Steve Blank

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Is a Venture Studio Right for You?

Steve Blank

In exchange for attending an accelerator, startups give up 5% to 10% of their company’s equity. In return for the lower risk, a venture studio typically takes a larger percentage of equity. In contrast with an accelerator that takes 5%-10% of a startup’s equity , venture studios take anywhere from 30%-80% of a startup’s equity.

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Leaving Government for the Private Sector – Part 2

Steve Blank

At first many start-ups hire a lobbying firm. Larger companies hiring a Chief of Staff often look for someone who has an MBA, experience with one of the big consulting firms, or experience doing the job already. They can vote to hire and fire the CEO. A Board of Directors has a formal and legal role. They need you.

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Leaving Government for the Private Sector – Part 1

Steve Blank

At the Agency , 85% of my time was spent navigating bureaucracy and equities, arguing for resources and permission for operations, and dealing with the bottom rung of employees, all while making decisions with little data or data overload. Unless you can translate how your skills provide commercial value, you won’t get hired.

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Organizational Debt is like Technical debt – but worse

Steve Blank

While he kept bringing the conversation back to their big valuation I tried to steer the conversation back to how they were going to deal with: training the influx of new hires – in both culture and job specific tasks. retaining their existing hires who were working for intern-like salaries with little equity.

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Nokia as “He Who Must Not Be Named” and the Helsinki Spring

Steve Blank

They’ve stopped hiring the best talent, and startups are not looking so risky compared to large companies. You find early stage employees expecting to work normal hours, to get paid a regular salary, and not asking or expecting equity. Nokia was blind-sided in a classic disruptive innovation.

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ESADE Business School Commencement Speech

Steve Blank

In spite of this, private equity funds have used the rallying cry of efficiency to hijack corporate strategy and loot the profits that historically would have been reinvested into research and development and new products. And to keep executing large organizations hire employees with a range of skills and competencies.

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The Helsinki Spring

Steve Blank

At Tekes, government employees (and their hired consultants) – with no equity, no risk or reward, no startup or venture capital experience – try to pick startup winners and losers. It’s hard enough to pick which existing companies with known business models to aid.

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