Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

After I retired I would get calls from VC’s to help with “marketing problems” in their portfolio companies. Filed under: Customer Development , Venture Capital. Tags: Customer Development Venture Capital. Helping out some friends I got to see firsthand the consequence of skipping Customer Discovery.

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Burn Rate Silicon Valley Marketing Boston 248

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Over the same 30 years, Venture Capital firms have honed their skills and strategies to match Wall Streets needs to achieve liquidity for their portfolio companies. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. What Do VC’s Do?

Silicon Valley 217

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 217

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

Founders can now access the largest pool of risk capital that ever existed –in the form of Private Equity (Angel Investors, family offices , Venture Capitalists (VC’s) and Hedge Funds.). At its core Venture Capital is nothing more than a small portion of the Private Equity financial asset class.

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Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

As the venture capital business has come roaring back in the last 5 years, startups are awash in available capital. Third, smart companies manage an innovation portfolio where they can pursue potential disruption in a variety of ways. These will enable firms to embrace innovation by design not by exception.

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Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

I was consulting for the two venture capital firms who between them put $12 million into my last failed startup. (My Both venture firms sought my advice for their portfolio companies. Yet when I talked to my venture capital friends, they said, “Well, that’s just how startups work.

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Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital Customer Development 125

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

If you take funding from a venture capital firm or angel investor and want to build a large, enduring company (rather than sell it to the highest bidder), this isn’t the decade to do it. The collapse of the IPO market and dysfunctional math in the venture capital community has stacked the odds against you. Here’s why.

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Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 297

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 3, 2012

Companies will have to maintain a portfolio of new business model initiatives, not unlike a venture capital firm, and they will have to accept that maybe only 1 out 10 initiatives might succeed. It only emerges after an intense business model design and search activity based on the customer development process.

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Business Model Customer Development United States Operations 333

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

It’s an impressive portfolio. Bill and his partner Fred Wilson have invested in ~30 or so companies with 27 still active. They’re putting money into web services/business – most without early revenue. By the time the meeting was over I left wondering whether the Customer Development model would help or hinder their companies.

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Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

The CIA set up In-Q-Tel to be the venture capital arm of the intelligence community to speed the insertion of technologies. More than 70 percent of the In-Q-Tel portfolio companies have never before done business with the government.

Silicon Valley 246

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Steve Blank

JULY 29, 2016

The problem is that Horizon 3 solutions take different people, different portfolio, different process and different politics. Portfolio: In Horizon 3, the Navy is essentially incubating a startup. That’s why we invest in a portfolio of new ideas, not just one. It requires different people, portfolio, process and politics.

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Syria Silicon Valley Afghanistan Iran 120

Steve Blank

MAY 28, 2009

Our firm has a portfolio of companies across a broad range of markets and the way we look at it is pretty simple – the deals fall into two types: those with customer/market risk and those with invention risk.” Customer/Market Risk Versus Invention Risk One day I was having lunch with a VC sharing what I learned from my students.

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Vertical Silicon Valley Marketing Customer 144

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

The CIA set up In-Q-Tel to be the venture capital arm of the intelligence community to speed the insertion of technologies. More than 70 percent of the In-Q-Tel portfolio companies have never before done business with the government.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Afghanistan Iraq Community 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 11, 2013

Part 3, the next post describes the rise of Chinese venture capital. Torch has four major parts: Clusters, Business Incubators, Seed Funding, and Funds to support Venture Capital firms. Filed under: China , Customer Development , Technology , Venture Capital. Lessons Learned.

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Programming Technical Review SBIR China 278

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

The fallacy is that the product development model is the most efficient model for new ventures swinging for the fences– this year, last year, last decade, or since the first startup met their first investor. Venture portfolio companies don’t succeed because they used the Product Development model they succeeded in spite of using it.

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Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Steve Blank

JANUARY 19, 2011

has evolved an entrepreneurial ecosystem with two of the most unlikely partners – venture capital investors and technology entrepreneurs. Every Venture Capitalist I’ve heard talk about founder/board member problems treats them like they only happen in other funds. The venture capital industry is in denial.

Silicon Valley 235

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Software Review Technical Review 235

Steve Blank

MARCH 22, 2009

Steve my name is Donald xx, and I’m the head of external affairs of the CIA’s venture capital firm and we’d like you to keynote our conference.” So I gave my “ The Secret History of Silicon Valley ” talk as the keynote to the CIA’s venture capital conference. Do you mean the Culinary Institute of America?

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Silicon Valley Thailand RSS Venture Capital 247

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 17, 2015

These partnerships may take the form of Proof of Concept projects with startups, getting to know VC firms and their portfolios, and familiarizing themselves with university groups doing research in the established strategic problems. (It Companies often initially staff their innovation outpost with a venture investing group.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Incubator Acquisition Business Model 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 11, 2013

Part 3, the next post describes the rise of Chinese venture capital. Torch has four major parts: Clusters, Business Incubators, Seed Funding, and Funds to support Venture Capital firms. Filed under: China , Customer Development , Technology , Venture Capital. Lessons Learned.

Programming 170

Programming Technical Review SBIR China 170

Steve Blank

JULY 2, 2009

To an entrepreneur, being asked to join a venture firm with an Entrepreneur-in-Residence title means you have been tapped on the shoulder by the VC gods. The CDROM content business in the early 1990’s was one of the many of the long line of venture capital fads. Lots of ideas sound exciting because people are clueless.

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Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

They may have seen new ideas from other companies in their portfolio so be open to additional suggestions. Keep in mind they’re likely dealing with multiple companies rapidly replanning, so remind them about the assessments you mutually agreed on. Then walk them through why the changes you’re suggesting match that plan.

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South Korea Salary Business Model China 333

Steve Blank

JULY 16, 2009

However the VC’s are managing a portfolio while you, the entrepreneur are managing one company – yours. Your point about the VC portfolio model vs. the entrepreneur’s “portfolio of 1″ is one I’ve been thinking about for a long time, and have also discussed with many other entrepreneurs.

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Silicon Valley RSS Video San Diego 207

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

But while I was just seeing a single board member, I was just one of twenty companies in their current fund portfolio. Their fiduciary responsibility was to manage a portfolio of investments for their limited partners. Filed under: Rocket Science Games , Venture Capital. I liked my board members. They liked me.

San Francisco 331

San Francisco Silicon Valley Limited Partner Venture Capital 331

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2021

It is the “venture capital” of the Navy and Marine Corps. Our first guest speaker was Rear Admiral Lorin Selby , Chief of Naval Research, United States Navy. Admiral Selby is responsible for the Naval Research Enterprise. They discussed: The impetus for the creation of their task forces.

Artificial Inteligence 353

Artificial Inteligence Russia Technology China 353

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

We have a portfolio of more than 500 brands and 4000 products and people invite us into their lives more 1.8 Companies will have to maintain a portfolio of new business model initiatives, not unlike a venture capital firm, and they will have to accept that maybe only 1 out 10 initiatives might succeed. It never is.

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Lean Nepal Cofounder Customer Development 326

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

venture capital was funding startups led by iconoclasts, troublemakers and dissidents. Few inside the department of defense understand how the commercial venture capital/startup innovation ecosystem works. And more importantly work with them to get the best and brightest of their portfolio companies engaged.

Technology 269

Technology China Government Artificial Inteligence 269

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 24, 2020

It is the “venture capital” of the Navy and Marine Corps. This picture is a way I divvy up my Naval Research portfolio: On the left is the division that’s home to cyber and electronic warfare. Our guest speaker was Rear Admiral Lorin Selby , Chief of Naval Research, United States Navy. The Naval Research Enterprise.

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Technology DC Acquisition Silicon Valley 202