Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 29, 2009

We can choose to continue paying the interest, or we can pay down the principal by refactoring the quick and dirty design into the better design. The human tendency to moralize about debt affects engineers, too. Although it costs to pay down the principal, we gain by reduced interest payments in the future. One last thought.

Technical Review 168

Technical Review Software Review San Francisco Lean 168

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

What matters is proving the viability of the company’s business model, what investors call “traction.&# It should be even more important to the founders themselves, because it demonstrates that their business hypothesis is grounded in reality. This is an incredible skill, one that most engineers overlook.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 27, 2009

and lean manufacturing to guide the creation of technology businesses that create disruptive innovation. This presentation will empower entrepreneurs and managers to: -Identify a profitable business model faster and cheaper than your competitors. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

Lean 60

Lean Austin San Francisco Continuous Deployment 60

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 6, 2008

Both are related to a common brain defect we engineers and entrepreneurs seem to be especially prone to. Whats needed is a disciplined methodology for understanding the needs of customers and how they combine to form a viable business model. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Agile 128

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

You have to know your business model. Most startups launch before theyve figured out what business theyre in. Founders push for it. In some ways, founders are even worse. My experience is that many founders actually have a deep anxiety that maybe they are not succeeding. Most startups arent so fortunate.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 18, 2010

What differentiates them is their disciplined approach to determining when to spend money: after the fundamental elements of the business model have been empirically validated. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n.

Lean 167

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Startup 167

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 16, 2010

Rashmi Sinha, co-founder and CEO of SlideShare , describes an early version of the analytics package that’s part of the Pro accounts the company announced today. Because the SlideShare team was used to giving away a high-value product, engineers balked at charging for a clearly imperfect product.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Analytics Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2010

We have to continually invent new categories of products, new platforms, and new business models – all extremely risky bets. When private capital is available in sufficient quantities to satisfy investor and founder liquidity needs, why go IPO? No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

IPO 166

IPO San Francisco Lean Silicon Valley 166

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 17, 2009

There are so many engineers with bright ideas, but dont know how to start. Eric Ries, a co-founder of IMVU, is a strong proponent of this process and very successfully used it at IMVU. If you are an engineer with bright ideas, consider Lean Startup to build confidence while building your startup.

Lean 60

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 60

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 21, 2010

Many startups don’t innovate at all in the product dimension, but use other kinds of innovation: repurposing an existing technology for a new use, devising a new business model that unlocks value that was previously hidden, or even simply bringing a product or service to a new location or set of customers previously underserved.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco Startup Lean Continuous Deployment 168

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 8, 2009

In particular, we would cover customer development, continuous deployment, minimum viable product, and actionable metrics. I love the business model. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R. Case Study: Continuous deployment makes releases n. Great idea.

Lean 102

Lean Programming San Francisco Continuous Deployment 102

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

No business model, either. In fact, I remember sending him and his obscure-to-me co-founder (aka Reid Hoffman ) a bug report early-on, instead of taking them up on their offer of an in-person meeting. All my products and ideas focus on early cash and a business model that works from the first day.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94