Mucker Lab

MAY 28, 2020

Like a teenager with a million-dollar allowance and an identity crisis, a startup with too much capital and no product-market fit will become capable of making larger mistakes. As an investor, I root for startups. Before you indulge in marketing, sales and blinged-out offices, find product-market fit.

Startup 78

Startup Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Review 78

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 30, 2017

Written by Misti Yang, Contributor for Lean Startup Co. In the opening paragraphs of Eric Ries’s upcoming book The Startup Way , Eric sets the scene: He arrived at GE in the summer of 2012 amidst a multi-hundred-million-dollar, five-year plan to develop a new diesel and natural gas engine. And the plan did succeed.

Lean 123

Lean Startup Engineer Conversion 123

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

Guest post by Lisa Regan, writer for T he Lean Startup Conference. We’ve posted the full program for The Lean Startup Conference , and it includes more than three days of events for Gold pass holders and six days of events for VIP pass holders. On the evening of December 8, Ignite Lean Startup kicks off the conference.

Continuous Deployment 162

Continuous Deployment Norway Lean Analytics 162

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 6, 2011

The Lean Startup Book is done. If you've been waiting for a comprehensive account of the Lean Startup and how it can help you achieve dramatically better business results, this is it. Some are from obscure startups who you haven't heard of -- yet. I am no longer writing a book. Finally, really, truly, done.

Lean 167

Lean Startup Metrics Private Equity 167

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 20, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 20, 2008 The engineering managers lament I was inspired to write The product managers lament while meeting with a startup struggling to figure out what had gone wrong with their product development process. After all, our startup is on a fixed budget.

Software Review 164

Software Review Engineer Management Technical Review 164

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Validated learning about customers Would you rather have $30,000 or $1 million in revenues for your startup? In an early-stage startup especially, revenue is not an important goal in and of itself. Let’s start with a simple question: why do early-stage startups want revenue?

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Steve Blank

MARCH 4, 2014

In the last few years we’ve recognized that a startup is not a smaller version of a large company. We’re now learning that companies are not larger versions of startups. But paradoxically, in spite of all their seemingly endless resources, innovation inside of an existing company is much harder than inside a startup.

IRR 335

IRR Startup Business Model Agile 335

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 23, 2009

If you never have, you can create your own using Google Finance. If you never have, you can create your own using Google Finance. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R. Expo SF (May. .

Metrics 167

Metrics San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 167

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2012

You have a million things to get done at your startup, yet you only have a handful of people to do them. What is the Minimum Viable Team, if you will, for a startup? I can break down all the things a startup needs to do into three ideal people. Now we’re down to nine core business functions on a small startup team.

PR 144

PR Technical Review Seed Stage Design 144

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Here’s the punchline: if you run your company as if you have closed a VC equity financing round even though you actually closed a convertible debt round, you’ll be in much better shape when it comes time to raise your Series A financing. One of them used to be a lead developer at [insert hot consumer tech company here].

Burn Rate 152

Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 152

Up and Running

OCTOBER 10, 2018

You might develop a fairly simple business plan first as you start a small business, and that might be enough for you. This is an excellent use of the Lean Business Planning methodology , based on a simple Lean Plan combined with regular updates and revisions. However, not all startups are that simple.

Startup 114

Startup Forecast Lean Balance Sheet 114

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

This is part of my ongoing posts on Startup Advice. I know that this all seems obvious now with the movements started by Steven Blank ( Four Steps of Epiphany ) with the whole Customer Development processes / Lean Startup movements also popularized by people like Eric Ries. Turn Your Organization Inside Out.

Customer 280

Customer Technical Review Software Review Mexico 280

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Most startups fail. Not because they have a conversion problem but because they never really nail the product or how to market it. The most common mistake startups make is assuming they can operate the same way big companies do, and expect success with little to no feedback from potential customers. image source.

Customer Development 126

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 126

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 6, 2018

In today’s rough-and-tumble startup scene, “lean” is all the rage, and the ability to cut costs without compromising performance is prized above virtually any other managerial competency. Apply to as many startup competitions as you have bandwidth for; if your idea is as good as you think it is, you’ll be admitted to at least a few.

CPA 124

CPA Bandwidth Lean Startup 124

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

A company at this stage could also face product development costs from consultants if they decided to outsource product development. However, Praveena has committed to personally get the first version of the product up and launched without outside consultants, so there is no expense here either.

Balance Sheet 125

Balance Sheet Fractional CTO Burn Rate Salary 125

techcocktail.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Tech Cocktail Connecting, educating and amplifying the startup technology community and having fun doing it since 2006. So, today we’d like to highlight a few main points to consider when building your startup team. Startup’s can be stressful and there may be many times when people want to quit.

San Francisco 44

San Francisco Startup PHP San Diego 44

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 29, 2020

In other words, you must start bootstrapping an online startup , because the future of the global business world is online. What is a startup? Before we look at ways to bootstrap a startup, let’s consider a comprehensive definition of what a startup is. Ways to bootstrap a startup.

Bootstrapping 85

Bootstrapping Global Startup Hungary 85

Steve Blank

MAY 28, 2009

Market Risk vs. Invention Risk - Click to Enlarge For companies building web-based products, product development may be difficult, but with enough time and iteration engineering will eventually converge on a solution and ship a functional product - i t’s engineering, not invention.

Vertical 144

Vertical Silicon Valley Marketing Customer 144

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 21, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, June 21, 2010 What is a startup? I think most people have a fairly specific image that gets conjured up when they hear the word startup. It leads people to mistakenly believe that any time they see two guys in a garage attempting the impossible, that’s a startup. Wrong again.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco Startup Lean Continuous Deployment 168

bizthoughts.mikelee.org

MARCH 8, 2012

Although most aren’t in a place to be startup cofounders for financial reasons, I now have access to a large talent pool once I can offer a salary. With all the funded startups that are unable to hire, that’s a huge ace up my sleeve. And for the engineers that did want to become startup cofounders – we all did.

Technical Cofounder 40

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Technical Review Software Review 40

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 6, 2014

Yesterday I wrote about how building a startup is increasingly an exercise in disciplined application of process. Apple Startup general interest Venture Capital' Embodied in a program that runs on the company’s internal network, the ANPP resembled a giant checklist.

Product 84

Product Venture Capital Lean Finance 84

BeyondVC

DECEMBER 10, 2009

Financial models for startups are important from a big picture perspective, but I never like to get mired in the full details as things always change in the early stages. While many SAAS companies may collect cash monthly or quarterly, some collect annual fees by offering discounts by paying upfront.

Churn Rate 112

Churn Rate Burn Rate Startup Metrics 112

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

In future posts I’ll describe 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. While that’s not true, it is a fact that entrepreneurs only have one word for “startup.”

Customer Development 196

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 196

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 13, 2016

First impressions are everything for a startup. When offering a new product or service it is important for a business to quickly demonstrate value to prospective customers and differentiate itself from the competition. Finding the time to hit every mark on a tagline can be difficult, especially in a fast-paced startup environment.

Marketing 48

Marketing Startup Differentiation Naming 48

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2009

Execution by Vertical Market As the class progressed, students asked how the activities/functions of a startup; (Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Product Development, etc.) How does product development differ in communications hardware versus enterprise software, etc. Waterfall, Agile, Lean?

Vertical 122

Vertical Silicon Valley RSS Marketing 122

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. Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. The goal of their startup in this stage becomes “getting funded.”

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

Up and Running

JULY 24, 2015

When you’re ready to launch a startup, the name of the game is research. We’ve put together a list of 34 resources that will play a role in your startup. The Founders Workbench has a variety of tools to help you get your startup off the ground. Product development. Want advice from someone with startup experience?

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur Small Business Administration SBA Pennsylvania 60

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

To give you a better idea of what entrepreneurs in this industry are thinking about during each phase of the startup process, I interviewed SaaS entrepreneurs from all over the world, including our own COO Noah Parsons. Noah has been a key figure in the making of LivePlan, our own SaaS product. Step 1: Start with a lean plan.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Sloan kept the corporate staff small and focused on policymaking, corporate finance and planning. The guy who replaced him invented the idea of the modern corporation. Understanding the future of entrepreneurship may depend on understanding the contribution each of them made in the past. But the spirit of Billy Durant would rise again.

Silicon Valley 156

Silicon Valley United States RSS Customer Development 156

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 11, 2008

Those of us who have had the privilege of working in the premier startup hub in the world often take its advantages for granted. Among those: plentiful financing and nerds , a culture that celebrates both failure and success, and an ethos of openness and sharing. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

Silicon Valley 68

Silicon Valley San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 68

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 7, 2009

In the case of an entrepreneur pitching for finance, its the same fear that has them putting on a facade and not comfortable in what they do and dont know that will see them a long way off getting funded. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Expo SF (May. . Expo SF (May.

Continuous Deployment 131

Continuous Deployment San Francisco Software Review Lean 131

Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

It’s why all of you operated so well in the unpredictable environment that all startups face.” What makes an individual a great startup founder (versus an employee) has been something I had been thinking about since I retired. Next, you have to deal with the daily crisis of product development and acquiring early customers.

Founder 297

Founder Silicon Valley RSS China 297

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

So, please note the TAM Analysis is a vitally important aspect of building any financing strategy. He needs to generate enough profit so that he can grow organically and build his business systematically, and without expecting a lot of outside financing. Raymond is wondering why he cannot attract financing.

Marketing 52

Marketing Bootstrapping Incubator Angel Investor 52

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

So, please note the TAM Analysis is a vitally important aspect of building any financing strategy. He needs to generate enough profit so that he can grow organically and build his business systematically, and without expecting a lot of outside financing. Raymond is wondering why he cannot attract financing.

Marketing 52

Marketing Bootstrapping Incubator Angel Investor 52

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

189 Answers To The Top Startup Questions On Your Mind. 189 Answers To The Top Startup Questions On Your Mind. Written By Dan Martell on February 2nd, 2012 | Category: Hiring LeanStartup Marketing Metrics Startup Life | 6 Comments. I love startups. Building Product 2. Here’s my high-level approach for startups.

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44

conversionxl.com

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

It’s Not a Conversion Problem, It’s a Customer Development Problem. Most startups fail. Not because they have a conversion problem but because they never really nail the product or how to market it. Same goes for e-commerce, SaaS or any startup really. This is a customer development problem.

Customer Development 60

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 60