Steve Blank

MARCH 12, 2014

The startups and the teaching team crafted a challenge for the kids to tackle using the Customer Development methodology, Lean Launchpad tools and the business model canvas. Knowing they had 3 weeks before presenting to the company co-founders, the kids felt intensity like no traditional classroom could generate.

Lean 334

Lean Customer Development Startup Silicon Valley 334

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

Most technologists have little interest in the mechanics of starting and building a business. That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Outside investors are most interested in scaling a proven business model, not research and development.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

This is a guest post by my Startup Owner’s Manual co-author Bob Dorf. While statistics are weak on startup success rates, the worst one I’ve seen suggests that 2 in 1000 venture backed startups will ever achieve $100-million or more in valuation. ——————-. What’s the point? What are they waiting for?

Startup 332

Startup Cofounder Customer Development Viral 332

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

But founders need to know how to ask for their advice and when to ignore it. Startup Insights From Paul English, Co-Founder of Kayak - OnStartups , May 10, 2010 I’m just wrapping up several weeks of attending conferences across both coasts. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. was having coffee with a friend who teaches at the U.C.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Look at the valuations of companies like Tesla, Illumina, and Twitter. The first will be commodity businesses that are valued for their ability to execute their current business model. The second class will be firms with a demonstrated ability to continually innovate and reinvent their business models.

Private Equity 325

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 325

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 1, 2023

By Daniel Sokolovksy, Co-Founder and CEO, WARP and Troy Lester, Co-Founder and CRO, WARP The dissolution of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was more than just a bank collapse, it was a reality check for both startups and the VCs that fund them. As a founder, ask yourself – does your business actually warrant VC funding?

Early Stage 110

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 110

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

The first company started as a BBQ catering business, and eventually focused in on their most popular product, a dip made of blended up chicken plus various sauces. At this point, the very pregnant cofounder was weeping. The cofounder was charismatic and persuasive and asking for $85k for 12% of the company.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Amanda is the Co-founder at Barney an M&A firm that specializes in the digital marketing space. 17:49] Have you ever experienced a transaction where a Founder sold the company to their existing team? [18:35] She's the co-founder at Barney, an M & A firm that specializes in the digital marketing space.

Entrepreneur 79

Entrepreneur Technical Review Cofounder Valuation 79

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 24, 2011

Our co-host for the program was TiE Midwest, based in Chicago. Additional work in figuring out the precise go-to-market consumer, academic institution, or enterprise - each is a different business), and consequent business model and pricing model will help enhance the company's valuation.

Illinois 114

Illinois Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Chicago 114

View from Seed

APRIL 30, 2015

What is it, and how should founders think about it? note: We’d like to be extra clear that founders should not take on venture debt if they don’t have 100% visibility into repaying the loan, as banks that need to recoup their loan my force the company or you as the guarantor into liquidation or bankruptcy. Business model?

Term Sheet 120

Term Sheet Equity Startup Seed Stage 120

Steve Blank

MAY 19, 2015

While he kept bringing the conversation back to their big valuation I tried to steer the conversation back to how they were going to deal with: training the influx of new hires – in both culture and job specific tasks. They had doubled headcount from 100 to 200 in the last year and were planning to double again.)

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Salary Early Stage Software Review 120

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

How Small Businesses Can Compete with Big Business – [link]. crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: mor.sl | crowdSPRING Blog – [link]. The Founders Lie About Comfort Zones – [link]. How To Choose A Market For Your Startup Or Small Business – [link]. Just got acquired?

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Central African Republic Design 100

Feld Thoughts

AUGUST 25, 2015

Jack Tankersley, a long time mentor of mine, co-founder of Centennial Funds, and co-founder of Meritage Funds, wrote me a very long response. There are five key risks in any deal: Market, Product (a/k/a technology), Management, Business Model, and Capital. Taking all five at once is crazy.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital SBIC Technical Review Silicon Valley 70

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 22, 2008 The three drivers of growth for your business model. The AARRR model (hence pirates, get it?) He also has a discussion of how your choice of business model determines which of these metric areas you want to focus on. Choose one.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

Version One Ventures

MAY 1, 2017

million at a valuation close to $300M in just a matter of minutes (the valuation has more than quadrupled since in secondary markets). We are seeing much larger valuations and sizes of rounds with ICOs than with the traditional VC market for companies at similar stages. That’s a very powerful combination. million in 48 hours.

Valuation 121

Valuation Cofounder Open Source Networking 121

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Yet many entrepreneurs rely on expensive outside services and outside money, rather than do the networking for a co-founder or two who have the right skills to work for equity. Salaried staff will never have the commitment of co-founders that depend on the success of the startup. A desire to roll out on a massive scale.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Cofounder Equity Agile 120

Steve Blank

MAY 13, 2010

But startups can shoot themselves in the foot when founders use consultants at the wrong time or in the wrong way. So I met the entrepreneur and asked him how his search for a business model was going. Here’s what I told him: A startup exists to search for a scalable and repeatable business model. Here’s why.

Founder 199

Founder Cofounder Business Model Customer Development 199

Ben's Blog

AUGUST 17, 2020

When speaking with founders and private growth investors, we hear countless references to “multiples paid” on current or near-term revenue; both obsess over this because a higher multiple translates to a higher valuation. It starts with the complexity involved in valuing companies in general.

Valuation 36

Valuation Balance Sheet Cofounder Forecast 36

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2010

A lot of entrepreneurs think that their startup is the next big thing when in reality they’re just building a small business. A first order filter is whether the founders are aiming for a scalable startup. In fact, Google’s offer for $15 Million was equal to the highest valuation from the venture firms. Go For Broke.

Hockey Stick 276

Hockey Stick Venture Capital Startup Cofounder 276

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

This is a guest post from Rob May , a co-founder and CEO of Backupify , which raised $19.5M And if we have to give someone their first shot, it might as well be you, because you co-founded the company and care more about it than anyone else ever will.”. Think more about business models. He was right. Keep at it.

Founder 120

Founder Startup Cofounder Business Model 120

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Why do these founders get to stay around? Because the balance of power has dramatically shifted from investors to founders. VCs competing for unicorn investments have given founders control of the board. — all great things when you are executing and scaling a known business model. Board Control.

Founder 245

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 245

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

Very cool concept and I want to thank the founder Adil Mohammed for inviting me to take part in it. It doesn’t mean that you should change your business model because one person suggested it, but listed to the feedback and if you see similar patterns over and over again, make changes. Patented Technology? Be a salesman.

Elevator Pitch 102

Elevator Pitch Incubator Technical Review Startup 102

David Teten

AUGUST 6, 2015

My colleague Paul Bianco serves as interim CFO for a number of ff Venture Capital ’s portfolio companies, and has built and reviewed hundreds of financial models. I also spoke with Michael Hutchens , CEO & Cofounder of BPM Global , which helps organizations more efficiently build and maintain financial models.

Balance Sheet 60

Balance Sheet Software Review Forecast Acquisition 60

VC Cafe

OCTOBER 31, 2022

It’s a tough time for a lot of startup founders right now. This is not meant to be a negative post, but rather a temperature check of today’s market environment and the levers founders can pull on to survive this period. What is a founder to do? Startups, Don’t Pin Your Hopes on VC Dry Powder ( Source ).

Founder 173

Founder Technical Review Down Round Liquidation Preference 173

Up and Running

APRIL 11, 2016

While traditional business models provide a more regular income, in the real estate world, it might be three months before you get paid—and it could even be longer. Once you do that, Tim Frie, co-founder of Norman & Page Real Estate says, “You have just as much opportunity as any other agent at any other firm.

Reputation 60

Reputation Cofounder Naming Business Plan 60

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

What most founders don’t realize is: Every stage of a startup requires a different set of metrics and milestones and founder skills. Knowing these will help a founder position her pitch to get investors’ attention. Founders need to keep their eye on the prize — not just the next funding round. Business Model.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Berkonomics

AUGUST 27, 2015

He has served as advisor to and member of numerous financial exchanges, and was the founder and CEO of Arthur Lipper Corporation and co-founder and Chairman of New York & Foreign Securities Corporation. The businesses frequently were the owner-manager’s only major asset.

Intellectual Property 48

Intellectual Property Balance Sheet Stock Options Valuation 48

David Cohen

JULY 28, 2013

He ended up not only being interested, but actually becoming a cofounder. So there’s more diligence, more spreadsheet work and a lot more focus on actual valuations. There’s also a lot more scrutiny of the business model, as opposed to just finding good people with a good idea.

Seed Stage 62

Seed Stage New York Cofounder Bootstrapping 62

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

To learn more about this space, I suggest join an online community I co-founded, PEVCTech. . Tim Friedman, Founder, PE Stack , said, “If I could offer one piece of advice to today’s managers, it would be to take the time to understand the demands of the modern institutional LP. The 11 Steps of Investing in Private Companies.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 26, 2011

What's the business model? I think you'll see a lot of focus on companies like Tumblr, Twitter, Foursquare and Pinterest--services that haven't really established a business model yet to justify their sky high valuations.

Technology 116

Technology Valuation Community Restful 116

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

As I discussed last week in the Greymatter podcast with my friend and Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh , I believe that a knowledge of philosophy is actually a great asset for entrepreneurs. This week, we discuss how a philosophy degree compares to a much more conventional business background: the masters in business administration or MBA.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Reid Hoffman

JULY 27, 2021

As I discussed last week in the Greymatter podcast with my friend and Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh , I believe that a knowledge of philosophy is actually a great asset for entrepreneurs. Like many first time founders, I ran over that landmine. Or maybe valuation depends on growth rates or operating margins.

Silicon Valley 69

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Balance Sheet Cofounder 69

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 29, 2017

This is my favorite business quote because it removes all external factors and focuses on the most important one for launching a business — the founder. The company’s success is a determinant of the founder. I depend on all of those around me, clients, co-workers, and our own service providers.

Entrepreneur 48

Entrepreneur LLC Cofounder Montana 48

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 18, 2017

So I started to put together the Waiakea brand with my Hawaiian cousin and my co-founder Matt over the next 3 years focusing on these 3 pillars of Health, Sustainability, and Ethics/Charity, and we finally launched in 2012. . Tell us about your business and what you do. . . Otherwise, just stop.

Hawaii 48

Hawaii Fiji Africa Cofounder 48

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

Mike is a no BS guy, has all the attributes I look for in a founder and says things like, openly shares knowledge and opines without a filter including this one, “whoever invented uncapped convertible debt should be spanked!&# Of course, monetization of search became one of the best business models in the history of business.

Semantic 302

Semantic Acquisition Valuation Angel Investor 302

Rob Go

JANUARY 7, 2013

As a founder, it feels like a long time, but it’s really a blip on the radar in the scheme of things. We have pretty strong guidelines internally about how much capital we want to invest in a given company, at what valuation, and thus, what ownership we are looking for. Founders: Repeat Founders: 8. Consumer: 9.

Portfolio 49

Portfolio Seed Stage Cofounder B2B 49

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 26, 2013

Empower Your Small Business: trust & loyalty, marketing insight, lean business – [link]. Always use data, not feelings, to make business decisions – [link]. 3 Biggest Mistakes When Choosing a Cofounder – [link]. 3 Biggest Mistakes When Choosing a Cofounder – [link].

Social Media 90

Social Media Small Business Design Media 90