Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

He just hired Meg Whitman. Since NewTV won’t be making the content, they will be licensing from and partnering with traditional entertainment producers. NewTV will depend on partners like telcos to distribute the content. Startups with huge burn rates – building leases, staff, PR and advertising – ran out of money.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

While he correctly understood how to frame his hypotheses with a business model canvas, and he was doing a good job in customer development – the third component of Lean is using Agile Development to rapidly and iteratively build incrementally better versions of the product – in the form of minimal viable products (MVP’s).

Cofounder 336

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Coder 336

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

That died with waterfall software development. I’m not even talking about your 12-page Powerpoint presentation that you need to raise venture capital or to talk with potential biz dev partners. Do you really want to spent $100k building a product to discover through Customer Development that the market is too small?

Business Plan 334

Business Plan AJAX Venture Capital Technical Review 334

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

A new VP of Sales (then VP of Marketing, then CEO) looks at their predecessors’ strategy, and if they are smart, they do something different (they implement a different pricing model, pick a new sales channel, target different customers and/or partners, reformulate the product features, etc.). No one gets fired.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Management Business Model Customer Development 247

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

raised their voices in a annoyed investor tone) that the headcount and its attendant burn rate combined with the lack of revenue meant the company would run out of money much sooner than anyone planned. Companies in New Markets who hire and execute like they’re in an Existing Market burn through their cash and go out of business.

Revenue 230

Revenue Balance Sheet Hockey Stick Burn Rate 230

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Establish credibility with potential partners. You need to combine your product with others, and this requires partners like OEMs or system integrators. A marketing launch can help you get in the door with those partners, if youre having trouble getting their attention. Do some Customer Development instead.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168