Steve Blank

AUGUST 13, 2009

Customer Development/Lean Startups In hindsight startups and the venture capital community left out the most important first step any startup ought to be doing – hypothesis testing in front of customers- from day one. Interestingly this response almost always comes from first time entrepreneurs. I was an idiot.

Silicon Valley 179

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Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2009

Filed under: Customer Development , Technology | Tagged: Customer Development , Early Stage Startup , Entrepreneurs , Startups , Steve Blank « SuperMac War Story 6: Building The Killer Team – Mission, Intent and Values Story Behind “The Secret History” Part IV: Library Hours at an Undisclosed Location » 17 Responses Michael F.

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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. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Sunset BoulevardBOOTY SHAKE CONTEST GONE [.]

Customer Development 224

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Steve Blank

JUNE 3, 2009

Simulation to Reduce Invention Risk If you’re in a vertical where “invention risk” is dominant, then you want to do everything you can to manage and reduce those risks. When I wrote the Four Steps to the Epiphany , the Customer Development text, I hadn’t yet thought about what vertical markets it might be appropriate for.)

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Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

The same issues arose time and again: big company management styles versus entrepreneurs wanting to shoot from the hip, founders versus professional managers, engineering versus marketing, marketing versus sales, missed schedule issues, sales missing the plan, running out of money, raising new money.

Silicon Valley 125

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Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web. The first question to ask is: “Does your startup have market risk or is it dominated by technical risk?” Lean Startup /Customer Development is used to find answers to the unknowns about customers and markets.

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Steve Blank

OCTOBER 5, 2009

Reply Karma in the Lean Startup Era , on January 28, 2010 at 5:26 pm Said: [.] Reply Relentless – The Difference Between Motion And Action « Steve Blank , on November 9, 2009 at 6:02 am Said: [.] to move their applications to our unique machine architecture.

North Carolina 125

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2011

I took the opportunity this past week to publish summary notes of some of the VCs and entrepreneurs I had interviewed on This Week in VC. One of my goals in doing the show was not only to educate entrepreneurs but also to put a human face on many of the VCs in our industry as VCs can be hard to get to know. (5:00 5:00 – 5:55).

Vertical 265

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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.

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Steve Blank

JUNE 25, 2009

were the first computer entrepreneurs here. So, here is my assignment. Find out Memorex’s position in Silicon Valley. Some say we were the first PCM in the valley. Others say Larry Spitters & Co. Were we anything first? Any answers or pointers will be appreciated.

Technology 138

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Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

And even more importantly, was there any way to reduce risk in early stage ventures? Reply Best books for the lean product managers — Justin Gibbs , on April 28, 2009 at 2:44 pm Said: [.] This product development diagram had become part of the DNA of Silicon Valley. familiar with Customer Development you should be.

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cdixon.org

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

A frequent question entrepreneurs have when they are just starting their company is: how secretive should I be about my idea? This includes investors, entrepreneurs, people who work in similar areas, friends, people on the street, the bartender, etc. (I link] Lean Startups Blog – rants and raves from the startup trenches.

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Steve Blank

JUNE 5, 2009

This is incisive and powerful and I hope many entrepreneurs or would-be entrepreneurs “get&# this eloquently stated point. The last thing I want is for new entrepreneurs to read my comment and get dismayed about the importance of facts. You do different things as an entrepreneur when you are creating a new market.

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Hunter Walker

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

Often these funds are attempting to build out a reputation or gain exposure to a new vertical. For entrepreneurs, you’re removing a degree of optionality very early in your existence since large funds have outcome goals that might be more restrictive than the full set open to a company backed by angel/seed investors.

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Steve Blank

MAY 22, 2009

Go to trade shows like it matters.

Silicon Valley 128

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Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

Eighty some pages later I realized that a) I had some great war stories as a good marketeer and failed CEO, b) I’d have to pay my wife and kids to read them, c) the three of them were probably the entire total available market, and d) when I looked at what I had done and what other entrepreneurs had done at their startups, that there was a pattern.

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Up and Running

JULY 26, 2016

Lean marketing. Especially in the early stages, keeping a relationship with your customers can be paid off exponentially, not only in overall engagement but with extremely valuable word of mouth marketing. Get used to monitoring Twitter conversations around your vertical and try to engage with as many as you can.

Revenue 60

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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. The goal of their startup in this stage becomes “getting funded.” What are Early Stage VC’s Really Asking? How many are there? Is there a profitable business model? Can it scale?”

Customer Development 262

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Steve Blank

AUGUST 20, 2009

Some of the conversations went like this: Startup 1 Entrepreneur -“I’m competing against Company x and have been following the Customer Development process and I’ve talked to lots of customers.” Entrepreneur -“Well no but my product is much better than their product and I have this great idea….” Do you know how they create demand?

Silicon Valley 181

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Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

Yet the processes that early-stage companies were using were identical to that of large corporations. And, if so, then how favorable this model is not only for the customer but for the women entrepreneurs who typically tend to listen more easily than their male counterparts? It is the path that is hidden in plain sight.

Silicon Valley 127

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Steve Blank

APRIL 29, 2009

Every potential startup founder should think about their level of comfort operating in chaos and uncertainty. It may not be for you.

Silicon Valley 170

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Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

In future posts I’ll describe how Eric Ries and the Lean Startup concept provide the equivalent model for product development activities inside the building and neatly integrates customer and agile development. This post describes a solution – the Customer Development Model. Its strength is its rigor and flexibility.

Customer Development 242

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Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

Thirty years later we now realize that its one the causes of early startup failure. This series of posts is a brief explanation of how we’ve evolved from Product Development to Customer Development to the Lean Startup. Assuming no early liquidity (via an IPO or merger) for the company, more fund raising is required.

Silicon Valley 260

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Steve Blank

JULY 9, 2009

Reply steveblank , on July 9, 2009 at 10:44 am Said: Tim, Some entrepreneurs can do a startup based on recognizing an opportunity and executing. Don’t confuse your passion for your tools with why your customers will buy your product. You’re very right on that. What’s your take on it? There’s no right answer.

Silicon Valley 139

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Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2009

Filed under: Customer Development , SuperMac | Tagged: Steve Blank , Entrepreneurs , Early Stage Startup « Killing Innovation with Corner Cases and Consensus The Secret History of Silicon Valley Part VI: Every World War II Movie was Wrong » 7 Responses David , on April 23, 2009 at 8:58 am Said: Excellent!

Silicon Valley 120

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Steve Blank

MAY 26, 2009

Verticals Are Different I began to realize that entrepreneurs (and their professors) act like every vertical market and industry has the same set of rules. So the first heuristic is: do not assume the startup rules are the same for all vertical markets. Just for discussion, the markets I chose were: Web 2.0,

Vertical 149

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Steve Blank

MAY 21, 2009

Did this help them to understand your company/product Part 2 of the memo, to be posted tomorrow: using a trade show to generate leads. Plus tips on overall trade show strategy.

Silicon Valley 178

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David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Small investment firms often have interns and entrepreneurs in residence passing through, each of which is a security risk. Chris Dixon, Partner, A16Z, observes , “Success in VC is probably 10% about picking, and 90% about sourcing the right deals and having entrepreneurs choose your firm as a partner”. 2) Market .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2009

The presentation didn’t have a single word about Lean Startups or Customer Development. I am a young entrepreneur here, absolutely dying to hear the talk. And many of the best entrepreneurs experience failure a number of times before building a legendary business (thanks Steve Blank, you’re an info sharing rockstar).

Venture Capital 209

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Steve Blank

JUNE 22, 2009

Ben Reply Jerry Ji , on June 22, 2009 at 1:39 pm Said: Peter Drucker: Entrepreneurs need to be more managerial. And brand-names are ultimately are just commodities that can be bought and sold (e.g., RCA, Pontiac, Plymouth, and any number of relocated sports teams). Steven Blank: Managers need to be more entrepreneurial.

Silicon Valley 164

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Steve Blank

JULY 2, 2009

Entrepreneur-in-Residence After SuperMac I had been approached by one of our venture investors to be an entrepreneur in residence (EIR), a Silicon Valley phrase which says one thing but means another. I offered to introduce him to the firm whose Entrepreneur-in-Residence offer I had just accepted.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 120

Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

In this admittedly very unscientific survey I’ve found that between a quarter and half of the students I consider “hard-core&# entrepreneurs/founders (working passionately to found a company,) self-identified as coming from a less than benign upbringing. I’ve been surprised at the data. Comments and brickbats welcomed.

Founder 297

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Steve Blank

JULY 20, 2009

Home Books for Startups Secret History-Bibliography Steve Blank Startup Resources Steve Blank Entries RSS | Comments RSS Categories Air Force (9) Ardent (9) Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan (29) California Coastal Commission (3) Conservation (2) Convergent Technologies (1) Customer Development (98) Customer Development Manifesto (..)

Silicon Valley 175

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Steve Blank

MAY 7, 2009

In exchange, these VCs/companies get early looks at new deal flow and offer aspiring entrepreneurs feedback and advice on their business plan. These competitions started in the early 1980 ‘s at the University of Texas and have sprouted like mushrooms in the last 10 years.

Business Plan 140

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Steve Blank

JULY 16, 2009

His point was that it was in the VC’s interest in having entrepreneurs swing for the fences. However the VC’s are managing a portfolio while you, the entrepreneur are managing one company – yours. The entrepreneur might be very happy with a modest outcome where the VC is more incented to swing for the fences or fail.

Silicon Valley 207

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Steve Blank

JULY 13, 2009

Believing Your Own BS is Toxic Lots of noise and smoke before a product ships seems to be a toxic byproduct of enthusiastic entrepreneurs. We were larger than life, but as one potential investor told us, “You guys are all hat and no cattle.”

Silicon Valley 122

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Steve Blank

APRIL 7, 2009

But what I remind them is that great grades and successful founders/technology entrepreneurs have at best a zero correlation (and anecdotal evidence suggests that the correlation may actually be negative.) Nothing makes me happier then to see my students getting great grades (and as they can tell you I make them very work hard for them.)

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