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. A great business plan doesn’t have to be a book in length, with extensive financial statements.

Silicon Valley 342

Silicon Valley Exit Strategy Business Plan Restful 342

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

Entrepreneurs beyond Silicon Valley, including those working abroad, often have to retool Lean Startup methods to apply them in places with very different business cultures. Those conversations can often circle around the difficulties of entrepreneurship outside Silicon Valley. On September 24 in the U.S.

Silicon Valley 168

Silicon Valley Lean Puerto Rico Japan 168

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2023

All banks are looking hard these days to get back in the game, and certain ones, like Silicon Valley Bank, are more focused on small businesses, even though that focus has cost them dearly in recent weeks. That's just reality.

Equity 303

Equity Silicon Valley Finance Early Stage 303

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

We recently had Tim Berry, Palo Alto Software founder and business planning expert, present our Bplans audience with his latest advice on lean business planning. It’s all about making your business life easier, doing what works best, getting the best results by tracking what works and always improving.

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

But for the last decade “innovation” in Chinese software meant something different than it did in Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs in Beijing were knowledgeable about Silicon Valley, entrepreneurship and the state of software and tools available for two reasons. Of course “copy” is too strong a word. Management 101.

China 323

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 323

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2020

Resources for starting a transportation business. Transportation business plan samples. How to start a non-emergency medical transport business. Free downloadable business plan template . 44 percent of businesses plan to increase tech spending in 2020, up from 38 percent in 2019. Technology.

Technical Review 97

Technical Review Green Silicon Valley Non-Compete 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

A full business plan and financial modelling can come later to add details. Ideas are not enough to gauge business potential. With these steps, you really don’t need a rich uncle or a benefactor in Silicon Valley these days to start your own business, and keep ahead of the crowd.

Technical Cofounder 184

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2018

investors, for example, it may be worthwhile to set up an office in New York City or Silicon Valley. No entrepreneur should consider any of these challenges as hard barriers, but they do need to be aware of higher risk perception, and include their mitigation strategy in their business plan for all to see.

New York City 202

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 202

YoungUpstarts

MAY 2, 2018

Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is a comedy series which follows the lives of a computer programmer and his geeky friends as they try to take advantage of the high tech gold rush.

Silicon Valley 156

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur New York City Incubator 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. You may have heard that venture capitalists in Silicon Valley no longer read business plans.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2020

All banks are looking hard these days to get back in the game, and certain ones, like Silicon Valley Bank, are more focused on small businesses. If you don’t have that, there are things that you can do to compensate. That's just reality.

Silicon Valley 406

Silicon Valley Equity Startup Finance 406

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 7, 2016

Depending on what a startup needs, the cost and equity share will vary — ranging from a full scope of projections, a business plan, and modeling, to a simple consulting partnership. Right now, Silicon Valley has a highly creative pool of talent, but there is a blaringly obvious missing link between creativity and business.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Incubator Asia 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2015

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. A great business plan doesn’t have to be a book in length, with extensive financial statements.

Business Plan 120

Business Plan Silicon Valley Startup Exit Strategy 120

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

Meredith Perry came up with the idea for uBeam while still in college at University of Pennsylvania and like many great inventors won her school’s business plan competition. It turns out that while she had the right idea the materials needed some reworking to come in at the cost structure required to build a business at scale.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence CTO Hire 418

Up and Running

AUGUST 21, 2017

In addition to these four rules, investors are logically drawn to startups that have a solid business plan , adequate documentation, and evidence to back up even their most optimistic financial forecasts. So, no: VC funding isn’t such a rare thing in Silicon Valley or anywhere else. Bruce is the U.S.

Silicon Valley 86

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Valuation Later Stage 86

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

But for the last decade “innovation” in Chinese software meant something different than it did in Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs in Beijing were knowledgeable about Silicon Valley, entrepreneurship and the state of software and tools available for two reasons. Of course “copy” is too strong a word. Management 101.

China 215

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 215

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2023

The simple answer is that with all the staging of TV lights and billionaire investors, it’s nothing like Silicon Valley. Others with the right confidence and personality were able to garner funding, despite a weak business plan. Yet the process is eerily realistic, and every entrepreneur can glean some important lessons.

Entrepreneur 279

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Due Diligence Silicon Valley 279

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2014

investors, for example, it may be worthwhile to set up an office in New York City or Silicon Valley. No entrepreneur should consider any of these challenges as hard barriers, but they do need to be aware of higher risk perception, and include their mitigation strategy in their business plan for all to see.

New York City 254

New York City Silicon Valley Technical Review Bootstrapping 254

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Heck, in Silicon Valley even the waiters can do it.). Filed under: Business Model versus Business Plan , Customer Development , Lean LaunchPad. . ——— If you’re an experienced coder and user interface designer you think nothing is easier than diving into Ruby on Rails , Nodes.js

Lean 333

Lean Web Coder Business Model 333

YoungUpstarts

MAY 12, 2016

You may look to Silicon Valley for inspiration, where hyped tech startups have investors vying to get their money in the stocks. Create a Killer Business Plan. Your business plan is extremely important to pitch your business idea to potential investors or lenders, like a bank. Reduce Personal Debt.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Silicon Valley Startup Business Plan 100

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2021

I observed that teaching case studies and/or how to write a business plan as a capstone entrepreneurship class didn’t match the hands-on chaos of a startup. Steve Weinstein , 30-year veteran of Silicon Valley technology companies and Hollywood media companies. It Started With An Idea. He runs H4X Labs.

Lean 385

Lean Security Asia SBIR 385

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

As a member of one of these local organizations, I use Angelsoft on the investor side to review business plans, deal flow, and help orchestrate presenters at monthly meetings of the local organization. The Founding Chapter is in Silicon Valley, California, (naturally), and I have a connection there if you need a start.

Angel Investor 255

Angel Investor North America South America Accredited Investor 255

The Next Web

JULY 20, 2013

They speak about how they love to help entrepreneurs build successful companies, yet when I ask them to give me feedback on my business plan or idea, they usually don’t even bother writing me back. Prior to Credo, Andrej worked at an early growth fund Benson Oak, the first backer of AVG Technologies . VCs are arrogant. VCs are cowards.

Silicon Valley 124

Silicon Valley Mongolia Technical Cofounder Venture Capital 124

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2009

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. I remember presenting our ideas for Marketing Automation to one VP of Marketing in a large Silicon Valley company. It’s just a story about what happened to me.

Silicon Valley 225

Silicon Valley Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Startup 225

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

It’s interesting that the question is pitch deck’s being obsolete versus business plans being obsolete. So very few investors want Business Plans any more. So having spent a lot of time thinking about this Silicon Valley is a thing in and of itself. Are Pitch Decks becoming obsolete?

Technical Review 288

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Software Review 288

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2023

Most retail and commercial banks offer investment services to their customers, but these services have nothing to do with investing in your business. For these fees, they will develop a business plan, solicit investors, and negotiate term sheets to a closing.

Early Stage 182

Early Stage Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering 182

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 18, 2011

Probably nowhere else in the world is the idea of a startup happy place more entrenched than in Silicon Valley, where one electrical engineering professor, Frederick Terman, spawned an entire culture of new ventures back in the 1950s.

Silicon Valley 106

Silicon Valley Startup Engineer Programming 106

Professor VC

JUNE 7, 2018

I always enjoy teaching these types of groups because it makes me realize the bubble we live in here in Silicon Valley. For example, many visitors are surprised that nobody prepares business plans to raise funding. In the video, Mark calls out Silicon Valley as lazy for not doing basic research around markets.

Silicon Valley 31

Silicon Valley Hockey Stick Venture Capital Lean 31

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Most retail and commercial banks offer investment services to their customers, but these services have nothing to do with investing in your business. For these fees, they will develop a business plan, solicit investors, and negotiate term sheets to a closing.

Silicon Valley 362

Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering Term Sheet 362

crowdSPRING Blog

JANUARY 25, 2010

In March, Ross and I will be hosting a talk at South by Southwest; it’s called “ Third Coast: How to be a Startup Outside of Silicon Valley.&# We have been thinking a lot about this lately and discussing the challenges we have faced on our own path. Funding, too, was a challenge. Research, research, research.

Chicago 81

Chicago Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Entrepreneur 81

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

The Focus on Execution Versus Learning and Discovery The product development model assumes that customers needs are known, the product features are known, and your business model is known. Given this certainty, it’s logical that a startup will hire a sales and marketing team to simply execute your business plan. Order Here.

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

I don’t have an MBA and I don’t live in Silicon Valley. Write a great business plan, but know that few will read it. Business plans are an extremely valuable exercise and should always be presented to show the entrepreneur is serious and has done his homework. List them in your business plan.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2016

investors, for example, it may be worthwhile to set up an office in New York City or Silicon Valley. No entrepreneur should consider any of these challenges as hard barriers, but they do need to be aware of higher risk perception, and include their mitigation strategy in their business plan for all to see.

New York City 120

New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 120

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Startups wrote business plans, generated expansive 5-year forecasts and executed (hired, spent and built) to the plan. The mantra of “ first mover advantage ,” the idea that winners are the ones who are the first entrants in their market, became the conventional wisdom of investors in Silicon Valley.“

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

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

Up and Running

JULY 5, 2016

While we may think of a major hub like Silicon Valley as a prime example of an entrepreneurial city, the reality is that these epicenters of growth may not always offer the most supportive climate for new businesses. Ranked number one on WalletHub’s Best Cities to Start a Business, Sioux Falls is a great place to put down roots.

St. Louis 105

St. Louis Oklahoma City Oklahoma Tulsa 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2020

The simple answer is that with all the staging of TV lights and billionaire investors, it’s nothing like Silicon Valley. Others with the right confidence and personality were able to garner funding, despite a weak business plan. Yet the process is eerily realistic, and every entrepreneur can glean some important lessons.

Due Diligence 317

Due Diligence Silicon Valley Angel Investor Green 317