Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

when to build out our offices in Silicon Valley, New York & Los Angeles. How to build a great forecast. So our board meetings consisted of discussion about. how much energy to put into channel partners vs. direct sales. how to build an initial sales organization. how to market our products and company.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. Online social networking is a concept still being evangelized even in Silicon Valley… Friendster is in private beta (wasn’t until Oct 2003 they received Google acquisition offer which they turned down for Kleiner/Benchmark round).

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

In fact, SaaS industry revenue is projected to grow from $49 billion in 2015 to $67 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate of approximately eight percent. While it’s useful to be able to have a sales forecast and expense budget early on, it’s not something you need until you’ve validated your idea.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Austin Startup

JANUARY 20, 2021

The Ferrari Museum in Modena, Italy The defining characteristic of the Silicon Valley startup is speed. In 2006, I joined Yelp as employee #20 when the company had $1M in annual revenue. I had to throw out my desire to build a perfect strategy and forecast for the business. Startup B does $2M in revenue in 2021.

Sales 64

Sales Startup Sales Cycle Revenue 64

Steve Blank

JUNE 10, 2010

Both my parents worked as hard as any Silicon Valley entrepreneur but with a different definition of a successful business model; when they made a profit, they could feed our family. With venture capital came accountability to board members, forecasts, and other people’s agendas.

Silicon Valley 329

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur United States New York City 329

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 14, 2011

Then, Satish from Chennai, India, discussed Quantum Arc, a solution for predictive analysis and forecasting of fire breakout hazards by monitoring electrical/power infrastructures in major facilities. The value proposition is well articulated, validated, and very clean. Quantum Arc.

India 126

India Technical Review Entrepreneur Silicon Valley 126

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 9, 2020

5:01) Brian's thoughts on the human dimension to his approach and how that sets him apart in Silicon Valley. (6:06) 59:03) The need for creativity, intuition and compassion in Silicon Valley and business. (1:00:23) 59:03) The need for creativity, intuition and compassion in Silicon Valley and business. (1:00:23)

Silicon Valley 60

Silicon Valley Hosting Cofounder Employee 60

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

ISRAEL’S STATISTICS BUREAU FORECASTS 4% GROWTH IN 2010. The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) forecasts 4% growth for 2010 based on data it accumulated over the first nine months of the year. growth forecast for 2010 exports. In 2008, the company, which employs about 30,000 worldwide, reported revenues of $28.8

Bandwidth 79

Bandwidth Framework Forecast 79

Steve Blank

JULY 28, 2011

Silicon Valley was born in an era of applied experimentation driven by scientists and engineers. This approach would shape Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial ethos: In startups, failure was treated as experience (until you ran out of money). Yet this system isn’t perfect. – seems like another planet.

Engineer 280

Engineer Silicon Valley United States Intellectual Property 280

YoungUpstarts

MAY 26, 2017

Based off the “Pitch then Plan” template originated by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, I believe in creating a strong pitch first and then building a business plan based on it. A common mistake is using a top-down model to forecast financials. Because if you get the pitch right, you’ll get the plan right.

Cofounder 185

Cofounder Silicon Valley Forecast Business Plan 185

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

That’s the sales forecast, the spending forecast and the cash flow. You want to show that, and investors need to see the scale of a business that have to do with your sales forecast. They’re going to look first at the sales forecast. That’s a lean business plan. It is not a document.

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60

Up and Running

MAY 3, 2012

Entrepreneurship continues to be a sexy topic for governments, with every country worth its salt trying to create its own tech hub, mimicking Silicon Valley. We need to insist that they set goals and milestones, create cash flow forecasts and devise ways to test their assumptions. ??We

Entrepreneur 82

Entrepreneur Technical Review Silicon Valley Lean 82

Up and Running

DECEMBER 9, 2014

What I did is I learned the art of a pro forma and the value of a pro forma which basically is a forecast. Two, revenue. If you don’t know what your cash flow forecast is, you don’t really understand your capital needs. You heard a little bit from others about that. What do you do? One, profit and loss statement.

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95

Up and Running

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Develop a forecast: Basic forecasts and budgets are critical; tracking them is even more so. This form of planning condensed the business model onto one page and is most useful for high-growth, technically-focused startups (think Silicon Valley). Instead, it should be a living tool that is revisited on a regular basis.

Lean 60

Lean Silicon Valley Business Model Forecast 60

Steve Blank

JULY 11, 2016

We were depending on investor funding, but with $60,000 in revenue no one would fund it. . When Peggy first arrived in Silicon Valley, she worked for Boole & Babbage , before founding her own firm. Entrepreneurship stretches from Main Street to Silicon Valley, from startups to big companies.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Cofounder Customer Development 120

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2009

Once the product begins to ship, startup sales execs use orders and revenue as its marker of progress in understanding customers. Well, because the revenue plan we promised the investors shows us generating customer revenue from the day of first customer ship.” Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice.

Customer Development 220

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 220

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

Yet we used the product development model not only to manage product development, but as a road map for finding customers and to time our marketing launch and sales revenue plan. If it’s a new division inside a larger company, forecasts talk about return on investment. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice.

Silicon Valley 263

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 263

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Sloan put in place GM’s management accounting system (borrowed from DuPont) that for the first time allowed the company to: 1) produce an annual operating forecast that compared each division’s forecast (revenue, costs, capital requirements and return on investment) with the company’s financial goals. Order Here. Now In Print!

Silicon Valley 161

Silicon Valley United States RSS Customer Development 161

Cracking the Code

OCTOBER 13, 2020

It reminds me of living in Silicon Valley 10 years ago when so many foundational SaaS companies were started. Cloud Entrepreneurs: Embracing the “Silicon Valley State of Mind" Accel has been a big believer in cloud since the early days of this secular shift. Big milestones for the old continent!

Europe 71

Europe Cloud Silicon Valley 71

Up and Running

AUGUST 19, 2014

With this history, you can accurately forecast business decisions and needs that will eventually drive growth going forward—which will, eventually, lead to a situation where you can potentially give yourself a raise. Once you generate the financial support of investors, it may be time to reward yourself with a salary.

Salary 119

Salary Sweat Equity Silicon Valley Sales Cycle 119

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 3, 2011

Then Greg Snead, also from Tacoma, discussed Orbiter , an RFID venture that is moving along quite nicely, having clocked more than $700,000 in revenue last year. Orbiter expects to give its investors a 15 times return on investment based on their current pipeline and revenue forecast. Happy Grasshopper.

San Jose 115

San Jose Entrepreneur United States Washington 115

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

If the answer to the question centers around “We will achieve revenue soon so our net will improve and give us more runway,” it means the company is in trouble because no product ever ships on time nor achieves the company’s “conservative forecast.” These days revenue is the best source of capital. That’s cool.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 26, 2012

Most have discovered just how difficult it is to make a Silicon Valley from scratch. You can’t simply choose a local geographic feature, attach the word “Silicon” and wait for the high-tech boom. Too often these first attempts are sheer mimicry of what’s happening in Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley 60

Silicon Valley Chile Startup Turkey 60

Duct Tape Marketing

JUNE 20, 2023

12:22] Would you look at the value derived by digital technologies differently than by producing customer value or revenue? [14:23] If only we could do amazing, you know, supply chain forecasting, right? [08:56] How does somebody start addressing what is essentially a line-by-line audit of everything they’re doing? [12:22]

Technical Review 66

Technical Review Silicon Valley Generative AI Arizona 66

Up and Running

APRIL 28, 2015

I’ve also built my own pitch decks and presented to major Silicon Valley VC firms over the years and have learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. Slide 5: Revenue model. Investors will expect to see your sales forecast, profit and loss statement, and cash flow forecast for at least three years.

Forecast 60

Forecast Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 60

Venture Chronicles

JANUARY 5, 2014

I always take predictions posts with a grain of salt because they reflect the aspirations of the author as much as a qualified and objective forecast of what will happen in year ahead. but to quote Bill Gates: We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.

Silicon Valley 62

Silicon Valley Cloud B2C Mobile 62

Venture Chronicles

JANUARY 25, 2011

The short answer to this question is that there are too many variables to project what the point of intersection between Q&A and customer communities will be, however it does seem plausible to forecast that there will be a convergence in these two closely aligned sectors over time. Market Opportunity.

Community 51

Community Search Social Network Social Media 51

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

We were focused on revenue, but we didnt understand that revenue is not important for its own sake in an early stage company. And then, at my first Silicon Valley startup , I watched friends get laid off in successive waves as it started to fail. Maybe, but the thought never even entered our minds. About spot trends.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

I’ve seen way too many startups spend all their energy getting channel deals done only to find out that they don’t produce ANY revenue. The favorite of many Silicon Valley startups is the Big Tech Co distrubution deal where you get to how off how effective your biz dev capabilities are. Full Stop for you Brits.)

Channel 293

Channel Startup Sales Partner 293

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization. Back then Michael Arrington accused some of Silicon Valley’s top seed funds of “colluding” by meeting secretly to talk down the valuation of startups.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150