Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 8, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 8, 2008 Waves of technology platforms I still remember the first time I switched to LAMP. It felt like software that grownups were supposed to use, and we didnt qualify. That startup didnt turn out so well, but not for lack of technology. I dont really remember why it didnt work.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Technology Continuous Deployment Lean 68

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

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. Software companies had to buy specialized computers and license expensive software. The IPO offering document became the playbook for startups.

Internet 335

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 335

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

We wanted an agile approach that would allow us to build our software architecture as we needed it, without downtime, but also without large amounts of up-front cost. After all, the worst kind of waste in software development is code to support a use case that never materializes. Expo SF (May.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Agile Lean 94

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 7, 2008

In addition to presenting the IMVU case, we tried for the first time to do an overview of a software engineering methodology that integrates practices from agile software development with Steves method of Customer Development. Can this methodology be used for startups that are not exclusively about software? Expo SF (May.

Customer Development 131

Customer Development Engineer San Francisco Developer 131

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 4, 2008

Boyd emphasized the importance of agility in combat: "the key to victory is to be able to create situations wherein one can make appropriate decisions more quickly than ones opponent." As Ive written previously , lean startups are built upon three main trends: Technology commoditization. Agile software development.

Lean 102

Lean San Francisco Agile Continuous Deployment 102

Steve Blank

JULY 15, 2010

The collapse of the IPO market and dysfunctional math in the venture capital community has stacked the odds against you. Startup lifecycle in an IPO Market. Netscape’s 1995 IPO changed the rules. It includes venture funded startups in all industries, from software to biotech. Here’s why. Source: NVCA.).

Venture Capital 303

Venture Capital IPO Liquidity Event Entrepreneur 303

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 4, 2008

He previously co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer of IMVU. He serves on the advisory board of a number of technology startups, and has worked as a consultant to a number of startups, companies, and venture capital firms. I know many people who think that software works like magic, but to me it actually was magic.

San Francisco 155

San Francisco Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO CTO 155

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 30, 2009

I thought Id share a little bit of that, too: I’ve been interested in different approaches to software development going back to 1987 when – in my first company Feld Technologies – my partner Dave Jilk and I started talking about “semi-custom software development&# (way ahead of its time). Read the rest.

Lean 68

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 68

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

What does your Chief Technology Officer do all day? When Ive asked mentors of mine who have worked in big companies about the role of the CTO, they usually talk about the importance of being the external face of the companys technology platform; an evangelist to developers, customers, and employees. Just what is the CTO supposed to do?

CTO 168

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 168

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 20, 2008

They just assumed it was the way software companies worked. Unfortunately, threats work a lot better at incentivizing people to CYA than getting them to write quality software. When I first encountered agile software techniques, in the form of extreme programming , I thought I had found the answer. Sound good?

Software Review 164

Software Review Engineer Management Technical Review 164

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 20, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, February 20, 2009 Work in small batches Software should be designed, written, and deployed in small batches. For software, the easiest batch to see is code. When something goes wrong with production software, its almost always because of an unintended side-effect of some piece of code.

San Francisco 161

San Francisco Software Review Continuous Deployment Development Team Review 161

Steve Blank

AUGUST 5, 2010

I think you can blame Customer and Agile Development for a small part of it. VC’s invested in things that ran on electrons: hardware, software and silicon. In 1980 Genentech became the first IPO of a venture funded biotech company. Here’s why. Electron-based Venture Capital. They build a minimum feature set.

Lean 263

Lean Internet Silicon Valley Venture Capital 263

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 9, 2009

It uses principles of agile software development, open source and web 2.0, and lean manufacturing to guide the creation of technology businesses that create disruptive innovation. Hey Someone else who is extending the agile/lean approach beyond just developing software. February 9, 2009 7:45 PM Joseph Flahiff said.

Lean 68

Lean San Francisco Web Advisory Board 68

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

I am convinced one of Joel Spolskys lasting contributions to the field of managing software teams will turn out to be the Joel Test , a checklist of 12 essential practices that you could use to rate the effectiveness of a software product development team. Please leave feedback!) Can you make a build in one step? Youd better.

Software Review 144

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Continuous Deployment 144

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 8, 2008

For software, we have many - you can enjoy a nice long list on Wikipedia. This theory has become so influential that I have called it one of the three pillars of the lean startup - every bit as important as the changes in technology or the advent of agile development. Very few startups fail for lack of technology.

Customer Development 168

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 168

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

Its inspired by the classic OODA Loop and is really just a simplified version of that concept, applied specifically to creating a software product development team. Were a software company, so what we do everyday is turn ideas into code. Labels: agile , listening to customers 3comments: hauteroute said. Great points Eric.

San Francisco 142

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 142

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 1, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 1, 2008 Test-Driven Development as andon cord You cannot control what you cannot see, and the hardest part of managing software projects is that the final product is so intangible. In almost all Agile Development systems, thousands of automated tests are run against every change to the software.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Developer Continuous Deployment DC 68

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 27, 2009

Im going to be speaking on June 3rd at an event sponsored by the Technology Entrepreneurs Exchange (TeXchange), "the premier networking organization in Texas for business executives and entrepreneurs to meet, exchange ideas and share experiences." It uses principles of agile software development, open source and web 2.0,

Lean 60

Lean Austin San Francisco Continuous Deployment 60

Steve Blank

JULY 25, 2011

Each region had two of the finest research universities in the United States, Stanford and MIT, which were building on the technology breakthroughs of World War II and graduating a generation of engineers into a consumer and cold war economy that seemed limitless. This all changed in 1980 with the Genentech IPO. But by the early 1960?

Engineer 311

Engineer Silicon Valley United States Venture Capital 311

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, September 2, 2008 On deployment My favorite question to ask a software development team is "how do you do a release." How long does the software sit un-deployed? Software is generally always getting better or getting worse. You can tell a lot about a company from their deployment flow.

San Francisco 60

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 60

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

. — Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. Technology cycles have become a treadmill, and for startups to survive they need to be on a continuous innovation cycle.

Founder 274

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 274

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 29, 2009

I hope to show why lean and agile techniques actually reduce the negative impacts of technical debt and increase our ability to take advantage of its positive effects. Yet other agile principles suggest the opposite, as in YAGNI and DoTheSimplestThingThatCouldPossiblyWork. Reconciling these principles requires a little humility.

Technical Review 168

Technical Review Software Review San Francisco Lean 168

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 2, 2009

My son is planning a software product that will take the mystery out of wikis and make the technology easier for consumers to use. Here in Tampa, our biggest challenge is convincing the regions technology "leadership" that grassroots economic development is a good thing. January 2, 2009 11:54 AM Daniel Davie said. Expo SF (May.

San Francisco 60

San Francisco Tampa Continuous Deployment Lean 60

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

His post is ostensibly about how often to release new work (whether youre a blog writer, movie star, software team.) I’ve been in the software industry for a long time. Waves of technology platforms The lean startup Customer Development Engineering Greasemonkey compiler Great open source scalability tools from Danga Ideas.

San Francisco 76

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 76

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

The other revels in the world as we all know it will be someday: limitless distribution enabled by new technologies, the importance of collaborative filters, and on-demand availability of all content for end-users. But the same technologies that make life difficult for traditional marketers also offer them unprecedented new opportunities.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 22, 2009

That data is completely consonant with the people I know who are successful technologists today, and similar patterns are documented in each recent wave of technology innovation. a guide for hackers) You buy virtual goods The free software hiring advantage Continuous deployment and continuous learning The lean startup @ Web 2.0

Programming 143

Programming San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 143

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

For example, we used to be baffled at IMVU by the significant minority of people who would download the software but never chat with anyone. ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th.

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 133

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 11, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Wednesday, February 11, 2009 The free software hiring advantage This is one of those startup tips Im a little reluctant to share, because its been such a powerful source of competitive advantage in the companies Ive worked with. Especially for a startup, not taking maximum advantage of free software is crazy.

Software Review 68

Software Review Software Hiring San Francisco 68

Agile VC

AUGUST 9, 2012

The company’s lost nearly 80% of its value from the peak earlier this year, in the run up to Facebook’s IPO, and currently trades below $3/share… a fraction of it’s IPO price of $10. 71% gross margins are not exceptional for a software/internet company, but they’re not terrible either.

Stock 160

Stock LBO .Net Valuation 160

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2009

How does product development differ in communications hardware versus enterprise software, etc. Technology? Waterfall, Agile, Lean? M&A, IPO? Filed under: Customer Development , Technology , Vertical Markets « Faith-Based versus Fact-Based Decision Making Am I a Founder? Where do the ideas come from?

Vertical 125

Vertical Silicon Valley RSS Marketing 125

Agile VC

JULY 11, 2012

Burr, Egan, Deleage [Boston] –> Huge wins in the 1980s and early 90s included Continental Cablevision (sold for $5.3B – now a big chunk of what is Comcast), Qwest Communications, Cephalon (biotech IPO, acq by Teva), and Powersoft (Burr, Egan made 35x when it went public and then was acquired by Sybase).

Silicon Valley 240

Silicon Valley Carried Interest Cofounder Boston 240

Agile VC

JANUARY 13, 2016

Technology leverage inherent in a world of ubiquitous connected computing. A pure software company might have 80-90%+ gross profit margins, but a commerce company might at best be 30-50% and service marketplaces might be far lower when measured on a gross revenue / GMV basis. and Groupon’s is $1.6B.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review .Net Revenue Software Review 157

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 3, 2009

Refreshing to finally see lean and agile thinking emerge in product/business-floors and not only in technology. My experience is in Enterprise Software - where we are forced to chunk features into formal releases. Revisiting the Software Design Manifesto (and what. Thank you. I know it's going to help me immensely!

San Francisco 168

San Francisco Product Lean Continuous Deployment 168

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 11, 2008

Its an academic treatise that tries to answer a seemingly straightforward question: after World War II, why did Silicon Valley become the undisputed leader of the technology world, while Bostons Route 128 corridor did not. We need to work hard, as previous generations did, to balance the needs of everyone in our ecosystem.

Silicon Valley 68

Silicon Valley San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 68

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 8, 2009

Each company would enroll two leaders in the series, one on the technology side, one on the business side. "Lean Startups" just jumped the shark and became consultingware, like "agile" did. Revisiting the Software Design Manifesto (and what. 3,000 / month doesn't sound very, um, lean. Expo SF (May.

Lean 102

Lean Programming San Francisco Continuous Deployment 102

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 20, 2009

Heres the excerpt: Today’s high-tech entrepreneurs have at their command more than just the ability to invent new technologies — they have mastered the discipline and the methodology required to harness those technologies in order to serve customers. Revisiting the Software Design Manifesto (and what. Expo SF (May.

Lean 68

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 68

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 29, 2008

The six key attributes spell ABCDEF: Agility. When talking about their past experience, candidates with agility will know why they did what they did in a given situation. To probe for agility, you have to ask the candidate questions involving something that they know little about. Any advice? Excellent post.

San Francisco 146

San Francisco Lean Agile Java 146