Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

He tells the story of how he was out of cash, stressed out, nobody in LA or Silicon Valley would give him money, he had finally found an investor in Minneapolis but his venture bank was going to shut him down for breaking a “covenant&# in their agreement by not having enough cash in the bank.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Warrant Customer Term Sheet 304

Steve Blank

APRIL 2, 2009

We had thought really hard about “ market type ” and decided to reposition the company from a technology provider to a solutions provider. Over the years marketers have found that using numbers to compare yourself to other products works well. Now as VP of Marketing, I could have sat back and let my PR agency handle the press.

Silicon Valley 124

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 124

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 5, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Small Business Marketing Tip: Send Email Campaigns At Night To Increase Revenue | crowdSPRING Blog – [link]. Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 10, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Defending the Brash Arrogance of Silicon Valley | by Mike Greenfield – [link]. Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 16, 2011

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Lean Marketing: Customer service strategies for small businesses and startups – [link]. Top 5 myths about the lean startup – [link]. – [link].

Social Media 91

Social Media Small Business Design Media 91

View from Seed

JULY 24, 2015

We have companies in Chicago, San Francisco (and elsewhere in Silicon Valley), Omaha, and New York. Some say it’s a marketing and story-telling problem. bijan : there’s a danger in leaning on pattern recognition. More functionally, Boston needs to improve its design, branding, and PR skills.

Boston 120

Boston Cofounder B2C PR 120

Steve Blank

AUGUST 3, 2009

If you read only one previous post, read this one (or this one.) ————- The Birth of Entrepreneurship in The Hot Cold War Silicon Valley entrepreneurship was born in the middle of a secret war with the Soviet Union. Microwave Valley was about to take off. military, the CIA and the National Security Agency.

Silicon Valley 153

Silicon Valley RSS Europe Germany 153

Steve Blank

APRIL 30, 2009

Maybe It’s Me When I got to the SuperMac, our Marketing Communications group told me about our “award-winning&# retail packaging for our graphics boards. Her packaging class was so good that we sent every new marketer at SuperMac to take it. Yet when I saw our retail package, I was confused.

Sales 120

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas 120

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 8, 2008

But too often when its time to think about customers, marketing, positioning, or PR, we delegate it to "marketroids" or "suits." Many of us are not accustomed to thinking about markets or customers in a disciplined way. a roadmap for how to get to Product/Market Fit." Theory of market types.

Customer Development 168

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 168

Steve Blank

MAY 22, 2009

If you’re in markets that still exhibit at them (semiconductors, communications, enterprise software, etc.,) ———— T o: Marketing Department From: Steve Subject: Going to Trade Shows Like it Matters Generating Leads Ownership If your company is going to a show to generate leads, then sales owns the show. .

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Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development 128

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 22, 2009

Im not offering extensive studies or research to support this conclusion; the evidence from my peers right here in the innovation capital of America, Silicon Valley, is absolutely overwhelming. Asked to help, I am confident that Silicon Valley and every other innovation center will step up. They are nerds. Hint, hint.

Programming 143

Programming San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 143

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

The signals are loud and clear : seed and late stage valuations are getting frothy and wacky, and hiring talent in Silicon Valley is the toughest it has been since the dot.com bubble. They taught you about customers, markets and profits. The goals were “first mover advantage,” “grab market share” and “get big fast.”

Internet 334

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 334

Up and Running

AUGUST 21, 2018

Today, I want to introduce a new approach to business planning: Lean Planning. Lean Planning replaces lengthy business plans with a 20-minute planning process that focuses on increasing your chances of success in business. Lean Planning is simpler and faster than writing a traditional business plan. Step 1: Create a Lean Plan.

Lean 134

Lean Forecast Software Review Business Plan 134

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

While institutional LPs know big changes are happening, most focus too much on 1) increasing/decreasing fund size or 2) marketing + branding as the major trends. note: apologies in advance for the west coast bias; i’m in silicon valley). but the food was awesome, & the PR wasn’t bad either).

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

This series of posts is a brief explanation of how we’ve evolved from Product Development to Customer Development to the Lean Startup. Ironically, the model is a good fit when launching a new product into an existing , well-defined market where the basis of competition is understood, and its customers are known.

Silicon Valley 260

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 260

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2009

This post describes how the traditional product development model distorts startup sales, marketing and business development. In the next few posts that follow, I’ll describe how thinking of a solution to this model’s failures led to the Customer Development Model – that offers a new way to approach startup sales and marketing activities.

Customer Development 215

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 215

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

KQED Forum: LIVE at 10am PST this Wednesday Nov 28 When I first moved to Silicon Valley, I used to have a pretty short commute. We'll be discussing the Lean Startup movement, the upcoming conference, and whatever else you decide you want to ask about. and a chance to win free tickets, if you keep reading. FM or 89.3

Lean 159

Lean San Francisco Houston Engineer 159

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

If you’re a visiting dignitary whose country has a Gross National Product equal to or greater than the State of California, your visit to Silicon Valley consists of a lunch/dinner with some combination of the founders of Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter and several brand name venture capitalists. Hackers’ Guide to Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley 335

Silicon Valley San Francisco San Jose Venture Capital 335

Steve Blank

MAY 21, 2009

If you’re in markets that still exhibit at them (semiconductors, communications, enterprise software, medical devices, etc.,) Before you go to a trade show sales and marketing need to agree to measurable goals. you know they’re expensive in time, dollars and resources.

Silicon Valley 178

Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development 178

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 4, 2009

In a startup, these channels of communication are critical to understand for advertising, launch and PR purposes. If youre used to pitching your company in a startup hub, like here in Silicon Valley, you may suffer from a debilitating disease: the inability to describe your product to normal people. Expo SF (May.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 68

Steve Blank

JUNE 22, 2009

However, no markets last forever. However, the CEO as the “Rock Star&# always reminded me of why I fired any PR agency that was getting more press than the company it represented. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. Clayton Christensen describes this brilliantly in the Innovators Dilemma.)

Silicon Valley 164

Silicon Valley RSS California Agile 164

Steve Blank

AUGUST 24, 2009

While I love TechCrunch, the post and the quote about the PR agency (“one PR firm has discovered a dynamite strategy, throw ethics out the window&# ) left me wondering; how do PR agencies interact with TechCrunch and other blog and review sites? Is this behavior an outlier or is it the norm in the PR industry?

Silicon Valley 184

Silicon Valley PR Technical Review RSS 184

Steve Blank

JULY 13, 2009

Which at this stage of the company was marketing and financing. Our “Hollywood meets Silicon Valley” story played great in Silicon Valley, they ate it up in Hollywood, and the business press tripped over themselves to talk to us. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. Now In Print!

Silicon Valley 122

Silicon Valley Product RSS California 122

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Announce a new product, start its PR campaign, and engage in buzz marketing activities. Marketing launch) Make a new product available to customers in the general public. This is the usual reason given for a marketing launch, but for most early stage startups, its a failure. First off, what does it mean to launch?

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Steve Blank

MARCH 19, 2009

While I was waiting in the lobby to pick up my offer letter, the head of marketing communications (who was to be one of my direct reports) came up to me as I held my just signed employment agreement. OK, let’s start with the basics, who does marketing think our customers are?” The obvious one’s were who were they?

Silicon Valley 185

Silicon Valley RSS Software Review Technical Review 185

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Step 1: Start with a lean plan. It’s the fastest way to get your idea onto paper, and it’s the very first step in the lean planning process, which is much easier and more iterative than traditional business planning methods. A description of your target market or the different market segments you’re targeting.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 15, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Lean Business: Capacity Management, Overhead, and Your Business – [link]. Money matters: why women founders struggle in Silicon Valley | The Verge – [link].

Social Media 105

Social Media Small Business Design Media 105

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Lean Marketing: Facebook advertising for newbies – [link]. SEO Still Beats Social Media for Small-Biz Marketing – [link]. Does crowdsourcing innovation work?

Social Media 96

Social Media Small Business Design Media 96

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

You have heard, I am sure, that venture capitalists only invest in very large market opportunities - $500 million to $1 billion. But there are others - many others - who are looking for smaller opportunities, playing in the sweet spot of $50-$100 million market opportunities. Is that a $20 million market? $30 30 million market?

Marketing 52

Marketing Bootstrapping Incubator Angel Investor 52

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

You have heard, I am sure, that venture capitalists only invest in very large market opportunities - $500 million to $1 billion. But there are others - many others - who are looking for smaller opportunities, playing in the sweet spot of $50-$100 million market opportunities. Is that a $20 million market? $30 30 million market?

Marketing 52

Marketing Bootstrapping Incubator Angel Investor 52

Steve Blank

JULY 16, 2009

The company was founded to build games with embedded video to bring Hollywood stories, characters, and narratives to a market where “shoot and die” twitch games were in vogue. So I hired a VP of Marketing from Sega, one of the video game platforms on which our games would run. Hindsight In hindsight it’s easy to laugh.

Silicon Valley 207

Silicon Valley RSS Video San Diego 207

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 26, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! More social awareness print ads in the Social Media & Marketing section below. How To Attract Customers And Not Waste Your Marketing Budget – [link].

Social Media 90

Social Media Small Business Design Media 90

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 22, 2015

We just love sharing articles about fonts, logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, economics and other interesting stuff! Lean Doesn’t Always Create the Best Products [link] crowdspring.co/1FcPnhs Will Millennials Kill Email Marketing? 1A6oKMa . . link] nyti.ms/1bWa0Uz

Small Business 48

Small Business Design Social Media Startup 48

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

And then, at my first Silicon Valley startup , I watched friends get laid off in successive waves as it started to fail. We go to mixers, buy fancy offices, focus on PR, and try to one-up each other. Of course, those were the days when 12 year old, 80% market share, $200mm, 30% net profit companies were the ones going public.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94

crowdSPRING Blog

OCTOBER 14, 2010

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! The VC Market: An Adaptive System – [link]. Lean Startup 101 for Developers – [link]. Silicon Valley’s Disruption Deficit Disorder – [link].

Social Media 90

Social Media Small Business Design Media 90

crowdSPRING Blog

JUNE 28, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! If you think Silicon Valley can’t innovate, you’re not looking hard enough — [link]. Breaking Down the Methodology Behind Word of Mouth Marketing | by Dan Martell – [link].

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

Steve Blank

APRIL 13, 2009

ESL had no marketing people. It had no PR agency. It was the model for almost every military startup that followed, and its alumni who lived through its engineering and customer-centric culture had a profound effect on the rest of the valley, the intelligence community and the country. It shunned publicity.

Silicon Valley 270

Silicon Valley RSS California Washington 270