A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

It’s often said that you shouldn’t talk about price during customer development interviews. ” How many times have you heard someone agree that “it would be great if someone did X,” but when show them someone did do X, but it costs $39.99, they don’t buy? 10,000/mo means larger companies only.

Bootstrapping 294

Bootstrapping Technical Review B2C Sales Cycle 294

Up and Running

MARCH 21, 2018

On places like Facebook, where the CPM (cost to reach 1,000) is the cheapest of any ad network ever: Source. Simple brand awareness ads can reach thousands of people a day, costing you nothing more than a few quarters that can be recouped from your couch. Custom development. WordPress DIY. The list goes on and on.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Technical Review Hosting SEO 107

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

We’re here for Greycroft’s CEO Summit – a gathering of the CEO’s of their portfolio companies with guest speakers covering topics including how to build your team, PR, customer development, etc. It is the key to “customer development” that Steve Blank talks about. I’m going to save that for a future blog post.

PR 279

PR Technical Review Portfolio Customer Development 279

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2016

You must also understand the value the product provides customers (along with the rest of your business model.). And going for crowdfunding before you do customer discovery with customers can lock you into the wrong idea too early. Filed under: Customer Development , SiriusXM Radio Show.

Detroit 120

Detroit Baltimore Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 7, 2020

Finally to have a better chance of a viable enterprise, they need to test all the other hypotheses in their business/mission model (pricing, demand creation, revenue, costs, etc.). The key principles of customer development are: There are no facts inside the building so get the heck outside. Ask if you can record the session.

Customer 419

Customer Business Model Restful Video 419

Steve Blank

MARCH 25, 2009

Was the company attempting to be a low cost provider by introducing cheaper products to an existing market? While we sometimes cut the price of graphics boards, it was only because we offered our customers no compelling reasons to buy one that was priced equivalently to the market share leaders. No, not really.

Silicon Valley 157

Silicon Valley Marketing RSS California 157

Steve Blank

JULY 30, 2009

If that’s you, by all means hire a VP of Sales with a great rolodex and call on established mainstream companies – and ignore the rest of this post. Look for some “ skunk works &# project where the product developers are actively seeking alternatives to their own engineering organization.

Silicon Valley 143

Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development 143

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 31, 2014

But if you want to build a scalable startup you need to be asking how you can you get enough customers/users/payers to build a business that can grow revenues past several $100M/year. startups ignore the rest of the world until they scale in their own country. Filed under: Business Model versus Business Plan , Customer Development.

Global 335

Global Australia Silicon Valley China 335

Steve Blank

MARCH 11, 2016

The combination of the Business Model Canvas, Customer Development and Agile Engineering is an extremely efficient template for the students to follow. One thing we always kept in mind – we were teaching students a methodology and a set of skills for the rest of their lives – not running an incubator or accelerator.

Lean 120

Lean Incubator Business Model Channel 120

Steve Blank

MAY 11, 2009

They had this great architecture, and Apple had figured out to get movies into their own computers for a demo, but for the rest of us there was no physical device that allowed an average consumer to plug a video camera or VCR into and get video into a Mac. But the rest of the management team really skeptical. Little did we know.

Video 184

Video Silicon Valley RSS California 184

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 2, 2024

Stakeholders have to ascertain not only which things their customers like and which they hate, but also pinpoint the goods or services for which there’s a pressing consumer need they’re either unable to find or can’t reasonably afford. Creativity costs money and innovation drives value,” Truong explained.

North America 97

North America Artificial Inteligence America Valuation 97

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

customer development. Some general customer development slides click here. Called “ How to Build a Startup: The Lean LaunchPad ,” it walks you through the Business Model Canvas and an overview of the customer development process. So for the rest of us I put together this Visitors Guide to Silicon Valley.

Open Source 335

Open Source Silicon Valley Lean Customer Development 335

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

If there was any doubt among the teams about the value of what they’re learning, Blinken put it to rest with a compelling overview of how so many of today’s complex global problems – from stopping Ebola to monitoring cease-fires and improving food security – demand innovative, tech-based solutions. Looking ahead.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Washington United Kingdom Lean 120

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

If there was any doubt among the teams about the value of what they’re learning, Blinken put it to rest with a compelling overview of how so many of today’s complex global problems – from stopping Ebola to monitoring cease-fires and improving food security – demand innovative, tech-based solutions. Looking ahead.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Washington United Kingdom Lean 120

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 7, 2008

We had endless arguments internally about what features it should include, how the avatars should look, and how much it should cost. Finally the day came, we unleashed the landing page, emailed our existing customers, and started advertising online. Just load them all in and choose a low cost-per-click. I used to use $.05,

Demand 167

Demand San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 167

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

In general, successful startups do three major things: They understand who their customers are, what they want and clearly define the product or service Unique Selling Point(USP). However, the key difference between a successful and unsuccessful startup rests on the shoulders of the entrepreneur themselves. By customer development.

Startup 156

Startup Acquisition Business Model Finance 156

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 25, 2010

Read the rest of The Startups Rules of Speed - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? But as the team gets bigger, early mistakes become more costly. Pretty soon, a soul-searching meeting ensues. Are we going too fast?

Software Review 141

Software Review San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 141

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

You can read the rest of the posts in the series by clicking here *. Pre-launch customer development data is another way, sometimes in the form of user surveys for consumer companies or interviews with potential beta customers for B2B businesses. They’ll want to understand trends in customer acquisition costs.

Seed Stage 149

Seed Stage B2B Seed Capital Revenue 149

Steve Blank

JUNE 11, 2012

In a university, the Lean LaunchPad class teaches a methodology the students can use for the rest of their careers. In an incubator, the Lean LaunchPad develops angel or venture-funded startups. 2) Get the teams out of the building to test their hypotheses with prospective customers. They left with very deep knowledge.

Lean 258

Lean Incubator Business Model Georgia 258

ConversionXL

JANUARY 31, 2014

note: If you’re a startup, you’ll want to use customer development questions for your page to resonate with future traffic). The opinion they’ve subconsciously formed in between 1/13th to 1/50th of a second will influence every decision they make for the rest of their time on the page. image source. image source.

Analytics 134

Analytics Video Matching Conversion 134

Steve Blank

APRIL 6, 2009

If you are a practitioner of Customer Development, ESL was doing it before most us were born. Gorbachev, now the Soviet Premier, had to grapple with the spiraling cost of military systems that weren’t amortized by consumer purchases. And the rest is history. If you think the Cold War turned out the right side up (i.e.

Silicon Valley 194

Silicon Valley Stealth RSS California 194

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2010

We’ll build the class around the business model / customer development / agile development solution stack. Instead you will be getting your hands dirty talking to customers, partners, competitors, as you encounter the chaos and uncertainty of how a startup actually works. What are the 9 parts of a business model?

Wiki 316

Wiki Lean Management Business Model 316

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

As a formal method, the Lean Startup consists of three parts: The Business Model Canvas – to frame hypotheses, Customer Development – to test those hypotheses in front of customers, and Agile Engineering – to build Minimum Viable Products to maximize learning. Customer Segments is changed to Beneficiaries.

Business Model 120

Business Model Revenue Channel Community 120

Steve Blank

AUGUST 5, 2010

Finally the amount of capital needed to take a drug to FDA trials could be enormously expensive, at least 10x more than startup costs at an electron-based company. The advantage of commodity software stacks drops initial startup costs for Internet Commerce companies. Filed under: Customer Development , Venture Capital.

Lean 263

Lean Internet Silicon Valley Venture Capital 263

Steve Blank

MAY 13, 2010

They’re deep into Customer Development ,” he said. Hmm, I asked, “Can you go back to the beginning and tell me about your Customer Discovery process? The rest of his story was mostly a blur. Customer Development is the process of how you get out of the building and search for the model. Here’s why.

Founder 226

Founder Cofounder Business Model Customer Development 226

Steve Blank

MARCH 11, 2015

They know the activities, resources and partners (manufacturing, regulation, IP, supply chain, etc.) – and the costs to deliver the product/service and have well defined product development and product management tools that emphasize the linear nature of shipping products to existing customers. and how to price the product.

Widget 120

Widget Lean Business Model Metrics 120

The Startup Toolkit

DECEMBER 12, 2012

Customer Development and UX both have good tools for doing this. But if you knew you would be making chairs for the rest of your career, you would take the time to build your workbench first. Lean is about front-loading your learning instead of front-loading your costs. You should do the same with your company and career.

Lean 54

Lean Startup Metrics Retention 54

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 2, 2008

but rest assured they would be. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Alas, they arent published in a dead-tree medium yet, so I cant say something like "they are the essential reference on my bookcase." No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

San Francisco 125

San Francisco Software Review Technical Review Continuous Deployment 125

Steve Blank

AUGUST 4, 2016

These include the continued pursuit of weapons of mass destruction by states and non-state groups, the outbreak of internal conflict across the Middle East and in parts of Africa, the most significant flow of refugees since World War II, and a changing climate that is beginning to affect both developed and developing countries.

Lean 165

Lean Government Agile Africa 165

Steve Blank

AUGUST 4, 2016

These include the continued pursuit of weapons of mass destruction by states and non-state groups, the outbreak of internal conflict across the Middle East and in parts of Africa, the most significant flow of refugees since World War II, and a changing climate that is beginning to affect both developed and developing countries.

Lean 120

Lean Government Agile Africa 120

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Sloan put in place GM’s management accounting system (borrowed from DuPont) that for the first time allowed the company to: 1) produce an annual operating forecast that compared each division’s forecast (revenue, costs, capital requirements and return on investment) with the company’s financial goals.

Silicon Valley 179

Silicon Valley United States RSS Customer Development 179

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 15, 2009

In practice, how developers respond to this dilemma is determined by their incentives, which are driven by the culture of their team. Who will ultimately bear the cost of their mistakes? This cycle repeats for a while, until the team either catches up to all the conflicts or just asks the rest of the team for a general check-in freeze.

Continuous Deployment 167

Continuous Deployment Software Review San Francisco Lean 167

Steve Blank

MAY 21, 2009

Without a budget, costs can quickly spiral out of control (last minute impulse purchases to jazz up your booth, for example) and defeat your best laid plans. A rule of thumb is that your space costs represent about a quarter of your total show budget. Be sure to look at a floor plan before you choose your site.

Silicon Valley 203

Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development 203

Steve Blank

MARCH 22, 2009

And you’d like me to do my talk on Customer Development and startups?” “No, we’re the other CIA.” Since it was the military and I was a lowly airman (I was outranked by the rest of the entire air force), the answer I got was, “Don’t you know there’s a war on? It gave me a sense of purpose for the rest of the war.

Silicon Valley 267

Silicon Valley Thailand RSS Venture Capital 267

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

But, as any startup can tell you, this opens up a tremendous set of opportunities for the rest of us. As the costs of production fall, it’s getting easier and easier to send in a proposal or even a complete work. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? ideas (e.g.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2009

I was asked to explain why a marketing program that cost $150,000 bucks literally generated nothing in revenue for the company. Our president picked up on the momentum and asked me what I needed from the rest of the exec team to fix this debacle. They hit each other with baseball bats until one of them dropped.) True? .&#

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development 120

andrewchenblog.com

MARCH 10, 2010

Coupled with A/B testing, customer development, and thinking through business problems in a scientific, hypothesis-driven way, you end up with a powerful cocktail of techniques to build a modern startup in the most iterative way possible. Listen to your customers. The main difference is turn around time and cost.

Technical Review 47

Technical Review Design Las Vegas Product 47