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ESADE Business School Commencement Speech

Steve Blank

Cheered on by finance professors, Wall Street analysts, investors and hedge funds, companies have learned how to make metrics like Internal Rate of Return look great by one; outsourcing everything, two, getting assets off their balance sheet, and three only investing in things that pay off fast. Act Like a Startup.

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Why Companies are Not Startups

Steve Blank

These groups are adapting or adopting the practices of startups and accelerators – disruption and innovation rather than direct competition, customer development versus more product features, agility and speed versus lowest cost. Somewhere in the dim past of the company, it too was a startup searching for a business model.

IRR 335
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Intel Disrupted: Why large companies find it difficult to innovate, and what they can do about it

Steve Blank

It’s a lot easier to get these numbers to look great by outsourcing everything, getting assets off the balance sheet and only investing in things that pay off fast. Their size lets them adopt flatter and more agile organizational structures while providing incentives that reward risk-taking and collaboration. Lessons Learned.

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Reinventing the Board Meeting – Part 1 of 2

Steve Blank

As customer and agile development reinvent the Startup, it’s time to ask why startup board governance has not kept up with the pace of innovation. Reinventing the board meeting may offer venture-backed startups a more efficient, productive way to direct and measure their search for a profitable business model. Jonathan Swift.

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Why Board Meetings Suck – Part 1 of 2

Steve Blank

As customer and agile development reinvent the Startup, it’s time to ask why startup board governance has not kept up with the pace of innovation. Reinventing the board meeting may offer venture-backed startups a more efficient, productive way to direct and measure their search for a profitable business model. Jonathan Swift.

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The Evolution of Entrepreneurial Education and Corporate Innovation

Steve Blank

Other classes were on how to prep for VC pitches or develop the five year income statements, balance sheets and cash flows or read case studies. Today the capstone class is most often experiential, team-based, hands on, focused around the search for a repeatable and scalable business model.

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What's Wrong With Today's Board Meetings: Part 1

ReadWriteStart

As customer and agile development reinvent the startup, it's time to ask why startup board governance has not kept up with the pace of innovation. Reinventing the board meeting may offer venture-backed startups a more efficient, productive way to direct and measure their search for a profitable business model. Here's how.