Steve Blank

APRIL 11, 2013

The previous post described how China built its science and technology infrastructure. This post is about the how the Chinese government engineered technology clusters. Of all the Chinese government programs, the Torch Program is the one program that kick-started Chinese high-tech innovation and startups. Innovation Clusters.

Programming 172

Programming Technical Review SBIR China 172

View from Seed

JULY 31, 2014

And since we will continue to look proactively at new seed-stage tech startups over the next few years, the question becomes: What, then, will these companies look like? Furthermore, one of our recent investments was in Silicon Valley, as all three of us have lived and worked there. Step-Function Ad Tech.

Seed Stage 272

Seed Stage B2C Technical Review Disintermediation 272

David Teten

MARCH 18, 2021

Investment theses are just hypotheses; the portfolio shows how accurate the hypothesis was. A typical VC thesis: “we invest in tech startups in Europe at an early stage” However, our experience shows that in many cases: . “Tech” means B2B Saas/Fintech or Consumer apps. Technical” Companies (i.e.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Cofounder Venture Capital Deal Flow 78

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. …But LPs Have Been Putting Out More Money Than They Are Getting Back.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital LP Silicon Valley Marketing 150

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 25, 2017

As an industry, VC essentially acts as a broker between investment banks, who can’t invest in risky startups due to laws on loan interest, and entrepreneurs who desperately need capital. Expanding tech talent. It’s an aging adage but it’s true; tech talent can increasingly be found outside of Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.

Venture Capital 193

Venture Capital Technical Review Kenya Startup 193

thebarefootvc

JULY 3, 2017

Over the past month, Silicon Valley has been at the forefront of many conversations outside of the technology world. Unfortunately not for groundbreaking technology, but for rampant sexual harassment and predatory behavior.

LP 65

LP Technical Review Silicon Valley Limited Partner 65

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. Technology is, like water, flowing and seeping into nearly every sector and eventually into most of the global economy. Hundreds of new micro funds somehow keep getting into the market.

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Venture Capital Russia China 165

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

The Customer Development process is the way startups quickly iterate and test each element of their business model , reducing customer and market risk. In Discovery startups take all their hypotheses about the business model: product, market, customers, channel, etc. It’s A Marketing Problem. We Have a Marketing Problem. “So

Burn Rate 249

Burn Rate Silicon Valley Marketing Boston 249

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

But VC is an “illiquid asset&# so funds didn’t disappear quickly - In 2000/01 the stock market quickly adjusted punishing investors in the NASDAQ and in individual public technology stocks. What accelerated this was the collapse of the public stock markets. The best and most consistent funds in Silicon Valley (e.g.

LP 311

LP Technical Review Early Stage Silicon Valley 311

online.wsj.com

JULY 11, 2012

Technology. This service is temporary unavailable due to system maintenance. As a registered user of The Wall Street Journal Online, you will be able to: Setup and manage your portfolio. Loading… Markets. Loading… Tech. Personal Technology. TECHNOLOGY. WSJ Classroom. Welcome, Logout.

Silicon Valley 42

Silicon Valley Founder Software Review Technical Review 42

David Teten

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

By contrast, as a venture capitalist, I can report that almost all of our portfolio companies are desperate to hire talented software engineers, and eager to hire in a range of other roles. I’ve recently met with several universities, nonprofits, and government employees who’ve all asked the same question: how can we promote entrepreneurship?

Government 146

Government Technical Review New York Offshore 146

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

The key reason for the explosion in capital flowing into the industry, and therefore the large increase in practitioners, had nothing to do with 1970’s performance, early stage investing, or technology. Instead, the driver was the 1983 bull market. JD Robinson Jewelers: The original “diamond man” (Tom Shane’s inspiration).

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

I don’t have an MBA and I don’t live in Silicon Valley. Angels invest in one out of every forty deals they review (2.5%) versus the one out of 400 by VC’s (0.25%). Perhaps the library or a local tech company can host. Angel investors come from a variety of ages, backgrounds, and professions. I’m not your average angel.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. And while the “first mover advantage” was the rallying cry of the last bubble, today’s is: “Massive capital infusion can own the entire market.” Then the cycle repeats with a new set of technologies. ” Fire, Ready, Aim.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. So everybody goes through this phase of we want to be the next Silicon Valley.

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Since 2017 we’ve managed $3 million in revenue-based financing, which helps cash-strapped technology companies grow. We’re also regularly following-on for existing portfolio companies.”. Investment Criteria: B2B SaaS or tech-enabled services with proven, recurring contracts. Bigfoot Capital. ARR of $500K+.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

The rapid rise of the digital economy and sharp focus on delivering an excellent user experience has made it challenging for companies that aren’t Google or some other tech giant to recruit the creative talent they need. The focus in the tech sector these days is all about creating a great user experience, as it should be.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Silicon Valley Los Angeles New York City 100

VC Cafe

JANUARY 12, 2017

Below is a selection of themes and predictions for startups/venture/tech in 2017. Norwest Venture Partners – 2017 Enterprise predictions – https://techcrunch.com/gallery/top-predictions-on-tech-in-2017-from-norwest-venture-partners/. VentureBeat – What top Silicon Valley investors expect in 2017 – [link].

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Cloud 60

Austin Startup

MARCH 4, 2019

He does this all round for the Capital Factory portfolio but this week he’ll be in high gear making hundreds of introductions and arranging hundreds of in-person meetings at Capital Factory. Come check out tech through a military lens. Wednesday, March 13 Every day 10:00am-5:00pm. Our goal is to make 1,000 introductions in one week!

Silicon Valley 50

Silicon Valley Technical Review Texas Venture Capital 50

Agile VC

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Startup IPO Market: A Fickle Mistress. The IPO market, she is a fickle mistress. In the first half of 2011, the IPO markets were looking strong for VC-backed companies. What will happen for the startup IPO market? How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC. September 15, 2011.

IPO 100

IPO Marketing Silicon Valley Private Equity 100

Steve Blank

JULY 2, 2009

Entrepreneur-in-Residence After SuperMac I had been approached by one of our venture investors to be an entrepreneur in residence (EIR), a Silicon Valley phrase which says one thing but means another. Peter described the first company in which “Hollywood meets Silicon Valley” and we were enthralled.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 120

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Summer is always the time when large numbers of new participants in the tech ecosystem arrive and start to get their bearings. It’s also surprisingly difficult for students to get plugged-in to everything that is happening in the local tech ecosystem. Greenhorn Connect: Excellent collection of BOS tech events and resources.

Boston 71

Boston Technical Review Community Cofounder 71

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Posted on September 14, 2009 by steveblank Over the last 30 years Wall Street’s appetite for technology stocks have changed radically – swinging between unbridled enthusiasm to believing they’re all toxic. While there was an occasional bad apple, the public markets rewarded companies with revenue growth and sustainable profits.

Silicon Valley 223

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 223

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I came several times to NorCal (where I grew up, actually) and went and met several partners from each Silicon Valley firm. China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. And for my own good I vowed to have relationships in China and knowledge of the local markets.

China 333

China Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I came several times to NorCal (where I grew up, actually) and went and met several partners from each Silicon Valley firm. China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. And for my own good I vowed to have relationships in China and knowledge of the local markets.

China 328

China Silicon Valley Software Review Technical Review 328

Up and Running

JANUARY 31, 2018

“Every company is a media company,” Tom Foremski, ex-FT journalist and the editor of Silicon Valley Watcher, said a decade ago. Given the growth of content marketing, blogging, and social media, it seems pretty clear that the demand for good writers will remain high. Technical: Manuals, instructions, technical specifications.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Portfolio Social Media Silicon Valley 126

Steve Blank

JANUARY 19, 2011

has evolved an entrepreneurial ecosystem with two of the most unlikely partners – venture capital investors and technology entrepreneurs. This alliance has led to an explosion of technology innovation, scalable startups and job creation. 30 months ago he raised a Series A venture round from two name brand Silicon Valley VC firms.

Silicon Valley 236

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Software Review Technical Review 236

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

But, getting in the doors of a Sand Hill Road VC in Silicon Valley can be an incredibly difficult undertaking. And, there’s a good reason why; it includes back-to-back essays on mobile, high-growth startups and technology. From life advice and commentary, to practical know-how for growing a tech startup, AVC is a must-read blog.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Silicon Valley Cofounder 60

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

.” The reason is that at a VC you have a group of partners who often have different focus areas of excellence, each pursues deals in their respective field, each makes investments and sits on boards and each spends their most difficult hours tackling problems at portfolio companies vs. solving the challenges at the VC itself.

San Francisco 150

San Francisco Jordan Los Angeles Technical Review 150

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

Thomas Clayton has started and run numerous high-tech startups in Silicon Valley. The process of raising money in Asia is very different from raising money in Silicon Valley and, frankly, it’s not nearly as easy. We’ve asked him to give us some insight into starting, building, and funding a company across Asia.

Asia 132

Asia Silicon Valley India Term Sheet 132

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. Bring in some outside professionals to review our progress?

Silicon Valley 212

Silicon Valley RSS Video San Diego 212

Cracking the Code

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Chainalysis is the clear market leader in their vertical and sits at the nexus between crypto exchanges, financial institutions, regulatory bodies, and law enforcement agencies. And it requires an exceptionally thoughtful, committed team working diligently to close this gap.

Web 48

Web Silicon Valley Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 48

Agile VC

DECEMBER 13, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. My partners and I would be thrilled to support this founder in general, but we don’t have enough conviction about the market opportunity he and his co-founders are pursuing to proceed with an investment. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC.

Seed Stage 185

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 185

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 20, 2013

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Are All Marketers Liars or Just Good Storytellers? The Secret to Successful Content Marketing – crowdspring.co/1en5tK5. Are All Marketers Liars or Just Good Storytellers?

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

View from Seed

AUGUST 26, 2015

Here’s a great recap on the Boston Globe’s tech blog.). Maybe you’ll do better as an angel since you are investing smaller dollars which is easier to deploy in this segment of the market, but maybe not. If you are investing with strong leads, pricing will be reasonably close to market prices. Just a few pointers. Don’t be cheap.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Angel Investor Software Review Silicon Valley 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 26, 2015

Here’s a great recap on the Boston Globe’s tech blog.). Maybe you’ll do better as an angel since you are investing smaller dollars which is easier to deploy in this segment of the market, but maybe not. If you are investing with strong leads, pricing will be reasonably close to market prices. Just a few pointers. Don’t be cheap.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Angel Investor Software Review Silicon Valley 120

David Teten

JANUARY 9, 2018

That said, we’re in an opaque industry compared with the public markets, and having the real scoop about what’s going on at a private company, and who are raising now, will be a meaningful edge for a long time. Amar Bhide, my former professor, wrote in Harvard Business Review, “ Strategy is Bunk.” – Technology stack.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60