Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 4, 2009

This is true of most web application servers, caches like memcached, and all of the network infrastructure that connects them. Imagine you want to store data about customers, each of whom has "last name" field in your database. For example, Friendster was famously vertically partitioned at one time in its growth curve.

San Francisco 151

San Francisco Architecture Startup Database 151

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

As an informal observation, it’s not uncommon to see different companies in the same vertical adopt a “me-too” approach in their design aesthetic. Customer support availability (via live chat & “help” buttons on the top right). Take Advantage Of Browser Caching. A rewards program.

Conversion 112

Conversion Design Caching eCommerce 112

ConversionXL

DECEMBER 15, 2011

People are used to 2 kinds of menus: horizontal and vertical. People don’t need to see a menu to know where the ‘contact’ link is at – by default they look for it as the last link in a horizontal menu or the bottom link in a vertical one. Use interviews with existing customers to map out different personas.

Design 121

Design SMS Conversion Vertical 121

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 22, 2009

Getting Out of the Building Wasn’t Entertainment – Discovery and Validation Now that I was the master of the “facts” about customer needs in these specialized vertical markets , and with my team of vertical marketers , I thought I had achieved absolution and redemption. Did the customers know they had a problem?

Silicon Valley 172

Silicon Valley RSS Vertical California 172

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 26, 2009

These technology startups had no risk capital – just customers/purchase orders from government/military/intelligence agencies. military and intelligence agencies and defense contractors. This post is about the rise of “risk capital” and how it came to be associated with what became Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley 159

Silicon Valley Securities and Exchange Commission Venture Capital RSS 159

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 29, 2009

Ampex’s first customer was Bing Crosby who wanted to record his radio programs for rebroadcast (and had exclusive distribution rights.) Ampex made the first tape recorders in the U.S ( copied from captured German models ,) and Terman was on its board as well.

Silicon Valley 125

Silicon Valley SBIC San Francisco RSS 125

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 12, 2009

Cray’s first customers were the U.S. At Ardent our hypothesis was that if we could build a desktop supercomputer powerful enough to run and display these numerical simulations there were enough customers to make this a big business. I concluded that my first job was to understand what Cray’s markets, customers and applications.

Silicon Valley 147

Silicon Valley RSS Software Review Technical Review 147

blog.expensify.com

APRIL 24, 2012

If you want to serve enterprise customers,NET is one of the best ways to do that and do it well. The tools which you find restrictive I consider a huge timesaver (which paying customers tend to appreciate)… they allow me to rapidly prototype and get solutions to customers. It’s like arguing against vertical software.

Java 107

Java PHP Software Review Coder 107

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and ask “what’s in it for me?” Eyetracking visualizations show that users often read website content in an F-shaped pattern : two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe. Use http caching , or caching plugins if you’re on WordPress.

Caching 130

Caching Audience Vertical Sales 130