Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Ari Newman is an entrepreneur, mentor, investor, and a friend. He works at Techstars where his responsibility is to ensure that the connections between alumni, mentors, and staff are as robust as they can be – helping entrepreneurs “ do more faster ” day in and day out. Three months in, the burn is now at $70k/month.

Burn Rate 152

Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 152

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

Nick Kim , Crosscut’s Head of Platform, in his presentation at the 4th Annual VC Platform Summit, shared their Platform development methodology, which he viewed as an exercise in product development. For example, recruiting writ large is useful at all stages of development. Customer Development.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

The same issues arose time and again: big company management styles versus entrepreneurs wanting to shoot from the hip, founders versus professional managers, engineering versus marketing, marketing versus sales, missed schedule issues, sales missing the plan, running out of money, raising new money.

Silicon Valley 125

Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital Customer Development 125

Steve Blank

MAY 28, 2009

Market Risk vs. Invention Risk - Click to Enlarge For companies building web-based products, product development may be difficult, but with enough time and iteration engineering will eventually converge on a solution and ship a functional product - i t’s engineering, not invention. Am I in a company with “invention risk?

Vertical 144

Vertical Silicon Valley Marketing Customer 144

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

In an early-stage startup especially, revenue is not an important goal in and of itself. This may sound crazy, coming as it does from an advocate of c harging customers for your product from day one. Let’s start with a simple question: why do early-stage startups want revenue?

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Steve Blank

JUNE 25, 2009

They couldn’t keep up with the fast product development times that were enabled by using standard microprocessors. So their management teams were insisting that they OEM (buy from someone else) these products. The answer depends on your answer to two questions: which step in the Customer Development process are you on?

Technology 138

Technology Silicon Valley Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE 138

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 26, 2009

But theres no denying the level of support for entrepreneurs that we enjoy. The companies I spoke to all agreed that the community there was extremely supportive, especially in the critical ulta-early-stage. They take common stock, not preferred, a fact that the entrepreneurs mentioned to me many times.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Silicon Valley Startup Lean 113

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

Last May, I shared the news that long-time Lean Startup advocates Brant Cooper and Patrick Vlaskovits were working on a new book called The Lean Entrepreneur featuring illustrations by FAKEGRIMLOCK. The Embrace infant warmer was developed - by getting out of the country -- and how Rob Emrich learned and scaled his non-profit, Road of Life.

Lean 167

Lean Entrepreneur Agile San Francisco 167

Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

Next, you have to deal with the daily crisis of product development and acquiring early customers. And here’s where life gets really interesting, as the reality of product development and customer input collide, the facts change so rapidly that the original well-thought-out business plan becomes irrelevant.

Founder 297

Founder Silicon Valley RSS China 297

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 17, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, November 17, 2008 The four kinds of work, and how to get them done: part one Ive written before about some of the advantages startups have when they are very small, like the benefits of having a pathetically small number of customers. Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha.

San Francisco 88

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 88

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? I’ve seen a range of options for supporting entrepreneurs, which I can rank from least to most involvement in companies by investors: financier VCs, e.g., Correlation Ventures. mentor VCs, e.g., most VCs. incubators, e.g., the many options in New York.

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

Steve Blank

MAY 7, 2009

In exchange, these VCs/companies get early looks at new deal flow and offer aspiring entrepreneurs feedback and advice on their business plan. These competitions started in the early 1980 ‘s at the University of Texas and have sprouted like mushrooms in the last 10 years.

Business Plan 140

Business Plan Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital 140

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2010

Yet at their early stages, they are not small versions of larger established companies. By now, the board has a good sense of the skill set of the CEO and executive team as entrepreneurs. The table below helps elucidate some of the characteristics of entrepreneurial executives by stage of the company. What’s Next.

Agile 120

Agile Development Team Review Leadership Merger 120

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

Thirty years later we now realize that its one the causes of early startup failure. Thirty years later we now realize that its one the causes of early startup failure. This series of posts is a brief explanation of how we’ve evolved from Product Development to Customer Development to the Lean Startup.

Silicon Valley 260

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 260

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 30, 2009

A discounted price is available for early stage entrepreneurs and students. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha. Lean Startup Circle - a mailing list of dedicated and helpful entrepreneurs.

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Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 68

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 14, 2008

The people who are the lifeblood of an early-stage startup are earlyvangelists. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha. Thoughts on scientific product development Lo, my 5 subscribers, who are you?

San Francisco 131

San Francisco Customer Lean Continuous Deployment 131

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, March 13, 2009 Dont launch Heres a common question I get from startups, especially in the early stages: when should we launch? This is the usual reason given for a marketing launch, but for most early stage startups, its a failure. Do some Customer Development instead.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 8, 2009

When it becomes possible to build products "live" with customers, the cycle time changes and design becomes a much more dynamic process. We still struggle to create Firm software that is defect-free, and it still requires customer insight (and maybe some customer development) to discover what will Delight.

Software Review 87

Software Review Design Software San Francisco 87

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 2, 2009

Here in Tampa, our biggest challenge is convincing the regions technology "leadership" that grassroots economic development is a good thing. That fostering and encourage entrepreneurs to bring companies and products to market is a great source of innovation, job creation, etc. Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha.

San Francisco 60

San Francisco Tampa Continuous Deployment Lean 60

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

Yet the processes that early-stage companies were using were identical to that of large corporations. In hindsight it appeared clear that startups that survive the first few tough years do not follow the traditional product-centric launch model espoused by product managers or the venture capital community.

Silicon Valley 127

Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital California 127

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 9, 2009

leanstartup #goap It was great to be in an audience of entrepreneurs who recognized the value of iteration and speed. benjaminjoffe : early adopters of buggy product are visionary customers, sometimes smarter than founders! Startups need to spend time with these customers. . # goap Thanks! Brilliant insight.

Lean 60

Lean San Francisco Japan Continuous Deployment 60

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

Eighty some pages later I realized that a) I had some great war stories as a good marketeer and failed CEO, b) I’d have to pay my wife and kids to read them, c) the three of them were probably the entire total available market, and d) when I looked at what I had done and what other entrepreneurs had done at their startups, that there was a pattern.

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Redemption Silicon Valley RSS California 126

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

To give you a better idea of what entrepreneurs in this industry are thinking about during each phase of the startup process, I interviewed SaaS entrepreneurs from all over the world, including our own COO Noah Parsons. Noah has been a key figure in the making of LivePlan, our own SaaS product. One-Page Business Pitch Template.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 23, 2013

LSC: Tell us about the customer development you did for your book: Alistair: We''ve been thrilled at how Lean Analytics seemed to resonate with founders. We decided to find out, and talked with around 130 founders, entrepreneurs, investors and analysts. The confusion isn''t that the results are hazy.

Analytics 167

Analytics Lean Widget Metrics 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

If we already knew who the customer was, how they would behave, how much they would pay, and how to reach them, this wouldn’t be a disruptive innovation. Just because entrepreneurs tend to forget about these models doesn’t mean their investors do. Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

BeyondVC

MAY 5, 2004

This makes a ton of sense as the entrepreneur gets to understand a particular market and pain point for customers. In addition, the early stage business gets the customer to pay for its initial product development.

Product 60

Product Software Review Technical Review Early Stage 60

Steve Blank

MAY 4, 2009

In an early stage startup, instead of sales being up front, the point departments are likely to be product development and customer development. Later on in this same company’s life, sales will become the pointy end and product development moves to a supporting role. Who’s on the Sharp End?

Silicon Valley 126

Silicon Valley RSS Non-Compete California 126

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 17, 2010

Our sponsors continue to support the conference as well as deserving entrepreneurs. Three premier early-stage venture investors have joined forces to sponsor the event: Baseline , Floodgate , and First Round Capital. Our sponsors continue to support the conference as well as deserving entrepreneurs. Bring your questions.

San Francisco 107

San Francisco Romania Cleveland South Africa 107

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 4, 2009

Ill mention one last thing about knowing what channels of communication your customers engage with. This is important, especially if you are a very early stage company. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? It also gives you insight into their language.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 68

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

Find Questions, Topics and People Add Question Add Question Team Configuration 500 Startups Guerilla Marketing Organizations Entrepreneurship Startup Founders & Entrepreneurs Startups Startup Incubators and Seed Programs Seedcamp Y Combinator TechStars Lean Startups What is the perfect startup team?

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Startup CTO Hire Cofounder 51

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 24, 2009

I liked the flattering Venture Hacks commentary so much Ill just quote it: Many founders believe that early stage startups are endeavors of execution. The customer is known, the product is known, and all we have to do is act. He believes that many early stage startups are labors of learning.

Lean 74

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 74

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

If you’re an Entrepreneur, you can do it from any place in the world. what are the most crucial steps to be taken by a new tech startup when outsourcing major part of the tech to IT firms or outsourcing “product development” eg new social media website project? If you’re a young entrepreneur, than congrats!

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 12, 2009

Im incredibly grateful to the early adopters who were able to be there. These were serious entrepreneurs who have the vision to see how the lean startup concept can help them increase their odds of success. Thus, Im excited to announce that were trying an experiment in providing scholarships for worthy entrepreneurs.

Lean 60

Lean Programming San Francisco Continuous Deployment 60

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 20, 2009

Heres the excerpt: Today’s high-tech entrepreneurs have at their command more than just the ability to invent new technologies — they have mastered the discipline and the methodology required to harness those technologies in order to serve customers. Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha.

Lean 68

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 68

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

It is the first in a series of posts he’s writing about the decisions a young entrepreneur needs to make when she/he is first starting a business. So for this first post, here’s the best advice I can give you: join an awesome founding team and get your product out the door ASAP. Unless that person is … you?

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 19, 2008

What all these teachers had in common were two things: they were technology early adopters that were willing to take a chance on a new software product, and they all had similar problems organizing their classes and students. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup?

San Francisco 60

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 60

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Thursday, July 9, 2009 10 years of entrepreneurship I recently passed my ten-year anniversary of becoming an entrepreneur. We were focused on revenue, but we didnt understand that revenue is not important for its own sake in an early stage company. As a young entrepreneur, this is quite motivational.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94