Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Most entrepreneurs today don’t remember the Dot-Com bubble of 1995 or the Dot-Com crash that followed in 2000. As a reminder, the Dot Com bubble was a five-year period from August 1995 (the Netscape IPO ) when there was a massive wave of experiments on the then-new internet, in commerce, entertainment, nascent social media, and search.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2023

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. Or ask PlanetRx, an online service for prescriptions, before the Internet was pervasive. More than one smart entrepreneur has been caught in the lofty lifestyle of big money investors, viral growth, and movie star status.

Intellectual Property 314

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Bankruptcy Viral 314

ReadWriteStart

JULY 2, 2022

Since most startups in 2022 are going online, you need to think about starting your business on the Internet. If you decide to become an entrepreneur and have the opportunity to invest, but there is no modern idea, you can take advantage of the options that someone is already successfully developing. What Business is Popular in 2022.

Cost 140

Cost Software Review Technical Review Cloud 140

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

We are in a bubble (with so many private $1bn+ valuations). 15 years ago we were at the peak of Internet hype with the launch of many over-capitalized businesses with a market size & opportunity was limited. 50x more Internet users (2.4 Where are we today? Online connections that are 180x faster (10.5

Technical Review 398

Technical Review Venture Capital Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 398

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

it is also the title of a fabulous book from Internet 1.0 In a world where the economy only heads in one direction (read: 2009-2014) most investors & entrepreneurs forget to pay attention to gross burn. Valuation. I wanted to call out special attention to valuation in this debate.

Burn Rate 383

Burn Rate Balance Sheet .Net Valuation 383

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Now is the time to be an entrepreneur and create a business from your passion. In the early Internet days, it would cost a million dollars to get this far. Those that do it right also have the unprecedented opportunity to join the elite ranks of 250 unicorns (relatively new companies with a current valuation of over $1 billion).

Technical Cofounder 184

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

India has always been renowned as the land of entrepreneurs. Of late, with the advent of new technology and the spread of the internet to nearly all corners of the country, Indians have taken up a new kind of shop! Here, the company’s valuation benchmark is set, and funding is solicited accordingly.

Technical Review 146

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 146

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. I have conversations with entrepreneurs and other VCs on a daily basis about fund raising, the prices of deals, how much companies should raise, etc. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, saying “make me an offer,” or quoting an exorbitant number.

Valuation 270

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 270

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

In addition to these data points Ali identifies seven key traits that these “super founders” possess, and I believe that these traits are essential for any entrepreneur who wants to build a successful startup. “extreme resilience” – Successful entrepreneurs are able to persevere through challenges and setbacks.

Founder 89

Founder Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation 89

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

think about the entrepreneurs that started in the early days of the Internet, mobile, crypto, VR and yes… now Metaverse. If nothing else, it shows how many billions Meta is willing to commit in order to advance Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the future of the Internet. Here we go! Epic Games. but still lost $2.8

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. The fact that today’s Internet bubble does not represent all companies does not disprove its existence. I believe that.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Here are the key principles I recommend as an advisor to many entrepreneurs: Start your business in your own home. With the advent of the Internet, the size and address of your office is irrelevant. But isn’t that why you signed up to be an entrepreneur in the first place? Learn to be a generalist rather than a specialist.

Equity 349

Equity Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity 349

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

Specifically we talked about Slide having gotten a $550 million valuation before being sold to Google for $182 million. Dan makes a point that you shouldn’t be telling everyone about your valuation as Slide did. He said it’s best to talk about valuation only when you sell (if at all). Minutes 4 – 8. Minutes 8 – 10.

Seed Stage 232

Seed Stage Valuation Private Equity Venture Capital 232

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. Facilitates building skills and familiarity with new tools.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

Start Up Blog

JULY 7, 2014

It wasn’t so long ago that these statements were made about the internet as a commercial platform: It’s for nerds. There will never be any internet payments. No one will put their credit card on the internet. It’s an open-source kind of thing so there will be no Internet companies. It’s slow.

Valuation 96

Valuation Internet Stock New York 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue). This is the exit stage for the entrepreneur, and for all earlier investors. Growth stage investments from VCs are usually $5 million and up.

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2011

The opportunities for tech startups today are more immense than they’ve ever been with billions of people now connected to the Internet nearly all the time. That’s certainly good for our industry in terms of future returns for investors but I would argue also for entrepreneurs. I call this “stage drift.&#.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation Angel Investor 289

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Thus entrepreneurs were able to build prototypes and design new products without the traditional huge prototyping cost. They have also become great networking events for meeting other like-minded entrepreneurs. Here are some key positives from an entrepreneur perspective: Shorten the time and cost from idea to prototype.

Startup 397

Startup Cofounder Incubator Early Stage 397

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, playing coy, or quoting an exorbitant number.

Valuation 234

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 234

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

As an active angel investor myself, I understand how the process works, and I see the disappointment in the eyes of entrepreneurs who approach angel groups for funding and often get turned away for not being timely or prepared in the minds of potential investors. Highlight existing presence on the Internet and social media.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Angel Groups 120

Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2011

A big piece of the solution lies in the scalable impact of entrepreneurship and an increase of successful entrepreneurs. Max continued, “That’s why I’m really interested in ways of optimizing the entrepreneurship ecosystem to allow more entrepreneurs to go from idea to reality. I was feeling pretty old.

Technical Cofounder 333

Technical Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 333

Gust

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, saying “make me an offer,” or quoting an exorbitant number.

Valuation 187

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 187

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Whether you are talking to peers, competitors or investors, you as an active entrepreneur will be judged on your familiarity with today’s startup and funding jargon. In that context, I offer you my latest collection of popular investor-to-entrepreneur terms and concepts. Frothy startup valuations. Seed-round investment.

Software Review 120

Software Review Sweat Equity Accredited Investor Angel Investor 120

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 29, 2020

So, what are the in demand products during this time of pandemic that both budding and seasoned entrepreneurs may want to consider manufacturing or distributing? estimates in their recent report that medical products will have a very high global market valuation, crossing 30 billion US dollars by 2026. These are some of those: 1.

Demand 173

Demand Product Artificial Inteligence Software Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

Here are the key principles I recommend as an advisor to many entrepreneurs: Start your business in your own home. With the advent of the Internet, the size and address of your office is irrelevant. But isn’t that why you signed up to be an entrepreneur in the first place? Learn to be a generalist rather than a specialist.

Hockey Stick 423

Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 423

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

We’re now in the second Internet bubble. The signals are loud and clear : seed and late stage valuations are getting frothy and wacky, and hiring talent in Silicon Valley is the toughest it has been since the dot.com bubble. For VC’s and entrepreneurs the gold rush to liquidity was on. Carpe Diem. 1970 – 1995: The Golden Age.

Internet 334

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 334

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2017

The pervasive Internet and mobile device access allows instant communication of new options, total sharing of customer experiences, and mass customization, on a world-wide scale. Today, the move to digital technology is driving marketplace change at a seemingly ever-increasing rate. New competitors are built to be digital from day one.

Technical Review 136

Technical Review Demand Valuation Business Model 136

YoungUpstarts

MAY 29, 2011

This week Blackbox , founded by entrepreneurs Bjoern Lasse Herrmann and Max Marmer, released its first Startup Genome Report — a 67-page in depth analysis on what makes Silicon Valley startups successful based on profiling over 650 startups. But the right mentors significantly influence a company’s performance and ability to raise money.

Silicon Valley 230

Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Cofounder Startup 230

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2021

The pervasive ability and need to communicate constantly and globally through the Internet and smartphones is incenting everyone to get more out of their own assets and time, and capitalize on the idle resources of others. With crowdfunding, entrepreneurs and artists no longer need to wait for family money or venture capital.

Cuba 316

Cuba Venture Capital Community Valuation 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue). This is the exit stage for the entrepreneur, and for all earlier investors. Growth stage investments from VCs are usually $5 million and up.

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Entrepreneurs can now achieve an awful lot with very little money. When startups can do more with less money the returns from investing small amounts of money go up, and that can be seen in rising Series A valuations and declines in the average amount of money raised before exit. It went up on their blog yesterday. _.

Early Stage 119

Early Stage Development Team Review Technical Review Software Review 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. Who would not want to joint the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? Rounding out the team with employees and freelancers.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

is the leading consumer internet company with Terry Semel as CEO. I also joke with Reid Hoffman that this was back in the days before he was “Reid” Reid’s an incredible entrepreneur, startup investor, and human being. Google is still a private company (their IPO was Aug 2004). It was a $4.7M

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

I like the guy because he’s credited with coining the word entrepreneur. Just look at the disruptive challenges that businesses face today– globalization, China as a manufacturer, China as a consumer, the Internet, and a steady stream of new startups. Look at the valuations of companies like Tesla, Illumina, and Twitter.

Private Equity 326

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 326

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2014

Should they focus on increasing revenues and profitability, or entice more and more users with free services to increase their valuation. Unfortunately, the Internet and heavily-funded startups have nurtured a customer expectation of free web services and smartphone apps. entrepreneur revenue startup user count'

Revenue 246

Revenue Entrepreneur Valuation Viral 246

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Get your Internet domain name and website. A conundrum for many frustrated entrepreneurs is that they need money from investors to design and build a prototype product, yet most angel investors expect to see at least a prototype before they invest. Start early on this one, or you will lose the opportunity. Build a prototype product.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249