Steve Blank

MAY 11, 2021

Department of Defense is coming to grips with the idea that the technologies it needs to keep the country safe and secure are no longer exclusively owned by the military or its prime contractors. The military is clamoring for cutting-edge technologies in areas like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and autonomy.

Artificial Inteligence 326

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Startup Silicon Valley 326

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

The greatest risk in startups —and hence the greatest cause of failure—is not the technology risk of developing a product but in the risk of developing customers and markets. No newly hired sales and marketing exec is going to tell a founder, “Hey my prior experience and assumptions may not actually be relevant to this new startup.”

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Austin Startup

MARCH 3, 2020

The LexSet Co-Founders (left to right) CEO Francis Bitonti , President Leslie Oliver Karpas , and COO Azam Khan won $250,000 in Verizon’s Built on 5G Challenge The Forrest Four-Cast: March 3, 2020 LexSet serves AI engineers, especially those with limited resources, with a better way to annotate photos.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Los Angeles Cofounder Silicon Valley 63

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. Founder’s perspective. You’ll get empathy. Experience. Relationships.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Steve Blank

APRIL 6, 2009

Two years out of the Air Force, serendipity (which would be my lifelong form of career planning) found me in Silicon Valley working for my first company: ESL. Communism being a bad science experiment) ESL’s founder Bill Perry was moving the chess pieces. If you think the Cold War turned out the right side up (i.e.

Silicon Valley 171

Silicon Valley Stealth RSS California 171

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 5, 2009

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times Ardent would be my third technology company as a VP of Marketing (Convergent Technologies and MIPS Computers were the other two.) It was my ex boss from Convergent Technologies, “Steve we’ve all just resigned from Convergent and we’re starting a new company.

North Carolina 125

North Carolina Silicon Valley Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE 125

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

Moreover, since the first CEO was likely to have been one of the founders, the trauma of CEO removal begins. Reply Nivi , on September 11, 2009 at 11:17 pm Said: One of the subtle lessons here for founder CEOs: you light a fuse on your own job as soon as you hire the first VP of Sales. innovation. Order Here. Now In Print!

Customer Development 224

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 224

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

The Founder’s New Insight Smart founders are never satisfied with simply executing their current business model, they are constantly observing, orienting and deciding whether their current business model can be made better. But the purpose of this post is what happens when a founder (or large company CEO) finds a better business model.

Customer 195

Customer Silicon Valley RSS California 195

The Equity Kicker

MAY 9, 2016

The bit I liked the most described the role of Stanford in getting Silicon Valley going in the late 1950s. Inspire entrepreneurialism – highlight the positive effects of startups and make ‘founder’ a popular career choice. We focus on ecommerce and marketplaces.

Silicon Valley 60

Silicon Valley Venture Capital eCommerce Startup 60

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

Many VCs focus on specific verticals, usually based on the sector in which a VC initially made her reputation. That said, one limitation in early-stage investing particularly is that 2022’s growth sectors probably don’t fit neatly into a vertical we can define today. – Technology stack. This model certainly makes sense.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

Many VCs focus on specific verticals, usually based on the sector in which a VC initially made her reputation. That said, one limitation in early-stage investing particularly is that 2022’s growth sectors probably don’t fit neatly into a vertical we can define today. – Technology stack. This model certainly makes sense.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

Technology is, like water, flowing and seeping into nearly every sector and eventually into most of the global economy. And as more economies worldwide seek to shift their investment strategies offshore and seek out technology, hubs like Silicon Valley and Shanghai, among others, have reaped the benefits.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

The same issues arose time and again: big company management styles versus entrepreneurs wanting to shoot from the hip, founders versus professional managers, engineering versus marketing, marketing versus sales, missed schedule issues, sales missing the plan, running out of money, raising new money. Order Here. To Order Outside of the U.S.

Silicon Valley 125

Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital Customer Development 125

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 1, 2023

By Daniel Sokolovksy, Co-Founder and CEO, WARP and Troy Lester, Co-Founder and CRO, WARP The dissolution of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was more than just a bank collapse, it was a reality check for both startups and the VCs that fund them. As a founder, ask yourself – does your business actually warrant VC funding?

Early Stage 110

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 110

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

That’s no longer the case in Silicon Valley. So founders might be tempted to first shoot the arrow and then draw the target around it, by choosing the ‘soft’ metrics that puts them in the best light. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. Keep teaching! Order Here. Now In Print!

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Then Prashant Singh from Bangalore, India, discussed Statisco Economic Analytics , a risk management technology for managing company balance sheets, interfacing with their ERP systems. I suggested going for larger companies and also to pick some verticals where the value proposition really shines through. Statisco Economic Analytics.

North Carolina 116

North Carolina San Diego Entrepreneur Balance Sheet 116

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 23, 2011

Acelerar Technologies Daniel expects SharePoint's cloud based solution provider eco-system to develop over the next few years. Anupam Rajey from Lucknow, India, presented Acelerar Technologies , an outsourced accounting services BPO project from India. For now, it won't come in through the store. Discuss.

Spain 115

Spain Entrepreneur India San Francisco 115

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 27, 2011

Taariq Lewis, the founder of Voluble, is a 1M/1M premium entrepreneur. What appears clear to me today is how fundamentally the Internet is changing business processes, and the advent of nifty social media tools and technologies that plug into core business processes like lead nurturing are a powerful force. We thought it was very cool!

Entrepreneur 116

Entrepreneur San Francisco Technical Review New Jersey 116

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2009

In the last three posts, we drew the relationship of market risk and invention risk with vertical markets and pointed out verticals where customer development would be useful. would look in each of the verticals. Technology? For example, How does sales differ from one market to another? Where do the ideas come from?

Vertical 122

Vertical Silicon Valley RSS Marketing 122

Steve Blank

MAY 11, 2009

I didn’t recognize the behavior at the time, but anyone who loves technology and gadgets has at one time or another has bought a technology toy – USB memory sticks, iPod Shuffles, umbrellas with LED lights, alarm clocks that talked, Flip Video Cameras, etc. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice.

Video 164

Video Silicon Valley RSS California 164

Steve Blank

JULY 27, 2009

MBA or Domain Expert Years later when I was running marketing departments I came up with a heuristic that replicated my own hire: in a technology company it’s usually better to train a domain expert to become a marketer than to train an MBA to become a domain expert. On a more serious note, any tips on attracting founders?

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley RSS Technical Review California 120

Transformify

APRIL 21, 2017

I spoke with Toptal Co-founder and CEO Taso Du Val to find out more about how Toptal got started and his predictions for the future of the talent economy. After looking at poor online labor marketplaces and expensive consulting firms, I decided there was a need for a high quality labor services driven by technology.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Silicon Valley Software Review Cofounder 40

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 31, 2014

One of the groups I spoke to was the Australian Sports Technology Network. They realized if they could develop and promote a well-coordinated sports technologies industry, they could capture their unfair share of the $300 billon sports consumer market. What’s been missing from regions outside of Silicon Valley is a “playbook.”

Global 335

Global Australia Silicon Valley China 335

Steve Blank

APRIL 30, 2009

Luckily (or maybe because we were in Silicon Valley where there was a domain expert for everything) there was a very smart consultant in the retail computer space, Seymour Merrin, who preached about the importance of packaging. Hopefully you and your co-founders are experts in one or two parts (agile development, SEO/SEM, etc.)

Sales 120

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas 120

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 17, 2018

And we also look at companies that are creating the best product for a specific vertical – including bio/healthcare and other emerging tech. From Fund I and now to Fund III, we have been able to serve as an important bridge between Silicon Valley and other tech ecosystems. We invest across North America.

Silicon Valley 127

Silicon Valley North America San Francisco LP 127

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

RBI normally requires founders to pay back their investors with a fixed percentage of revenue until they have finished providing the investor with a fixed return on capital, which they agree upon in advance. For background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. Bigfoot Capital. Key elements: .

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

Internet commerce technology has unleashed the capabilities of ordinary Americans to take matters into their own hands and craft—often literally—their own livelihoods. They connect buyers and sellers in creative new verticals, helping merchants and non-profits interact with customers or donors. by Bill Clerico, CEO of WePay.

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley Non-Compete API Vertical 217

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2010

The word conjures images of twenty-something graduate students hacking code in a Silicon Valley dorm room, fueled by a steady supply of Red Bull and Ramen. The article summarized several findings that I personally found surprising: Technology company founders born in the U.S. By Akira Hirai Entrepreneurship.

Silicon Valley 233

Silicon Valley Investment Bankers Affiliate Vertical 233

Steve Blank

JANUARY 6, 2011

Marcos Polanco, founder of Clearshore and himself a serial entrepreneur, “never found time to read the blog, no matter how much I loved it. For 2011, I’m glad to announce that you can now hear my blog posts via a podcast that you can subscribe to, download or have emailed to you a few days after each blog post goes live.

Silicon Valley 195

Silicon Valley California Vertical Customer Development 195

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 6, 2011

In fact, in the discussion on JuJu brands is yet another validation of the verticalization and niche-ization of the Internet. This week, I published an article called The Top 10 Vertical and Social Web Trends where I have discussed this at length. You can register for the next roundtable here. Photo by yirsh. Discuss.

Vertical 115

Vertical Web San Francisco Entrepreneur 115

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 21, 2010

The Churchill Club , Silicon Valley’s largest public affairs organization, invited Carl Schramm , president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation and I to talk about entrepreneurship. Rich Karlgaard , publisher of Forbes and co-founder of the Churchill Club refereed the event. Reply Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply.

Silicon Valley 140

Silicon Valley RSS United States California 140

Reid Hoffman

DECEMBER 12, 2019

Silicon Valley can frequently be too provincial in its views of entrepreneurship, strategy, and markets. In my previous podcast with my friend and entrepreneur Wences Casares, we talked about the ability of entrepreneurs down here to see global markets that Silicon Valley entrepreneurs might miss.

Chile 36

Chile Global Silicon Valley Estonia 36

Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

What makes an individual a great startup founder (versus an employee) has been something I had been thinking about since I retired. A Day in the Life of A Founder For those of you who’ve never started a company, let me assure you that it never happens like the pleasant articles you read in business magazines or in case studies.

Founder 297

Founder Silicon Valley RSS China 297

Steve Blank

JUNE 5, 2009

Reply An Interview with Mark Fletcher, Founder of Bloglines and ONEList — TechDrawl , on July 10, 2009 at 3:56 pm Said: [.] Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. Reply Process for the Enterprise » Blog Archive » Faith-based versus Fact-based , on June 21, 2009 at 3:55 pm Said: [.]

Silicon Valley 212

Silicon Valley RSS Vertical California 212

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 20, 2020

the Connectors, Angels, Venture Capitalists, Founders, Professors, Hackers, Press… and the Legends. Find the Connectors , the Angels , the Venture Capitalists , the Founders , the Professors , the Hackers , and the Legends you need to meet and get some hints about the best ways to meet them. Here is your COVID-friendly cheat sheet.

Austin 110

Austin Texas Cofounder Los Angeles 110

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 10, 2012

Several years ago David Cohen , Jason Mendelson , and I started talking about the idea that the same principles of an accelerator model could apply to specific vertical markets or companies. The technology focus will be about leveraging the success of the Nike+ FuelBand, Nike+ Running and NikeFuel to support digital innovation.

Portland 151

Portland Silicon Valley Seattle Vertical 151

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 23, 2009

Extra credit if you know the back-story of slide 1 and why it’s appropriate for founders and their team. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. The video below was my presentation to the group. sgblank Lean Startup Cirle 111909 This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback. Order Here. Now In Print!

Customer Development 212

Customer Development Developer Silicon Valley Customer 212