Steve Blank

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Why Founders Should Know How to Code

Steve Blank

I was driving home from the BIO conference in San Diego last month and had lots of time for a phone call with Dave, an ex student and now a founder who wanted to update me on his Customer Discovery progress. His inability to attract a co-founder who could code was a troubling sign. A Startup is Not Just About a Good Idea.

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Cram Down – A Test of Character for VCs and Founders

Steve Blank

They offered desperate founders more cash but insisted on new terms, rewriting all the old stock agreements that previous investors and employees had. For existing investors, sometimes it was a “pay-to-play” i.e. if you don’t participate in the new financing you lose. W hy would any founder agree to this? They’re Back.

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The Difference Between Innovators and Entrepreneurs

Steve Blank

It does mean that success in building a company that scales depends on finding product/market fit, enough customers, enough financing, enough great employees, distribution channels, etc. These are entrepreneurial skills you need to rapidly acquire or find a co-founder who already has them. Lessons Learned.

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Why good people leave large tech companies

Steve Blank

Before the rapid rise of Unicorns, (startups with a valuation over a billion dollars), when boards were still in control, they “encouraged” the hiring of “adult supervision” of the founders after they found product/market fit. The founders. Founders are comfortable in the chaos and disorder. And they were right. Wakeup Call.

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Why the Future of Tesla May Depend on Knowing What Happened to Billy Durant

Steve Blank

Sloan kept the corporate staff small and focused on policymaking, corporate finance, and planning. If you’re following Tesla, you might be interested to know that Sloan wasn’t the founder of GM. Where are the charitable foundations, business schools, and hospitals named after the founder of GM? What happened to him?

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It’s About Women Running Startups

Steve Blank

While some venture firms have been around for awhile, perhaps the newer partners have a different model of what a successful founder looks like than their west coast peers. Those bemoaning the dearth of women founders in Silicon Valley might want to see if there is a real disparity between the coasts or if it is just my selection bias?

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Why Uber is The Revenge of the Founders

Steve Blank

Why do these founders get to stay around? Because the balance of power has dramatically shifted from investors to founders. VCs competing for unicorn investments have given founders control of the board. A pre-IPO board usually had two founders, two VCs and one “independent” member. Technology Cycles Measured in Years.

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