Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Excellent detailed resources are everywhere, including a classic book, “ The Startup Checklist ,” by serial entrepreneur and founder of the New York Angels, David S. Incorporating a business entity early through online services.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

A founder asked me what makes a $2M round “pre-seed”? especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? Pre-seed tends to be about developing an MVP and generating early traction. Seed is about showing initial product market fit. who’s talking to customers?)

Valuation 186

Valuation Generative AI Software Review Technical Review 186

YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

by Nick Frandsen, co-founder and managing partner at Dovetail. 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. Why is product discovery important? Create a visual representation of your product.

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

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. Its a key lean startup concept.

Product Development 88

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 88

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. This could equate to two technical founders (with a minimal salary), funding two developers for a year.

Burn Rate 258

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Management Salary 258

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 7, 2017

Two conditions that do matter to your startup’s out-year viability are the cost and length of its product development cycle. Startup founders counting the days until break-even or actively seeking outside capital must focus on streamlining their development cycles. Implement Standardized Development Processes.

Cost 100

Cost Developer Small Business Administration Marketing 100

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 30, 2021

A lot of work goes into starting a business, developing and launching products, and running the day-to-day operations, so marketing often gets put on the back burner. Check out these critical tips for developing an effective marketing strategy for startups in boring industries. Choose your Market Audience. Choose a Brand Name.

Developer 78

Developer Marketing Social Media Startup 78

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Excellent detailed resources are everywhere, including a classic book, “ The Startup Checklist ,” by serial entrepreneur and founder of the New York Angels, David S. Incorporating a business entity early through online services.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

View from Seed

MAY 11, 2016

Investors love the idea of backing second-time founders, especially if they have had success in their last company. etc… In addition, first-time founders I speak to often talk about how much they have learned and how they resolve to do things differently and better the next time. Is there a sophomore slump to avoid?

Founder 159

Founder Cofounder CTO Hire Early Stage 159

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. Moreover, since the first CEO was likely to have been one of the founders, the trauma of CEO removal begins.

Customer Development 224

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 224

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. The goal of iterative development is to give us guard rails so we dont veer off to either extreme. Now that is fun.

Product Development 68

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 68

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

This post describes how companies using the Customer Development model can increase their credibility, valuation and probability of getting a first round of funding by presenting their results in a “Lesson Learned&# venture pitch. Is there a profitable business model? Can it scale?” Just as a refresher.

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Product development. For a great idea person, the product details keep changing for the better, but nothing ever gets finished. Investor negotiations.

Technical Review 333

Technical Review Startup Software Review Retention 333

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

So even before you get to product development (20% of revenue) or G&A (14% in 2019), you’re already looking at a narrower potential margin than you might expect from a marketplace or transaction platform. Source: Airbnb S-1. Airbnb’s Secret Sauce.

North America 401

North America IPO Prospectus Europe 401

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. This could equate to two technical founders (with a minimal salary), funding two developers for a year.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Social Media 310

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 29, 2024

As the founder of Smartvu Ltd., This is why I like to include customers in product development and testing. I also like to be close with customer service finding out how the product is working and what problems the customers have. This helps build a great product but it’s not the best product that wins.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Portugal Internet Advertising 111

Small Business Force

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Every entrepreneur wishes they were as prescient or creative as Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, or Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders, respectively of Apple, Amazon and Google. Few entrepreneurs or small business owners involve their customers in the product development process. Bring customers into the development process.

Development Team Review 36

Development Team Review Product Development Developer Product 36

View from Seed

JULY 5, 2022

Founder: Connor Cash. Get to know the founder. I’m Connor Cash, the founder of Caesar and I grew up outside of Boston but currently live in DC! RH: What’s your favorite thing about being an early-stage founder? CC: Being a founder is a rollercoaster ride. . Company: Caesar Sustainability. ” – Lee Hower.

DC 156

DC Software Review Government Boston 156

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

This is a customer development problem. By the end of this article, you should have a better understanding of how to develop new products or tweak your existing offerings by working with existing or prospective customers to incorporate their feedback to create viable solutions to their problems, and clearly communicate their value.

Customer Development 126

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 126

The Next Web

MARCH 6, 2014

Here’s a problem I bet every non-technical founder has experienced: the communication gap between what the biz dev team wants and what the tech team thinks they want, and vice versa. It’s disruptive, and for founders, very frustrating to watch. Practice Agile Development. Their answers are below. Cross Train Members.

Technical Review 129

Technical Review Development Team Review Developer Agile 129

Early Growth Financial Services

DECEMBER 11, 2012

by Tony Karrer Originally published on SoCal CTO Almost every day I’m talking to early stage startup founders (see Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions) about what they plan to do. Many of these founders have talked with several developers or development firms about their plans. It needs to be a conversation.

Fractional CTO 44

Fractional CTO Developer Product Development Founder 44

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

by Zain Jaffer, serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Zain Ventures. sales to product development), the problems will continue to exist. In cases where customer feedback is provided to the development team, it is crucial that communication be a two-way street. Among the list: the loss of a major client.

Customer 281

Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 281

The Equity Kicker

AUGUST 20, 2014

I’m reproducing in full here because it’s a great explanation of our solo-founder hypothesis and how we work more generally. Are you a solo founder with an idea? Snaptrip started as an idea, an excel spreadsheet and a passionate founder called Matt. THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN FOUNDER AND TEAM. HOW IT STARTED.

Cofounder 95

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Technical Review 95

Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

What makes an individual a great startup founder (versus an employee) has been something I had been thinking about since I retired. A Day in the Life of A Founder For those of you who’ve never started a company, let me assure you that it never happens like the pleasant articles you read in business magazines or in case studies.

Founder 297

Founder Silicon Valley RSS China 297

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Since this number is budgeted and pre-authorized, managers tend to focus upon other things such as sales, marketing and product development issues. There is an art to efficient management of a process, whether that is the process of bringing a product to market from R&D to production or developing a new product’s launch program.

Silicon Valley 118

Silicon Valley Burn Rate Angel Investor Down Round 118

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

JANUARY 2, 2019

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs have no idea how dramatically your own role has to evolve as you develop a solution, start a business, and expect it to scale into a successful self-managed company. Thus my job as a small business advisor really is really more about getting you developed than perfecting the business.

Leadership 248

Leadership Technical Review Cofounder Social Media 248

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. But startups require money upfront for product development and later to scale. Founders can now access the largest pool of risk capital that ever existed –in the form of Private Equity (Angel Investors, family offices , Venture Capitalists (VC’s) and Hedge Funds.). (BTW,

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Jeff Katzenberg has a great track record – head of the studio at Paramount, chairman of Disney Studios, co-founder of DreamWorks and now chairman of NewTV. Lean was designed to inform the founders’ vision while they operated frugally at speed. ” Fire, Ready, Aim. He just hired Meg Whitman. The result?

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step. The concept of “seed funding” originates from the metaphor of growing a tree, in which the seed represents the initial component required to move forward with developing a business.

Seed Stage 119

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 119

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. Steve Blank has devoted many years now to trying to answer that question, with a theory he calls Customer Development. a roadmap for how to get to Product/Market Fit." Theory of market types.

Customer Development 168

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 168

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 27, 2020

We updated our investment thesis a few months ago…we invest in mission-driven founders at the earliest stages. Since that time, we’ve been asked how we define a mission-driven founder. Let’s start with why we’re focusing on mission-driven founders right now. The market for talent has never been more fierce.

Founder 188

Founder Portfolio Leadership Product Development 188

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

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. You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite if you don’t have any. Think of profound beliefs as “strong opinions loosely held.”

Business Model 305

Business Model Product Development Early Stage Customer Development 305

Version One Ventures

MAY 3, 2023

But India is such a welcoming country that it only took a few weeks of preparation to fill a weeklong schedule with meetings – from a dinner arranged by Shiva with approximately 15 founders in Delhi to a talk about crypto at Builders Circle in Bangalore. group pic from meet-up w/ Delhi founders

India 87

India LP Silicon Valley Vertical 87

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. Ive attempted to embed the relevant slides below. Talk about waste.

Customer Development 131

Customer Development Engineer San Francisco Developer 131

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? I’ve talked with a number of software development shops who are eager to get into the business of cofounding companies, i.e., getting product revenue and equity instead of just consulting revenue. What are the terms of their relationship with the founder?

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

This product development diagram had become part of the DNA of Silicon Valley. That’s in stark contrast to the traditional Product Development Model where it’s expected a customer is already there and waiting and it’s simply a matter of [.] familiar with Customer Development you should be.

Product Development 143

Product Development Developer Silicon Valley Product 143