Steve Blank

OCTOBER 31, 2014

Scalable startups are on a trajectory for a billion dollar market cap. But if you want to build a scalable startup you need to be asking how you can you get enough customers/users/payers to build a business that can grow revenues past several $100M/year. startups ignore the rest of the world until they scale in their own country.

Global 335

Global Australia Silicon Valley China 335

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 3, 2024

Here are some things to read: There’s No Money in Free Software [ Ben Werdmuller ] – The provocative titles refers to Ben’s experience trying to build a startup around an open source product. Use that value to pay for the rest. If you need money to eat and put a roof over your head, do what you need to get money.

Open Source 69

Open Source Vertical Equity Distribution 69

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 1, 2011

In non-geek speak this means that there is so much information out there now it’s hard to separate the good stuff from the rest. We’ve only met once but I love tracking what he’s into politically as well as his startup views. We need them for every vertical. The signal-to-noise ratio is getting out of hand.

Internet 309

Internet Iran Vertical Technical Review 309

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 22, 2017

You’ve decided to undertake a startup, now how exactly are you going to go about that? It’s such a difficult and often counterintuitive game that the more time and attention you devote to accepting guidance at the beginning, the more misery you will be spared in your golfing career for the rest of your days.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Incubator Software Review Vertical 48

Steve Blank

JULY 30, 2009

That is until I saw that in startup after startup customers come from places you don’t plan on. He’s Only in Field Service When I was at Zilog, the Z8000 peripheral chips included the new “ Serial Communications Controller &# ( SCC ).

Silicon Valley 143

Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development 143

thebarefootvc

AUGUST 13, 2013

These vertical solutions would focus on specific pain pain points in the enterprise, such as logistics or customer relationship management. The only way to build a successful best of breed solution is to create significant value for your customers by solving a big enough problem in a way the rest of the market can’t.

Advisory Board 70

Advisory Board Cloud Venture Capital Vertical 70

Steve Blank

JUNE 11, 2009

Posted on June 11, 2009 by steveblank When my students ask me about whether they should be a founder or cofounder of a startup I ask them to take a walk around the block and ask themselves: Are you comfortable with: Chaos – startups are disorganized Uncertainty – startups never go per plan Are you: Resilient – at times you will fail – badly.

Cofounder 229

Cofounder Founder Silicon Valley Technical Cofounder 229

Software By Rob

JULY 1, 2010

Join nearly 6,000 startup entrepreneurs by subscribing to my RSS feed. Instead, we’re talking about building your startup to maximize its value based on factors the market values, since these factors will make it a better company to own in the both the short- and long-term. Nothing scalable (or fun) about that.

Software Review 54

Software Review RSS Startup Vertical 54

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

DECEMBER 16, 2013

You will also find out how Walter … Read the rest of this entry » The post How To Gauge Demand For Your Ebook, Mastermind Tips, Options For Non-English Speaking Entrepreneurs, And Horizontal Vs Vertical Business Strategies appeared first on Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.

Vertical 85

Vertical Demand Audio Incubator 85

The Startup Magazine

APRIL 9, 2020

This means that the base of a building moves with the quake but the roof is at rest. Since the walls are attached to the roof, the roof is dragged along with the rest of the building. The post Pedram Zohrevand Discusses How To Protect Your Building From Seismic Events appeared first on The Startup Magazine.

Los Angeles 154

Los Angeles California Vertical Engineer 154

The Startup Magazine

JULY 13, 2020

Rest Your Feet On The Floor. Find one that’s adjustable and will go low enough to the ground so that your feet can rest comfortably on the floor when you are sitting back. If you need to read a lot of paper documents throughout the day, it’s a good idea to get a document stand that will hold these documents vertically for you.

Vertical 125

Vertical Restful Startup Product 125

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

We believe that it’s good to be contrarian to the rest of the market and other investors, but not to be conflicted in a partnership where alignment should be more important. However, this is not to say that I don’t spend time on nor invest in AI, dev tools, vertical SaaS, marketplaces, etc. (as as our portfolio shows ).

Cofounder 180

Cofounder Portfolio Capital Gains Vertical 180

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. What VCs most typically talk about are: – Industry expertise.

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. What VCs most typically talk about are: – Industry expertise.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Private Equity Silicon Valley Differentiation 60

Steve Blank

MAY 11, 2009

They had this great architecture, and Apple had figured out to get movies into their own computers for a demo, but for the rest of us there was no physical device that allowed an average consumer to plug a video camera or VCR into and get video into a Mac. If we’re smart we’ll cross-sell them one of our other products.

Video 184

Video Silicon Valley RSS California 184

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated. The chart below illustrates this, with the black vertical line representing the average VC return. The key takeaway is that it seems like the top of the pack is moving further away from the rest, and the power law is increasing. Source: Cambridge Associates.

Valuation 319

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 319

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated. The chart below illustrates this, with the black vertical line representing the average VC return. The key takeaway is that it seems like the top of the pack is moving further away from the rest, and the power law is increasing. Source: Cambridge Associates.

Valuation 295

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 295

View from Seed

AUGUST 13, 2014

Investors in this category are usually operating executives who have spent their entire careers in a specific industry vertical, like internet travel, for example. Pros: Industry-insider who serves as a validator for the rest of the investment syndicate, extremely helpful advice and network connections. The Financial Angel.

Angel Investor 334

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 334

VC Cafe

JULY 4, 2011

Startup incubators have grown in double digits in the last couple of years. Following the success of Ycombinator and TechStars, in recent years we have seen literally hundreds of regional incubators set up in the rest of the US and Europe , across campuses and within vertical industries, such as mobile or finance.

Incubator 97

Incubator Entrepreneur Startup Vertical 97

Steve Blank

APRIL 2, 2009

Well yes, I understand that, but this is a startup, what else do you want to do? “I Stay out of startups. Just as an aside, over my career I must have interviewed scores of business school graduates (some from the very fine universities where I now teach) who would say, “I want to do strategy.” I just want to do strategy.”

Silicon Valley 127

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 127

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Five Quarters of Profitability During the 1980’s and through the mid 1990’s startups going public had to do something that most companies today never heard of – they had to show a track record of increasing revenue and consistent profitability. They taught you about customers, markets and profits.

Silicon Valley 235

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 235

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

New domains would include attracting business customers as well as individuals, taking your online business into retail, and diving into verticals. Expand the market to new domains. This strategy opens up new growth opportunities without the dogfight of taking territory away from existing competitors.

Vertical 167

Vertical Differentiation Restful Audience 167

Steve Blank

MARCH 25, 2009

Instead of focusing on “technical specs&# like the rest of the category, we are redefining to Information Delivery as the category with time/cost to Actionable Info as the metric, which is something we can compete on very well. Reply Dave Goulden , on March 26, 2009 at 11:04 pm Said: I love the redefinition of the market.

Silicon Valley 157

Silicon Valley Marketing RSS California 157

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Since then, and after resting aside my ego, I placed myself back in my VC shoes to try to understand what “proof” such VCs needed to feel comfortable with an eCommerce investment. Practically impossible for a startup. What were they missing? Why weren’t they seeing what I was seeing? It would be competing against Coca Cola and Pepsi.

eCommerce 94

eCommerce Open Source SEM Technical Review 94

Up and Running

AUGUST 6, 2019

You’ve launched your new restaurant and you’re starting to see customers, but running a restaurant is serious business, especially because your financial livelihood is most likely tied up in startup costs. . Out of gratitude, those 500 customers continue coming to you every day for the rest of their lives.

Technical Review 86

Technical Review SBA Merger Customer 86

Steve Blank

APRIL 6, 2009

And in the tradition of great startups, on the way out Perry took 6 of his best managers with him. In five years, ESL went from a plucky startup to the market leader in Sigint and telemetry intercepts. In 1964, Bill Perry, the head of the lab, frustrated with GTE’s management, quit (GTE, a phone company had bought Sylvania in 1959.)

Silicon Valley 194

Silicon Valley Stealth RSS California 194

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

In other words, they are facing conditions of extreme uncertainty, just like startups. But, as any startup can tell you, this opens up a tremendous set of opportunities for the rest of us. Just like with startups, this is a hybrid question. So I generally feel right at home in these conversations.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated. The chart below illustrates this, with the black vertical line representing the average VC return. The key takeaway is that it seems like the top of the pack is moving further away from the rest, and the power law is increasing. Source: Cambridge Associates.

Valuation 156

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 156

ConversionXL

MARCH 9, 2016

Typically, when people think of false bottoms, they think of vertical scrolling. Since vertical scrolling is more familiar to most people, let’s start there. This case is perhaps the most common of all, especially among tech startups. In fact, they’re no longer only relevant vertical, either. via Chartbeat).

Cost 48

Cost Vertical Portfolio Design 48

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Addressing both of those issues can stem from the motivations as to why someone would want to put their hard-earned cash into a risky early-stage startup in the first place. Investors in this category are usually operating executives who have spent their entire careers in a specific industry vertical, like internet travel, for example.

Angel Investor 257

Angel Investor Syndicate Syndication Early Stage 257

Hunter Walker

JUNE 14, 2018

But Homebrew is founded upon the belief that we’ll put sweat and reputation behind your startup, not just a wire transfer, so to me it seems like a normal question to help understand if you need things that we can, or can’t, provide. The answers I receive typically fall across four categories: 1.

Cap Table 81

Cap Table Portfolio Vertical Reputation 81

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

What has the startup experience taught you about life? Shortly after we moved our company from Michigan to Baltimore, we were fortunate to participate in Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest Pitch Competition. If you are an entrepreneur, check out the SXSW 2020 Startups Track , which runs March 13–17.

Baltimore 62

Baltimore Africa South Africa Michigan 62

Steve Blank

APRIL 30, 2009

Many thanks, you’ve changed my startup a hundred times already. Maybe the core of what you talk about in getting companies to success lies in the answer to these 2 questions. Oh, I absolutely love your “I was having coffee with person the other day&# stories. Keep ‘em coming.

Sales 120

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas 120

news.ycombinator.com

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

Hacker News new | comments | ask | jobs | submit login Startups in stealth mode need one piece of advice. I work for a stealth startup. While this may be the case for many startups, this is not true at least in our case. humbledmba.com) 279 points by jaf12duke 216 days ago | comments. niyazpk 215 days ago | link.

Stealth 41

Stealth Technical Review Startup Software Review 41

Steve Blank

MAY 26, 2009

The best entrepreneurship textbooks and blogs assume that advice to startups is generalizable. But as I learned from my students this “one-size-fits-all” approach does not work for all startups. Different market opportunities present radically different startup risks and costs.

Vertical 156

Vertical Silicon Valley Intellectual Property RSS 156

A Crowded Space

AUGUST 26, 2013

It promises increased efficiency in the marketplace as worthy startups may be able to raise money faster and simpler than through traditional channels. The crowd funding platforms are well aligned with what low quality startups are looking for. And high quality startups will primarily continue to raise money from top-tier VCs.

Later Stage 87

Later Stage Liquidity Event Equity Vertical 87

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 23, 2009

sgblank Lean Startup Cirle 111909 This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback. They were kind enough to sponsor a meet-up in San Francisco. The video below was my presentation to the group. The slides below go with the video. Just click through them as you watch the video.

Customer Development 227

Customer Development Developer Silicon Valley Customer 227