Steve Blank

MARCH 12, 2014

Therefore we needed them to think and learn about two parts of a startup; 1) ideation - how to create new ideas and 2) customer development – how do they test the validity of their idea (is it the right product, customer, channel, pricing, etc.). We wanted to teach our students how to think like entrepreneurs not accountants.

Lean 334

Lean Customer Development Startup Silicon Valley 334

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 30, 2011

Blackbox , founded by entrepreneurs Bjoern Lasse Herrmann and Max Marmer, in June released its first Startup Genome Report — a 67-page in depth analysis on what makes Silicon Valley startups successful based on profiling over 650 startups. 74% of high growth internet startups fail due to premature scaling.

Silicon Valley 174

Silicon Valley Software Review Startup Cofounder 174

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 20, 2011

63 scientists and engineers in 21 teams made 2,000 customer calls in 8 weeks , turning laboratory ideas into formidable startups. The Innovation Corps Startup Team. We taught them the business model / customer development / agile development solution stack. This week we saw the results. It was an extraordinary effort.

Incubator 301

Incubator Government Silicon Valley Lean 301

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web. Union Square Ventures The next morning I got to spend time with Brad Burnham , partner at Union Square Ventures talking about their investment strategy and insights about web-based businesses.

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 7, 2016

With countless roadblocks along the way, it’s not uncommon for a startup to falter to the point of folding before it has ever reached even the simplest of business goals. The solution: Startup Labs. What is a Startup Lab? The Startup Lab usually takes equity in return for talent that is dedicated to the company.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Incubator Asia 100

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

I just spent a few weeks in Japan and China on a book tour for the Japanese and Chinese versions of the Startup Owners Manual. This left an open playing field for Chinese software startups as they “copy to China” existing U.S. business models. Small startups act the same way, simply cloning each other’s products.

China 215

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 215

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2009

And he recognized it was making his startup feel and act like a big ponderous company. Most decisions in a startup must be made in the face of uncertainty. One of the things he mentioned was that when it came to decision-making he still tended to think and act like an engineer. The same is true in your company.

Silicon Valley 300

Silicon Valley RSS Startup Agile 300

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2015

BMNT , a new Silicon Valley company, is combining the Lean Methods it learned in combat with the technology expertise and speed of startups. The OODA Loop was the Lean Startup philosophy before lean. In 2010 Colonel Peter Newell took over the REF and turned its focus into what we would call a Lean Startup.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Afghanistan Iraq Stealth 120

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2009

Posted on December 7, 2009 by steveblank In my 21 years of startups, I had my ideas “stolen” twice. I was out and about in Silicon Valley doing what I would now call Customer Discovery trying to understand how marketing departments in large corporations worked. See part one for the first time it happened.

Silicon Valley 225

Silicon Valley Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Startup 225

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2022

Does your business always seem to be trying to catch up with new competitors and changes in the marketplace? One of the things I learned from my years in Silicon Valley is that you must always focus on three steps ahead, as well as on what exists today. You can bet some startups are already out there looking.

Silicon Valley 367

Silicon Valley Artificial Inteligence Global Agile 367

Steve Blank

MARCH 3, 2015

Starting in the 1950’s, Stanford’s engineering department became “outward facing” and developed a culture of spinouts and active faculty support and participation in the first wave of Silicon Valley startups. Given its inward focus, Berkeley has always been the neglected sibling in Silicon Valley entrepreneurship.

Business Plan 120

Business Plan Silicon Valley Saudi Arabia Lean 120

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 27, 2011

Asia – especially in countries such as India, China, Vietnam – is fast becoming the place where many entrepreneurs, whether locally born or lured back from Silicon Valley, are setting up shop. The second part covers the various sectors that have seen the biggest growth in Asia.

Asia 167

Asia Technical Review Vietnam Singapore 167

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2021

If you sold your last startup for $800 million, you probably already know how to build a business, and even conservative investors won’t worry about the quality of your next business plan. Most investors tend to think of startups without a plan as expensive hobbies. Marty Zwilling.

Silicon Valley 342

Silicon Valley Exit Strategy Business Plan Restful 342

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over twice as many companies, according to a classic Crunchbase article. The cost of entry for tech startups continues to go down. Super angels have greater scope to match talent with a startup.

Angel Investor 342

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Portfolio 342

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

The Customer Development process is the way startups quickly iterate and test each element of their business model , reducing customer and market risk. In Discovery startups take all their hypotheses about the business model: product, market, customers, channel, etc. Early Orders Were a Detriment.

Burn Rate 248

Burn Rate Silicon Valley Marketing Boston 248

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over twice as many companies, according the Crunchbase. The cost of entry for tech startups continues to go down. Super angels have greater scope to match talent with a startup.

Angel Investor 314

Angel Investor Venture Capital Silicon Valley Startup 314

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative. Examples of some leaders in this space include Mike Maples in Silicon Valley and David S. Business Week ran a more thorough analysis of this movement a while back, which I have updated below. That model doesn’t seem to work any more.

Angel Investor 231

Angel Investor Entrepreneur Early Stage Technical Review 231

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Capital investments are like gasoline on a startup business’s metaphorical fire. They allow you to hire more people, purchase new technology, and establish new business connections, among many other benefits. If you’re like most startup CEOs, your startup has been your personal fiefdom and baby.

Private Equity 94

Private Equity Pre-Money Valuation Equity Startup 94

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

After 20 years of working in startups, I decided to take a step back and look at the product development model I had been following and see why it usually failed to provide useful guidance in activities outside the building – sales, marketing and business development.

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2021

The trick is we use the same Lean LaunchPad / I-Corps curriculum — and the same class structure – experiential, hands-on– driven this time by a mission -model not a business model. When they graduate, the Stanford students on these teams have the pick of jobs in startups, companies, and consulting firms.

Lean 385

Lean Security Asia SBIR 385

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

As an entrepreneur himself, founding and operating printed circuit board factories in Taiwan, my father was debating between two places to immigrate to and build his next new venture: Los Angeles (“The Valley” aka San Fernando Valley) and Santa Clara (“Silicon Valley”).

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 4, 2020

In the short term, skipping the conference may mean losing some deals, but in the long run, you and your business will be more successful. Is your business idea disruptive? They saw the world differently and had ideas for new products, new services, or new business models — and then they built them. Are you self-funded?

Entrepreneur 180

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Silicon Valley Bandwidth 180

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

I recently sat down with Matt Coffin , the founder of LowerMyBills, which sold for $400 million but was very nearly a bankruptcy only a few years early, and talked “startups.&#. Matt is one of the most transparent, focused & honest startup guys you’ll meet. Or read the quick, informative summary below the image!

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Warrant Customer Term Sheet 304

Steve Blank

MARCH 2, 2011

The Energy Storage division is acting like a startup, and Prescott Logan its General Manager, has lived up to the charter. He’s as good as any startup CEO in Silicon Valley. They’ve gained as good of an insight into customer needs and product feature set than any startup I’ve seen. You couldn’t be more wrong.

Silicon Valley 222

Silicon Valley Agile Customer Development Early Stage 222

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2022

Based on my years of experience in both startups and large companies, trusted relationships are more the key to success than a great business model, how smart you are, or how much money you have.

Silicon Valley 284

Silicon Valley Bandwidth Angel Investor Equity 284

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 31, 2014

Scalable startups are on a trajectory for a billion dollar market cap. Not all start ups want to go in that direction – some will opt instead to become a small business. There’s nothing wrong with a business that supports you and perhaps an extended family. What’s the playbook for your region or country to make it so?

Global 335

Global Australia Silicon Valley China 335

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. Working for a startup is a unique experience and it’s not for everyone.

Early Stage 106

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 106

Steve Blank

JANUARY 20, 2014

When Customer Development and the Lean Startup were just a sketch on the napkin, Dino Vendetti, a VC at Bay Partners, was one of the first venture capitalists I shared my ideas with. If you like skiing, hiking, biking, rafting, golfing, camping, fishing, picnicking, rock climbing, and startups – you’d like Bend. Startups in Bend.

Silicon Valley 312

Silicon Valley Oregon Lean Venture Capital 312

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

The Japanese edition of The Startup Owner’s Manual hit the bookstores in Japan this week. Back in 1990’s, I was working for one of the leading sogo shohsa (trading company) in Japan, building data communications startups. The result: great success of my third startup, a load balancing technology for web servers back in the late 1990’s.

Japan 292

Japan Customer Development Developer Customer 292

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2020

When starting a new business you should consider the potential industries your company may have the best opportunity to compete in. To help with this, we’ve compiled a list of the top 4 industries that show the most promise for startups in 2020. Why Transportation Industry Businesses are Trending. SAAS Business Startup Guide .

Technical Review 97

Technical Review Green Silicon Valley Non-Compete 97

ReadWriteStart

JULY 12, 2012

Everyone’s heard startup advice about the importance of having a balanced management team. But a new book argues that startup management teams need a balance not only of job experience and skills, but also in their psychological makeup. But like the ideal startups he envisions, Montgomery has a larger purpose.

Founder 144

Founder Silicon Valley Startup Incubator 144

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 6, 2022

Steve is the CEO of Founders Space, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators with over 50 partners in 22 countries. Founders Space was ranked the #1 incubator for overseas startups by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazines. Questions I ask Steve Hoffman: [2:30] How did you get into the business of advising start-ups? [3:49]

San Francisco 97

San Francisco Technical Review Incubator Silicon Valley 97

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 13, 2010

The idea of this course started on a trip to Stanford University during March 2010, where we realized that many of the great innovations in Silicon Valley are born from Computer Science students, so we said “We should give our computer science students an opportunity to develop a company”.

Chile 235

Chile Silicon Valley Lean Agile 235

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

The Founder’s New Insight Smart founders are never satisfied with simply executing their current business model, they are constantly observing, orienting and deciding whether their current business model can be made better.

Customer 195

Customer Silicon Valley RSS California 195

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 19, 2010

We're trying to bring the lessons we have learned in Silicon Valley to a million entrepreneurs. The entire startup ecosystem is interested in the 1% of entrepreneurs who are fundable, have already defined strong market opportunities, and are already well on their way. Tags: StartUp 101. Please try to understand why.

Silicon Valley 114

Silicon Valley Startup Technical Review Early Stage 114

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

A version of this article appeared in the Harvard Business Review. The entrepreneur who founded and grew the largest startup in the world to $10 billion in revenue and got fired is someone you have probably never heard of. Durant took his money from his carriage company and bought a struggling automobile startup called Buick.

Michigan 268

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 268

Hippoland

JULY 6, 2018

From that perspective, things have been mostly rosy in the Silicon Valley for startups! except for 2008-2009, which is another story) But, I think we’re in trouble, Silicon Valley. I think we are *on our way down* as an early stage startup hub unless we start to fix some of our problems around here.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley San Francisco Portugal Ireland 48