Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

I wondered if business plans and 5-year forecasts were the right way to plan a startup. Experienced entrepreneurs kept finding that no business plan survived first contact with customers. We were putting the plan before the planning. And in 2003 the Haas Business School at U.C.

Lean 317

Lean Georgia Michigan Business Model 317

Steve Blank

JUNE 18, 2013

I wondered if business plans and 5-year forecasts were the right way to plan a startup. It dawned on me that the plans were a symptom of a larger problem: we were executing business plans when we should first be searching for business models. Teaching “Search versus Execution”.

Lean 286

Lean Agile Customer Development Business Model 286

Steve Blank

MAY 14, 2012

Any dispassionate observer would recognize that on Day One, a start-up has no customers, and unless the founder is a true domain expert, he or she can only guess about the customer, problem, and business model. Traditionally, engineering, sales, and marketing have all focused on the immovable launch date.

Balance Sheet 335

Balance Sheet Business Model Customer Development Metrics 335

YoungUpstarts

MAY 26, 2017

Your pitch deck is the most important assets your business will have, arguably more than the business plan itself. Based off the “Pitch then Plan” template originated by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, I believe in creating a strong pitch first and then building a business plan based on it.

Cofounder 185

Cofounder Silicon Valley Forecast Business Plan 185

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2010

I’ve introduced a new class at Stanford to teach engineers, scientists and other professionals how startups really get built. Business schools teach aspiring executives a variety of courses around the execution of known business models, (accounting, organizational behavior, managerial skills, marketing, operations, etc.).

Wiki 311

Wiki Lean Management Business Model 311

Steve Blank

JUNE 18, 2013

I wondered if business plans and 5-year forecasts were the right way to plan a startup. It dawned on me that the plans were a symptom of a larger problem: we were executing business plans when we should first be searching for business models. Teaching “Search versus Execution”.

Lean 178

Lean Agile Customer Development Business Model 178

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

I think this idea is particularly appealing to those of us from an engineering background. And yet, it’s not really fair to ask that the company’s money be spent without anyone bothering to build a financial model that can be used to judge success. The solution is to change our focus from outputs to inputs.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 3, 2015

(But unlike startups entrepreneurs in large companies) also have to fight against the organization that is actively trying to destroy them… because an existing company has an established business model. …. … He grew up working in their businesses: … It was unfathomable for either of my parents to work for anyone else.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Cofounder San Francisco Business Model 120

Up and Running

MAY 22, 2018

Every successful small business goes through four stages during its entire existence: Existence : expanding from pilot production to broad-scale production. Survival : generating enough cash flow to stay in business. Success : business model works and is stable, but there is still untapped potential. Master the numbers.

Exit Strategy 90

Exit Strategy Angel Investor Search Elevator Pitch 90

Up and Running

OCTOBER 14, 2015

Are there greater opportunities for higher rankings in the search engines, or is the design of your website helping or hindering you? ( It may help to plan what your business requirements are first before finding which countries best suit your needs, rather than selecting your choice of location first. Use your business plan.

Global 60

Global Intellectual Property IP Cyprus 60

Tim Keane

FEBRUARY 25, 2008

How many software companies died on the way to an SaaS model because they did not have the ability to think through the large scale changes a business model shift would require? " Those same engineers rolled up their sleeves (do t-shirts have sleeves to roll up, really?) and got it done by Monday.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Startup Bootstrapping 60

Up and Running

JULY 14, 2015

Or what if a new brilliant idea that you hadn’t considered when you were planning emerges? Build in fluidity to your business plans. I’d implemented a business plan including marketing, engagement, sales strategy and realized a few months in that it wasn’t servicing a key influence or in the sales process.

Incubator 60

Incubator Email Startup Oregon 60

www.frozennorth.org

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

Every one of these companies believed they had a unique idea, either a piece of technology, a business model, or a way of building a product. For the vast majority, it will just be a passing thought, but a few will take the time to do their homework, and maybe even put together a business plan. Why the cult of the NDA?

NDA 41

NDA Non-disclosure Agreement Business Model RSS 41