and 3. Not sales, product development, or fundraising. by Felix Winstone, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Talkative. Hiring = Sales.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Elevator Pitch Hiring Dividend 164

Hearpreneur

JULY 10, 2017

We asked some entrepreneurs and business owners, why they started their businesses: #1 – Personal Quest. Prior to starting Ozmo both Ming and I worked in a design house creating new and better products. As an entrepreneur I launched air events global to fill a gap in the marketplace, connecting clients and event staff.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Hungary Software Review Cofounder 101

YoungUpstarts

MAY 3, 2017

Every entrepreneur knows this — at least in theory. From product development to market research, many startups are one-person operations in their early days. If you’re a first-time entrepreneur, I’m willing to bet you work longer hours than necessary trying to manage easily outsourced tasks. The result?

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Management Arizona Software Review 113

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 8, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Saturday, November 8, 2008 What is customer development? When we build products, we use a methodology. But too often when its time to think about customers, marketing, positioning, or PR, we delegate it to "marketroids" or "suits." a roadmap for how to get to Product/Market Fit."

Customer Development 168

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 168

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Within a decade, the rise of venture capital in Silicon Valley enabled startups to find commercial customers rather than military ones. It’s not that these companies are smarter than Defense Department employees, but they operate with different philosophies, different product development methodologies, and with different constraints.

Government 310

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 310

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

I’m continually amazed at the number of entrepreneurs who go for months into a new business without really keeping a formal record of money spent or assets acquired. Product development process. Billing and revenue collection. Customer service and support. It all has to be written down and maintained.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Your friends and advisers tell you that this means you need revenue because in this economy VC’s will only fund businesses with revenue. So if it’s not necessarily revenue that’s preventing an investment, then WTF is traction? It’s marketing 101 for tech companies in terms of how you market to customers.

Technical Review 309

Technical Review Term Sheet Venture Capital Revenue 309