Steve Blank

APRIL 9, 2009

Five Easy Pieces – The Marketing Mission After a few months of talking to customers , talking to our channel and working with sales we defined the marketing Mission (our job) was to: Help Sales deliver $25 million in sales with a 45% gross margin. Two paragraphs, Five bullets. It didn’t take more.

Silicon Valley 259

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS PR 259

Steve Blank

APRIL 30, 2009

SuperMac sold our graphic boards for the Macintosh through multiple distribution channels: direct sales to major accounts, national chains, independent rep firms, etc. But the computer retail channel was a large part of our sales. Or blame my MarCom department who approved it. Worry about the sales results. What did we learn?

Sales 120

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas 120

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2009

For our tech project (and likely others in our field) the value is in accurately predicting platforms and information channels in the next 6months-1 year. This is more challengine than it appears, and method of insulation is supporting varied input channels. Look forward to your next post a usual! You guys are setting a great example!

Silicon Valley 225

Silicon Valley Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Startup 225

Steve Blank

MAY 22, 2009

Reply steveblank , on May 22, 2009 at 2:39 pm Said: Morteza, The comments about “ignore this post&# were meant that if your sales channel is the web you rarely go to trade shows. You are correct all channels, web or otherwise, need to generate awareness and leads. These two posts were amazing.

Silicon Valley 128

Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development 128

A Crowded Space

AUGUST 20, 2015

The sales and marketing channels will be complete guesses - trying lots of different things to see what works. Once the product / market fit is established and acquisition channels are better understood, the startup can enter the next phase. Marketing spend tends to hone in on the best performing channels.

Vertical 60

Vertical Channel Acquisition Metrics 60

Austin Startup

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Perhaps they have previous leadership experience at these companies or are still there today. In other cases, they may come from your channel partners or elsewhere. This is useful for a number of reasons, the most obvious of which is to help you navigate the right channels in your vertical and open doors to potential customers.

Advisory Board 48

Advisory Board Sweat Equity Marketing Vertical 48

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

A few weeks back I wrote about 5 traits of leadership and some of the characteristics that great leaders share. Leadership is all well and good (not to mention completely necessary), but there is more to a business than simply the person or people who lead it. Related posts: Small Business and Startups: 5 Traits of Leadership.

Small Business 95

Small Business Startup Leadership Vertical 95

Steve Blank

JUNE 5, 2009

You make several first order approximations about your business model, distribution channels, demand creation, and customer acceptance. The person who can quickly re-channel that excitement to a different idea (one based on fact, not faith) will have much more success. There is no certainty about a startup on day-one.

Silicon Valley 212

Silicon Valley RSS Vertical California 212

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

He has a wealth of experience in the data vertical, having served in previous roles at companies such as Intel, AllScripts, and Vision.bi. In his 17-year career, Rosenberg has developed key insights into the minds of CFOs and FP&A teams, with strengths in both customer-facing leadership and data analytics itself.

Hiring 136

Hiring Software Review Customer 136

Steve Blank

APRIL 2, 2009

press and use it to generate end user demand and then drive that demand into our sales channel. Reply SuperMac War Story 6: Building The Killer Team – Mission, Intent and Values « Steve Blank , on April 9, 2009 at 5:02 am Said: [.] The Potrero benchmark strategy was one component of this creating end user demand through PR.)

Silicon Valley 124

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 124

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

The product development model is so focused on building and shipping the product that it ignores the entire process of testing your basic hypothesis about your business model (customers, channel, pricing, etc.) before you ship. Not testing these hypotheses upfront is a fundamental and, in many cases, fatal error most startups make.

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Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

Hearpreneur

JUNE 24, 2022

Our business model is based on our desire to help more people create sustainable wealth and in so doing, develop healthy habits and great examples of leadership that could easily be transferred to the next generation. So, the word vertical is what I have been looking for. Thanks to Stella Cooper, PaydayLoansUK ! #14-

Naming 108

Naming Entrepreneur South America Social Media 108

Steve Blank

MAY 11, 2009

Since we had gotten out of the software business when we came out of Chapter 11 , and our sales channel didn’t know what to do with software, we licensed ReelTime to Adobe. But you probably never heard of ReelTime. You may know it by its final name.

Video 164

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Austin Startup

OCTOBER 13, 2010

StoredIQ has rapidly gained traction with customers across several vertical industries, including financial services, healthcare and oil and gas. I am delighted to join StoredIQ’s leadership team and capitalize on the tremendous market opportunity that now exists to solve this critical information management problem.&#.

Vertical 59

Vertical Early Stage Cofounder Channel 59

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

Pixar was at the forefront of 3-D animation and storytelling but had no knowledge of the movie industry or distribution channels. Focus on companies outside of your industry or vertical. If necessary, set up communications channels exclusively for the individuals working between both companies to keep everyone in the know.

Small Business 153

Small Business Reputation Partner Revenue 153

Feld Thoughts

MAY 30, 2018

Connect ‘18 is bringing together thought leaders and experts – from across industries and verticals – who are experts in the world of data-driven customer intelligence and marketing. Steve Mateer, Data Channel Executive, Pitney Bowes. Sarah Bird, CEO, Moz. Carley Brantz, VP Revenue Marketing, SendGrid.

Denver 16

Denver Artificial Inteligence B2C Vertical 16

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

Reply Customer Development Manifesto: The Path of Warriors and Winners (part 5) » Dig for Leadership - Stories that try to make the world a better place. , AKPC_IDS += "1115,"; (No Ratings Yet) Loading … Posted in Leadership | Tagged [.] The absolute number depends on your channel and industry.

Customer Development 242

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 242

Steve Blank

AUGUST 20, 2009

Rule 1: In an existing market Customer Development means not only understanding potential customers, but your competitors in detail – their product features, their sales channels, their demand creation strategy, their business model, etc. to look at: when the plan (or process!) is clearly defined, but we fail to follow it.

Silicon Valley 181

Silicon Valley Startup RSS Customer Development 181

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

After that there’s a discussion of how the product will reach the customer and the potential distribution channel. Sales is heavily building and staffing a national sales organization; the sales channel has quotas and sales goals. Building the sales channel and supporting the marketing can burn a lot of cash.

Silicon Valley 260

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 260

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

With that implicit assumption, startups hire a VP of Sales with a great rolodex and call on established mainstream companies while marketing creates a brand and buzz to create demand and drive it into the sales channel (web, direct salesforce, etc.) End result? If they had done this, there would have been zero dollars in sales.

Customer Development 196

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 196

Steve Blank

JULY 9, 2009

I remember after a month or two of talking to 14-22 year old male gamers (our potential target market,) I realized that for the first time in my career I had no emotional connection to my customers or channel partners. I was about 90 days into the company when I began to realize there was something very different about this business.

Silicon Valley 139

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YoungUpstarts

APRIL 28, 2020

While our previous logo was a vertically-angled rocket ship, the new one – which features a box instead of a rocket – shows that we’ve reached a steady trajectory after take-off and demonstrates clearer how we help our customers. We found it extremely important not to hide anything behind the curtains.

Social Media 191

Social Media Channel Vertical Partner 191

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

have product/market fit,) then you invest the dollars to create end user demand and drive those customers into your sales channel. When you and your board agree you’ve found a repeatable and scalable sales model (i.e. Customer Development (and Lean) is about continuous customer contact/iteration to find the right time for execution.

Lean 244

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 244

Steve Blank

MARCH 19, 2009

I knew we were selling through a multi-level indirect sales channel. Market messages to indirect sales channels are just like that. As we found out when we interviewed our dealers, our sales department was using extra commission payments – called Spif’s – to incentivize the channel to move our product.) What did I learn so far?

Silicon Valley 185

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

The key is channeling what you learn when you drive onto paper for retention purposes so you have to write it down soon afterward. And if we’re reflective, it’s also one of the most important success criteria for investors, senior executives, tech writers and virtually anybody involved in business leadership. If so, why?

Technical Review 356

Technical Review Framework Audience Media 356

Steve Blank

APRIL 20, 2009

In contrast, spark gaps are broad-band radio “noise&# sources – the idea of discrete radio channels was impossible spark gaps because of this. I’ll stop channeling James Burke now. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance I always had been curious about how Silicon Valley, a place I had lived and worked in, came to be.

Silicon Valley 270

Silicon Valley RSS San Francisco Technical Review 270

Steve Blank

JULY 13, 2009

Given the lukewarm feedback we were getting from potential customers and channel buyers we should have dramatically dialed back the hype until the follow-on games could match it. The Customer Validation lesson of, “no formal launch until you have early sales validating the product and sales process&# was also born here.

Silicon Valley 122

Silicon Valley Product RSS California 122

Steve Blank

JULY 2, 2009

You can be an Independent studio or do “work for hire&# (either a revenue share or buy-out model) - If you’re an independent studio you have a set of choices for distribution channel and marketing models. - We understood none of this. More detail in future posts. steve Twitted by altgate , on July 2, 2009 at 5:22 pm Said: [.]

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS Software Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2012

A while back I found some great business leadership insights in “ The Secrets of Tuned In Leaders ”, by Craig Stull, Phil Myers & David Meerman Scott. Often, this means specializing in a single vertical market or industry. Leadership is distributed. Develop new channels? But what does that really mean?

Vertical 223

Vertical Distribution Leadership Programming 223

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

A while back I found some great business leadership insights in “ The Secrets of Tuned In Leaders ”, by Craig Stull, Phil Myers & David Meerman Scott. Often, this means specializing in a single vertical market or industry. Leadership is distributed. Develop new channels? But what does that really mean?

Startup 233

Startup Leadership Vertical Distribution 233

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2010

A while back I found some great product leadership guidance in “ The Secrets of Tuned In Leaders ”, by Craig Stull, Phil Myers & David Meerman Scott. Often, this means specializing in a single vertical market or industry. Leadership is distributed. Develop new channels? Should you expand your marketing programs?

Leadership 224

Leadership Vertical Distribution Programming 224

Transformify

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

We have a random channel on Slack that is full of fun tidbits throughout the day, some design related and some not so much. Our leadership team sets a good example by being highly responsive to Slack messages and other forms of communication. On top of that, 56% of our workforce is made up of women.

Global 72

Global Angel Investor Design Vertical 72

Steve Blank

MAY 7, 2009

My two cents is that a business plan is the single place to collect your thinking about about your: business model, distribution channel, demand creation plan, financial assumptions, and customer and product development plan. I was simply confused about what a plan was for.

Business Plan 140

Business Plan Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital 140

Steve Blank

JULY 16, 2009

Steve I have to tell you some bad news, I just showed our potential channel partners and customers a few completed pieces of the games we had. Tell them how great it’s going to be and see how many pre-orders we can get.” A month later the VP of Marketing appeared in my office again. They think the games stink.”

Silicon Valley 207

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Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

And they have channeled all this into whatever activity they could find outside of their home – sports, business, or …entrepreneurship. But a small percentage, whose brain chemistry and wiring is set for resilience, come out of this with a compulsive, relentless and tenacious drive to succeed.

Founder 297

Founder Silicon Valley RSS China 297

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 5, 2014

These new marketing channels mean CMOs command a growing share of their company’s investment in technology, and CIOs are none too happy about that. Masterful execution makes up one of the triangle’s two vertical sides. (I Professionalisms leadership management Rich Karlgaard teamwork workplace culture'

Algorithm 174

Algorithm Analytics Social Media Metrics 174

Mucker Lab

MAY 1, 2013

From the outside, they are vertically integrated challengers to decades if not hundred-years old incumbents. Turns out, for whatever reason – cultural, business model, leadership, even bad luck – many incumbents have yet to figure out what to do with software, always on connectivity, and technology.

Software 107

Software Silicon Valley Los Angeles Columbus 107