Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

What are they, how do they differ and what can startup do to take advantage of them? Paths to Liquidity: a quick history of the four waves of startup investing. Dot.com Bubble ( 1995-2000): “ Anything goes” as public markets clamor for ideas, vague promises of future growth, and IPOs happen absent regard for history or profitability.

Internet 335

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 335

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

The two decades from 1979 when pension funds fueled the expansion of venture capital to 2000 when the dot-com bubble burst were the Golden Age for entrepreneurs and venture capital firms. VC’s invested their limited partners’ “risk capital” in a portfolio of startups in exchange for illiquid stock. Startup lifecycle in an IPO Market.

Venture Capital 303

Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 303

View from Seed

JUNE 17, 2015

I’ve observed what may be an emerging trend, at least in some startups, that I find somewhat unsettling. But I think it’s important to discuss, particularly given today’s heady environment for startups. But I think it’s important to discuss, particularly given today’s heady environment for startups.

Startup 120

Startup Cofounder Seed Stage IPO 120

Agile VC

JUNE 17, 2015

I’ve observed what may be an emerging trend, at least in some startups, that I find somewhat unsettling. But I think it’s important to discuss, particularly given today’s heady environment for startups. But I think it’s important to discuss, particularly given today’s heady environment for startups.

Startup 188

Startup Cofounder Seed Stage IPO 188

Agile VC

JUNE 17, 2015

I’ve observed what may be an emerging trend, at least in some startups, that I find somewhat unsettling. But I think it’s important to discuss, particularly given today’s heady environment for startups. But I think it’s important to discuss, particularly given today’s heady environment for startups.

Startup 100

Startup Cofounder Seed Stage IPO 100

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. Salesforce.com is a startup with 76,000 subscribers (over 2.1M As I’m fond of saying, startup fundraising isn’t about convincing skeptics but rather finding true believers.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 4, 2017

“Founder trouble” is a leading cause of startup death (though data also show that companies with only one founder are more likely to fail , so the conclusion is just that startups are just always likely to fail!). If Google launches a new product that generates $10,000,000/year in revenue, is that good?

Government 223

Government Startup Cofounder Technical Support 223

Agile VC

JANUARY 21, 2015

The startup ecosystem is often full of hyperbole, which is perfectly understandable when you think about it. Not every startup is going to “crush” their original milestones and financial projections. This is the vernacular of today’s startup ecosystem, for better or worse. Do No Harm. Don’t Blindside Them.

Cofounder 188

Cofounder Seed Stage Employee PR 188

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 25, 2020

So now I'm home-based in Austin, Texas and I'm spending a lot of time with a lot of startups and a lot of CEOs that are trying to scale their companies. I think about this in customers and protecting your employees and customers, always protect your P&L, your revenue. Be very outcome-driven in the world we're going to.

Technical Review 148

Technical Review Balance Sheet Texas Austin 148

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

In future posts I’ll describe how Eric Ries and the Lean Startup concept provided the equivalent model for product development activities inside the building and neatly integrates customer and agile development. While that’s not true, it is a fact that entrepreneurs only have one word for “startup.”

Customer Development 220

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 220

Agile VC

JANUARY 21, 2015

The startup ecosystem is often full of hyperbole, which is perfectly understandable when you think about it. Not every startup is going to “crush” their original milestones and financial projections. This is the vernacular of today’s startup ecosystem, for better or worse. Do No Harm. Don’t Blindside Them.

Cofounder 100

Cofounder Seed Stage Employee PR 100

Agile VC

MAY 23, 2012

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. E-commerce accounts for the vast majority of LL Bean’s revenue today ( it crossed 50% in 2010 though was as low as 15% in 2000 ), but because LL Bean is over a hundred years old and started as catalog & physical store retailer we typically don’t refer to it as an internet company.

Internet 182

Internet Silicon Valley IPO Seed Stage 182

Steve Blank

JUNE 22, 2009

We Changed Our Mind In 1966, 10 years after Hewlett’s memo, Hewlett Packard’s revenue and headcount had grown ten fold; $200 million and 11,000 employees – all from test and measurement equipment. The original Hewlett Packard which made test and measurement products was spun-out and renamed Agilent. Agilent is a $5.8

Silicon Valley 186

Silicon Valley RSS California Agile 186

crowdSPRING Blog

JUNE 13, 2017

Brand building at-scale can be different than brand building for a startup or small business. The 2017 Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report offers important branding lessons for startups and small business. Sometimes called “Gen Y”, millennials are the much sought after generation born between 1980 and 2000.

Small Business 53

Small Business Startup Global Design 53

Agile VC

APRIL 13, 2012

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Urbanization of Startups. I spent some time with some startups in San Francisco proper, as opposed to the heart of Silicon Valley (see Note 1). Also all the big anchor companies that a startup might want to partner with at that time (eBay, Google, Oracle, Yahoo!, April 13, 2012.

Silicon Valley 185

Silicon Valley San Francisco San Jose Startup 185

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

billion Iridium was one of the largest, boldest and audacious startup bets ever made. It crashed back down to earth as one of the largest startup failures on record. They made other assumptions about the type of sales channel, partnerships and revenue model they would need. The result was a classic startup failure writ large.

Business Plan 335

Business Plan Customer Business Model Customer Development 335

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2012

from box-office revenue. But the total movie industry revenue was $87 billion. After the VCR was introduced, studio revenues took off like a rocket. 2000 – Digital Video Recorders (DVR) like TiVo allowing consumer to skip commercials was going to be the end of the TV business. Management of Innovation.

Silicon Valley 336

Silicon Valley Distribution Washington Channel 336