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. However, you will be informed by those experiments outside the building, and data from potential customers, partners, regulators, et al will modify your vision over time. This post previously appeared in EIX.

Business Model 305

Business Model Product Development Early Stage Customer Development 305

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

I get on a whole host of these tech blogger lists where PR firms just spam a whole bunch of folks trying to get people to write about their book/startup/event. It just creates a To Do in my inbox. It's kind of annoying because I write a personal blog. I'm not, however, the appropriate person to send a "blogger pitch" to.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review PR Early Stage Venture Capital 87

View from Seed

JULY 22, 2020

Early stage companies often debate what they ought to be prioritizing in the early days. Early stage investors ask themselves a similar question. PR or partnership opportunities that may not have been available at one stage can become much more accessible once you are bigger and better known.

Early Stage 254

Early Stage Retention PR Founder 254

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2012

Let’s start out with the basic functions of a tech company: 1) Engineering 2) Marketing 3) Sales 4) Business development 5) PR 6) Design 7) Product Management 8) HR 9) Operations 10) Finance Ok, that's just overwhelming. If you think about it, these things are all of the goals of another function on the list--PR.

PR 144

PR Technical Review Seed Stage Design 144

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 11, 2009

She is a go to person for me when I have questions around technology or early stage marketing and branding. Same partner all along: Jorge Alonso, Creative Director. We do a lot of B2B and also have an "Early Stage Branding" practice for technology startups. I've known Farida for quite a while.

Early Stage 150

Early Stage Southern California Los Angeles Marketing 150

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

PEVCTech is partnering with Blue Future Partners to run the first large-scale survey of VCs’ technology stack. Johann Kratzer of Blue Future Partners , a fund of funds, observed, “The majority of the hundreds of funds we’ve diligenced rely predominantly on their relationships to source deals. Greylock Partners.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

Up and Running

AUGUST 21, 2018

If you’re in the early stages of fleshing out your business idea, don’t worry too much about detailed market research. You’ll be thinking about sales, marketing, the team you might need, and any partners or outside resources you’ll need to leverage. Key partners and resources. Your ideal customer. Your sales strategy.

Lean 134

Lean Forecast Software Review Business Plan 134

View from Seed

JULY 24, 2015

We pulled together a lineup of A-list speakers, healined by TripAdvisor CEO Steve Kaufer, Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah, and Spark Capital founder and partner Bijan Sabet, among other very talented entrepreneurs and thinkers. More functionally, Boston needs to improve its design, branding, and PR skills. ” — @Bijan at #bostonb2c.

Boston 120

Boston Cofounder B2C PR 120

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, March 13, 2009 Dont launch Heres a common question I get from startups, especially in the early stages: when should we launch? Announce a new product, start its PR campaign, and engage in buzz marketing activities. Establish credibility with potential partners. Help you raise money.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

That said, one limitation in early-stage investing particularly is that 2022’s growth sectors probably don’t fit neatly into a vertical we can define today. a “Bitcoin Fund”, a “Social Media Fund”, a “Nanotech Fund”), you’re going to raise capital from Limited Partners who are very focused on Theme X. – Thesis.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

That said, one limitation in early-stage investing particularly is that 2022’s growth sectors probably don’t fit neatly into a vertical we can define today. a “Bitcoin Fund”, a “Social Media Fund”, a “Nanotech Fund”), you’re going to raise capital from Limited Partners who are very focused on Theme X. – Thesis.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

Cracking the Code

JUNE 5, 2019

At VivaTech this year, we were fortunate to be joined in conversation by former Cisco CEO and Executive Chairman John Chambers, who now invests in early-stage tech start-ups around the world. John: A PR crisis is something you can and should prepare for. Sooner or later all companies face a crisis.

Acquisition 48

Acquisition Management Merger Social Media 48

Up and Running

DECEMBER 16, 2014

To grow a business, most entrepreneurs know that they should be implementing PR strategies. For this webinar, we were joined by Jennefer Witter, CEO and founder of the Boreland Group, and author of the new book, “The Little Book of Big PR: 100+ Quick Tips to Get Your Small Business Noticed.” They mix it up with advertising.

Public Relations 117

Public Relations Small Business PR Entrepreneur 117

Hearpreneur

JULY 10, 2017

It was at this point that I decided to start Success Partners Australia, a sales training and consulting company. Thanks Ben Lai, Success Partners ! #5 I run award-winning agency InsideOut PR (established 2005) and founded social influencer agency #AsSeenOn last year. Thanks to Nicole Reaney, InsideOut PR ! #10

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Hungary Software Review Cofounder 97

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. It gives me an intuitive feel for whether our products are resonating with customers or partners and how they perceive our management team.

CTO Hire 308

CTO Hire Management Technical Review Part-Time VPE 308

VC Cafe

DECEMBER 1, 2022

However, in reality the Metaverse is still in its early stages of development, and yet, we already can see positive examples of its impact. From the brands and platforms panel: Lorne Sugarman ( Metaverse Group ) shared how brands are actively experimenting now across platforms for PR, engagement and profit. Hamza Khan.

Generative AI 88

Generative AI Vertical Early Stage PR 88

www.entrepreneur.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Answers Ask Entrepreneur Home Business Operations Business Opportunities Sales & Marketing Advertising & PR Finance & Accounting Franchises Home Business Human Resources Internet/E-Commerce Legal Issues Starting Up Technology Most Recent Answers How Can I Streamline My E-Commerce Operation? Young Entrepreneurs How I Did It: The TOMS Story.

Sweat Equity 55

Sweat Equity Equity Fractional CTO CTO 55

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 11, 2012

Personally, I think it would be pretty awesome if all of the people who subscribe to my weekly newsletter could put $2000 towards supporting the early stage tech ecosystem in NYC. Want to know why there aren't more female partners at VC funds? scratches bald head]. If you're raising a few million, it isn't worth their time.

Latvia 110

Latvia Fiji Arizona SEC 110

mashable.com

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

And no matter what the latest trends indicate, you will eventually have to spend money on PR and marketing. No doubt early-stage companies can be started on a shoestring by low-paid entrepreneurs, but when financing a scalable, sustainable product, a free application server won’t make much of a difference. Have an account?

Startup 79

Startup Social Media RSS Social Network 79

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

While firms define platforms differently, let’s just say they are the services that a VC offers outside of investment capital and partner time on boards or providing intros. So the partner who spends 50+% of the time managing wasn’t for us (although truthfully this probably does take 25% of my time).

Portfolio 150

Portfolio PR Partner Early Stage 150

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 8, 2011

Surely--but then I realize how difficult it is to be an early stage VC in NYC. If you're a junior VC, you're not going to have the best investment filter, nor the most experience--but you can definitely be a leader in your community and build a great network of potential hires and partners. What did I do?

Venture Capital 110

Venture Capital PR Hiring Networking 110

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2009

Handling PR with VCs. He had pitched me in the past and I told him that for a variety of reasons his company was too early stage for me but that I would happily keep track of their progress. To update me on your PR? Just notice how many VC emails you get after your TechCrunch article or after you were on stage at TC50.

PR 291

PR Bankruptcy Venture Capital Acquisition 291

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2013

Both ways are great, I’ve tried both, but personally I wouldn’t try to start something again without partners. Before you start talking to large VCs, find some early stage investors. Stefan Tirtey, Partner at Doughty Hanson Ventures , created this document with Berlin early stage investors.

Management 120

Management Cofounder Startup Bootstrapping 120

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 20, 2022

If you suffer a security breach , if you’re going to miss a deadline, or if your company is about to deal with a massive PR incident, try to address the bad news proactively. Your company will make mistakes, especially in your early stages of growth. Address bad news proactively to build greater trust.

Affiliate 138

Affiliate Startup Reputation Leadership 138

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

During that time, we successfully ran three accelerators in two cities and convened more than five hundred resources, experts, partners, business leaders, and investors to support 181 startups from all corners of the world. Top startups from each program will be invited to participate in the partner city’s Finale and Awards Ceremonies.

Texas 62

Texas Programming Houston Early Stage 62

Steve Blank

JULY 13, 2009

Which at this stage of the company was marketing and financing. The positive effect of the tidal wave of press was as a door opener for us to raise money from corporate partners. At the time I was a true believer that Rocket Science was going to change the gaming world.

Silicon Valley 122

Silicon Valley Product RSS California 122

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

by John Vrionis, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. As part of the Lightspeed Venture Partner Summer Fellowship program, I ask guest speakers to come in each week and talk to the Fellows about key topics related to building a successful startup. Be willing to help partners accelerate testing new markets.

Customer 100

Customer Entrepreneur PR Belgium 100

Up and Running

APRIL 8, 2015

Do you have an early-stage startup? A business in its early stages can often use a leg up, whether in the form of wise words from a mentor or an introduction to a strategic partner. These are very, very, very early-stage companies. Early-stage companies don’t know what they need.

Incubator 60

Incubator Cofounder Founder Early Stage 60

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

but the food was awesome, & the PR wasn’t bad either). However after Sequoia and Ron Conway announced their investment in YC in 2009 , and after YC alumni DropBox and AirBnb raised capital on billion-dollar valuations in 2010-11, the program quickly became the gold standard among early-stage startup incubators.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

View from Seed

MAY 14, 2019

But if you are able to build beautiful products, get great PR coverage, and execute flawlessly on optimizing your marketing funnel, you are more likely to show some positive signs that things are sort-of working. Great execution may allow a “nice-to-have” product to gain early traction.

Founder 256

Founder Agile Cofounder Seed Capital 256

OnlyOnce

MARCH 14, 2011

You find that you have to support channel partners as well as direct customers (or vice versa). Second is the ability to capitalize on a well-known brand—the result of many years of marketing, PR, and thought leadership within the industry. You’ll build custom code for certain clients. This team worked as a team, not as individuals.

Software Review 67

Software Review Development Team Review Later Stage Technical Review 67

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

List key partners and resources you will need, and then list your core team as well as their roles. List key partners and resources you will need, and then list your core team as well as their roles. This will make mixed messaging much less likely, and make it that much easier for your partners to help you spread your message.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

For instance, if a consultant proposes to help you with public relations, pay them a commission equivalent to the greater of a flat fee per story placed or a percentage of revenue generated from the PR coverage. Such positions include: PR, Sales, Product Development, Lead Generation, Strategic Planning, Fund Raising, etc.

Equity 40

Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 40

Steve Blank

JULY 16, 2009

Meanwhile my partner was in heaven working with his newly hired group of game designers directing and producing our first games. No, not really, but my partner owns the studio and tells me it’s spectacular and everyone will love it. Go spend some time outside the building talking to potential distribution partners.

Silicon Valley 207

Silicon Valley RSS Video San Diego 207

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 5, 2014

At the early stage, the ranks of the non-partner investor are disappearing. VC firms are going back to being mostly partner driven shops, where dealflow and decisions stay up top. The opportunities, however, are different than they used to be. They are, however, staffing up with specialists.

Venture Capital 114

Venture Capital Early Stage Cofounder Angel Groups 114

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. Let’s say you give a warrant to a channel partner to sell your product. Large companies can be strange sometimes.

Warrant 298

Warrant Dilution Startup Stock Options 298

www.bothsidesofthetable.com

MAY 13, 2012

new features need to be rolled into PR strategies and competitor analyses. - He joined GRP Partners in 2007 as a General Partner after selling his company to Salesforce.com. He focuses on early-stage technology companies. or add your 2 cents). Read more about Mark. Subscribe to my RSS Feed. Follow me on Twitter.

Fractional VPE 89

Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE Fractional CTO CTO Hire 89