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 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

Even if you don’t have “direct&# sales I would tell you that “everything is a sale&# including fund raising, hiring, getting press and doing business development. One of the biggest mistakes I see early-stage startups making is hiring “seasoned&# sales professionals or hiring people too senior, too early.

Hiring 346

Hiring Sales Startup Early Stage 346

YoungUpstarts

MAY 3, 2017

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. You’ll find your to-do list growing shorter and more manageable.

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Management Arizona Software Review 113

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 15, 2019

What had previously been a strength – their great management processes – now holds back their ability to respond to new challenges. Once upon a time every great organization was a scrappy startup willing to take risks – new ideas, new methods, new customers, targets, and mission. However, their biggest obstacle is internal.

Government 315

Government Technical Review Acquisition Metrics 315

Transformify

MARCH 14, 2020

Typically, these remote jobs did not require advanced skills – data entry jobs, image tagging, image labeling, customer support, online call centers, telemarketing, online surveys and the like. So, who benefits the most from work from home jobs and diversity hiring programs? Work from home jobs & Hiring Neurodiverse People.

Hiring 98

Hiring Bulgaria Italy Spain 98

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 17, 2018

by Felix Winstone, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Talkative. As a new entrepreneur or business owner, the most important thing you will do is hire talent. Hiring = Sales. Robert Metcalfe, co-founder and CEO of 3Com, says you need to think about it as “recruiting, not hiring”. What does the right hire look like?

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Elevator Pitch Hiring Dividend 164

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 10, 2012

by Bill Lee, author of “ The Hidden Wealth of Customers: Realizing the Untapped Value of Your Most Important Asset “. Talented product developers. No one can truly understand your customers or genuinely share their interests unless she is a customer herself. Are you ready to grow your company? That’s right.

Customer 154

Customer Fractional CTO Canada Technical Review 154

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 12, 2020

Different ways of working are better suited to different industries and business sizes, so it’s crucial to consider these sorts of things before you begin hiring or go to market. Also known as a system on module, SOM offers companies a unique strategy when it comes to developing products while keeping customizability fully possible.

SCRUM 147

SCRUM Software Review Technical Review Differentiation 147

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 26, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, April 26, 2009 Product development leverage Leverage has once again become a dirty word in the world of finance, and rightly so. But I want to talk about a different kind of leverage, the kind that you can get in product development. It has to be found and managed.

Product Development 88

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 88

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. . My favorite part is how many different hats I wear.

DC 156

DC Software Review Government Boston 156

Version One Ventures

AUGUST 26, 2016

There’s a lot of debate surrounding the right time to bring executive level hires into your start-up. Every start-up is unique so the same path won’t work for every company and management team. With that said, here are some general guidelines I have developed over the years for building a management team.

Part-Time VPE 60

Part-Time VPE Management Finance Vertical 60

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

Larry didn’t practice any kind of textbook management, but he was an intense communicator and inspiring leader. It wasn’t always perfect, but it was way more right than wrong, It informed our product development to a great degree and kept us working on more or less the right stuff. Hired the Smartest People. What a gift!

Technical Review 333

Technical Review Venture Capital Software Review Database 333

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

A $150 llama rental for a photoshoot, $250 for a bagpipe player at a customer picnic, $5,000 for an executive’s tires — these are just some of the most questionable things people have paid for or attempted to pay for, in the name of business. Take a closer look at how you manage your company. Have you been making the same mistake?

Cost 150

Cost Technical Review Salary Social Media 150

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 19, 2020

Similarly, customers are more knowledgeable, aware, and conscious to choose from the variety out there, which slows down the company’s revenue and growth. Capturing and analyzing data enables companies to get insights that benefit their companies in cost-saving, relevant marketing, product development, etc.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Forecast Analytics Social Media 152

ReadWriteStart

JULY 12, 2023

InvGate , a provider of IT service management and IT asset management solutions, has secured $35 million in a growth round to fuel its international expansion. InvGate’s products are made to simplify IT management for businesses with 50-50,000 employees.

United States 121

United States Management Mexico Artificial Inteligence 121

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 22, 2008 Thoughts on scientific product development I enjoyed reading a post today from Laserlike (Mike Speiser), on Scientific product development. Keep split-testing, but keep this iron rule: if it doesnt change customer behavior, its not a feature. Now that is fun.

Product Development 68

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 68

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. He just hired Meg Whitman.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Up and Running

JANUARY 3, 2019

Here’s the simple truth of business: Without customers to buy your products, you’re not going to make any money. Many businesses develop personas to help them make the right choices as they start, grow, and advertise their business. What if the target customer isn’t you? Buyer (or customer) personas.

Software Review 130

Software Review Product Development Portland Software 130

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 20, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 20, 2008 The engineering managers lament I was inspired to write The product managers lament while meeting with a startup struggling to figure out what had gone wrong with their product development process. This engineering manager is a smart guy, and very experienced.

Software Review 164

Software Review Engineer Management Technical Review 164

YoungUpstarts

JULY 16, 2019

Customers enjoy online shopping; their demands create enormous opportunities for eCommerce company’s growth. Have you developed any vision of a product development strategy? And keep in mind that the best option is to develop at least 5 domain names connected to your brand’s name to find an unoccupied domain.

eCommerce 113

eCommerce Software Developers Software Development Hosting 113

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

To create a sustainable business model, owners and manager now must consider how their business processes and infrastructure can save money instead of draining their budgets. Fortunately, developers and tech companies are creating solutions that help businesses reduce operating expenses while simplifying their processes.

Cloud 113

Cloud eCommerce Security Advertising 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

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. Before spending any money, make sure you interact directly with potential customers, industry experts and investors. Hire helpers in lieu of people who are smarter than you.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Forecast Angel Investor 120

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. Trusted partners quit, personal friends become enemies, and staff management becomes a huge burden.

Advisory Board 240

Advisory Board Forecast Early Stage Product Development 240

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Hire more help than helpers. In addition to fresh products, you need people smarter than you for real help, with the right combination of skills, experience, and passion to foster and manage new growth.

Mezzanine 368

Mezzanine Private Equity Bandwidth Metrics 368

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 5, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, October 5, 2008 The product managers lament Life is not easy when youre working in an old-fashioned waterfall development process, no matter what role you play. The product manager was clearly struggling to get results from the rest of the team. Frustration is mounting.

San Francisco 158

San Francisco Management Software Review Product 158

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 17, 2021

Studying an online business analytics masters is one way you can up your numbers game; whether this is the finance, marketing, or product development aspects of your company, the course can supply you with the tools, means, and knowledge to streamline your company operations. Being a Better Leader. Reducing Your Overheads.

Analytics 173

Analytics Technical Review Social Media Software Review 173

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 13, 2017

Consider the marketing and product development required to walk through each step. Hiring a professional marketing team may be worth the expense in some cases. By planning your finances and managing your budget accordingly, you may be able to carefully monitor and control spending to gain access to the necessary funds.

Small Business 157

Small Business Developer Social Media United States 157

Mucker Lab

MAY 28, 2020

This post originally appeared in TechCrunch back in 2015, written by our co-founder and managing partner Erik Rannala. 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. Hire the wrong people. Lose focus.

Startup 78

Startup Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Review 78

ConversionXL

AUGUST 24, 2021

it’s no surprise that people are looking at how to become a marketing manager. In this article, you’ll learn what you can expect in the role, how you can demonstrate your worthiness to become a marketing manager (at your current place or in greener pastures), and how to present your case for a promotion. Others get creative.

Management 141

Management Marketing Campaign Social Media 141

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

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. Unfortunately, positioning our product as an "IM add-on" was a complete mistake.

Customer Development 131

Customer Development Engineer San Francisco Developer 131

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 26, 2009 A real Customer Advisory Board A reader recently asked on a previous post about the technique of having customers periodically produce a “state of the company&# progress report. Many companies seek to involve customers directly in the creation of their products.

Advisory Board 151

Advisory Board Customer San Francisco Lean 151

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 16, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, March 16, 2009 Combining agile development with customer development Today I read an excellent blog post that I just had to share. In most agile development systems, there is a notion of the "product backlog" a prioritized list of what software is most valuable to be developed next.

Agile 111

Agile Customer Development Developer San Francisco 111

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. Trusted partners quit, personal friends become enemies, and staff management becomes a huge burden.

Advisory Board 232

Advisory Board Startup Forecast Early Stage 232

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

by Arsalan Sajid, startup community manager at Cloudways. Product development. Now that you have a refined product idea and a team that can turn this idea into reality, the product development stage will start. Initial product development usually consists of prototyping and MVP. Prototyping.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MAY 17, 2010

After all: Tech support deals with insane customers. Tech support keeps angry customers at bay while having no power to effect change. If this is your attitude, your conception of tech support is completely backwards and you're missing out on important channels for marketing, product development, and sales.

Technical Review 245

Technical Review Sales Turkey Software Review 245

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

My original post was directed at hiring managers. It said that I didn’t believe it was a good idea to hire job hoppers. There is a high probability that the person you’re hiring will leave you within 18 months. I learned how to better run a product management process.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285