YoungUpstarts

MAY 24, 2019

Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea. A well-developed product architecture helps a startup to achieve rapid market/product fit by successfully appealing to customers (users). Team Architecture.

Framework 113

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 113

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. What are Early Stage VC’s Really Asking?

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

This may vary from fund to fund, but in general here is the top level criteria VCs would use to check initial fit: Stage – is the startup raising a round which is within the range of the fund (pre seed, seed, series A, early stage, growth, etc.). Stake – can the fund secure it’s minimum stake in the business?

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder Portfolio 166

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 1, 2019

And given the paucity of business metrics at this point in a startup’s lifecycle, spreadsheet analysis is of little help. At this stage, the team is seeking market and customer validation metrics. The MVP is the most pared-down version of a product that customers are willing to purchase or use.

Cleveland 150

Cleveland Framework Marketing Early Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

I recommend you read Fred Wilson’s recent blog post about the need for a well articulated business strategy before pushing a particular business model. He then brought her to board meetings so nobody could accuse him of not having a business model. My take on his argument is this: 1.

Technical Review 401

Technical Review Startup Business Model Non-Compete 401

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Almost every early-stage startup who has approached investors for funding has heard the innocuous sounding rejection “I love your idea, but come back when you have more traction.” One customer is not traction, and beta tests with a thousand customers at no cost don’t count. Customer acquisition cost.

Hockey Stick 304

Hockey Stick Early Stage Metrics Acquisition 304

Up and Running

AUGUST 21, 2018

Historically, entrepreneurs have taken months to craft detailed plans without even gathering feedback from potential customers. Entrepreneurs have viewed business planning as a single hurdle to get their business up and running or a thick wad of paper to shove across a banker’s desk in order to get the funding they need.

Lean 134

Lean Forecast Software Review Business Plan 134

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2022

I will outline here his six required activities of every successful business to get you started down the right path for you: Wonder: identify the value and need for change. If your relish the challenges of creating an innovative solution or business model, then this is the type of work you must seek.

Metrics 272

Metrics Early Stage Finance Programming 272

Steve Blank

MARCH 3, 2015

As I looked around at other schools, I saw pretty much the same landscape – business plan classes, business plan competitions and loosely coupled accelerators that focused primarily on mentoring. Traction and evidence from customers were what investors were looking for – even in “slow” sectors like healthcare and energy.

Business Plan 120

Business Plan Silicon Valley Saudi Arabia Lean 120

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

You (think) you have product-market fit with real customers and real revenue and need money to grow and expand. What most founders don’t realize is: Every stage of a startup requires a different set of metrics and milestones and founder skills. Series B is about proving your net revenue model (can you be profitable?).

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Steve Blank

JUNE 26, 2015

The first time a few brave corporate innovators tried to overlay the Lean tools and techniques that work in early-stage startups in an existing corporation, the result was chaos, confusion, frustration and ultimately, failure. Horizon 1 activities support existing business models. Horizon 1 is the company’s core business.

Lean 120

Lean Management Business Model Incubator 120

Up and Running

DECEMBER 6, 2012

Lean Planning is a set of tools for discovering a business model that works, building an action plan to test your assumptions, creating financial models and a plan for a viable business, and tracking your performance so you can adjust your plan on the fly, quickly and easily.

Lean 147

Lean Silicon Valley Forecast Technical Review 147

Steve Blank

MARCH 17, 2020

If you’re running a startup or small business, your first priority (after your family) is keeping your employees and customers safe. But next the question is, ‘What happens to my business?”. The questions every startup or small business CEO needs to ask now are: What’s my Burn Rate and Runway? What will my investors do?

Burn Rate 436

Burn Rate Startup Valuation Sales Cycle 436

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Blog About Log in Register Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition In the many thousands of articles advising entrepreneurs on what they have to focus on to build successful startups, much has been written about three key factors: team, product and market, with particular focus on the importance of product/market fit.

Acquisition 103

Acquisition Cost Customer Entrepreneur 103

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 8, 2009

A post by Fred Wilson pointed me to Dave McClure's Startup Metrics presentation. This is a great presentation and one that I'm going to point out to startup / early stage company CEOs. This kind of a simple model also helps: Define the early proof points for the company. We need to make sure we have these numbers.

Metrics 225

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 225

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Validated learning about customers Would you rather have $30,000 or $1 million in revenues for your startup? In an early-stage startup especially, revenue is not an important goal in and of itself. Every board meeting, the metrics of success change.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

experiments to build a product, find customers, test business models and hire amazing people. Creating this value is anchored in finding a repeatable, scalable business model. Agenda items will focus on key metrics illustrating value creation, particularly in software as a service companies. Risk and reward.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review New Zealand Due Diligence 88

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

If this happens, the risk of having an unpleasant experience is much higher, as an early stage startup cannot afford 7 months off the correct path. More research and explanation is needed to understand how the business plan will be executed. Don’t describe a 100% theoretical business model. It was all hypothetical.

Programming 124

Programming Chile B2B B2C 124

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

Dan Kozikowski, Partner and Head of Platform, First Mark Capital , said to me, “Firms should match services to the stage-specific needs of companies. For example, recruiting writ large is useful at all stages of development. But things like vendor introductions are only needle-movers at the earliest stages.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

The Next Web

DECEMBER 4, 2013

Metrics on keywords, follower profiles and competitors all help define your target listener. Locate your core customers, and prioritize your efforts to reach them where they are. As a startup, you’re working with limited resources and a lean business model. Research your solution, sector, industry and competition.

Social Media 158

Social Media Media Viral Startup 158

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

You should know EVERYTHING about your business, product, customers and competition. You should know every metric regarding customer acquisition, conversion and retention. You should have a crystal clear understanding of your business model and your financials.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

This provides us more time to develop meaningful relationships with prospects and customers. Data companies focused on early-stage startups include Aingel , fundsUP , Preseries , PredictLeads , and Sploda. These typically have a larger support ecosystem and greater assurance of long-term stability than the custom vendors.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

Investors sitting through Incubator or Accelerator demo days have three metrics to judge fledgling startups – 1) great looking product demos, 2) compelling PowerPoint slides, and 3) a world-class team. Teams can prove their competence and validate their ideas by showing investors evidence that there’s a repeatable and scalable business model.

Oakland 326

Oakland Incubator Lean Metrics 326

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 9, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

I’ve been a traditional equity VC for 8 years, and I’m now researching new business models in venture capital. Though RBI will displace some traditional equity VC, its much bigger impact will be to expand the pool of capital available for early-stage entrepreneurs. . So what is Revenue Based Investing?

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Search Engineer 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 13, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles Internet 150

Occam's Razor

APRIL 8, 2013

To win in business you need to follow this process: Metrics > Hypothesis > Experiment > Act. We are far too enamored with data collection and reporting the standard metrics we love because others love them because someone else said they were nice so many years ago. That metric is tied to a KPI.

Metrics 156

Metrics Analytics Lean Churn Rate 156

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Blog About Log in Register Designing startup metrics to drive successful behavior Great companies are almost always run by great management teams. Good metrics should also be actionable, and drive successful behavior. This post is applicable to any kind of business. e.g. there could be large deals, and smaller deals.

Metrics 55

Metrics Design Entrepreneur Startup 55

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Networking Southern California Los Angeles 150

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

As customer and agile development reinvent the Startup, it’s time to ask why startup board governance has not kept up with the pace of innovation. Board meetings that guide startups haven’t changed since the early 1900’s. Yet boards of large companies exist to monitor efficient strategy and execution of a known business model.

Silicon Valley 290

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 290

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

My first job out of school was at one of the early bioinformatics companies in Silicon Valley, working as the head of technical services. That's where I learned I enjoyed interacting with customers and working with development teams to build and launch products. After BITSource was successfully acquired, I moved to L.A.

Management 150

Management Product Entrepreneur Silicon Valley 150

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

As customer and agile development reinvent the Startup, it’s time to ask why startup board governance has not kept up with the pace of innovation. Board meetings that guide startups haven’t changed since the early 1900’s. Yet boards of large companies exist to monitor efficient strategy and execution of a known business model.

Silicon Valley 258

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 258

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

The one-page pitch format is also more suitable for SaaS businesses that are constantly testing new ideas. Your pitch is going to cover your strategy (what you’re going to do), your tactics (how you’re going to do it), your business model (how you will make money), and your schedule (who is doing what and when).

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

SoCal CTO

MARCH 20, 2007

Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh. Attorney and Startup Business Advisor – Aaron Shec.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150