Up and Running

MAY 15, 2014

When I was going through the co-founder “dating” process, I’d found a potential partner through my network who seemed to be perfect. Though my potential partner was performing well by the numbers, my own productivity was dwindling as I spent more and more time on managing our relationship. I could hustle.

Partner 113

Partner Cofounder Equity Metrics 113

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 26, 2018

In our experience, structured customer development work is right up there amongst the most valuable things a founder can do in the early days of their startup. Once you have an idea that feels strong, it’s imperative to speak with customers about it. But good customer development is tough to do.

Customer 75

Customer Framework Differentiation Customer Development 75

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2015

Product development at this stage is the process of scaling up for manufacturing and marketing rollout. The technology is now embodied in a solution that can be replicated to reliably solve a real customer problem. Expanding the product line. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage. Business commercialization.

Product Development 120

Product Development Developer Product Angel Investor 120

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Customers who had were attracted to the freedom of a smartwatch discovered that the Galaxy Gear actually needs to be tethered to a Galaxy Note III via Bluetooth. More focus on customer demographics and implementing the findings into updates would probably have made a huge difference in sales. Don’t Make the Same Mistakes.

Product 222

Product Technical Review Software Review Green 222

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

Pattern Recognition One of the great things about being an entrepreneur is that you are constantly running a pattern recognition algorithm against a continual collection of customer and market data. Let’s Fire Our Customers Part of the DNA of great entrepreneurs is a bias towards decisive and immediate action. Get it done, now.

Customer 195

Customer Silicon Valley RSS California 195

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. ” Fire, Ready, Aim.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

Here’s how I learned why they were critical to successful customer development. I was an aggressive, young and a very tactical VP of marketing at Ardent , a supercomputer company – who really hadn’t a clue about the relationship between profound beliefs, customer discovery and strategy. I was a great marketer.

Business Model 305

Business Model Product Development Early Stage Customer Development 305

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 7, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, September 7, 2008 Customer Development Engineering Yesterday, I had the opportunity to guest lecture again in Steve Blank s entrepreneurship class at the Berkeley-Columbia executive MBA program. Unfortunately, positioning our product as an "IM add-on" was a complete mistake.

Customer Development 131

Customer Development Engineer San Francisco Developer 131

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

The niches these companies operate in are also directly connected to the R&D investment by industry: high tech, media, and telecom are the top-second industries investing most in research and development. They stand out with their product’s quality (both physical and digital). Reasons for new product development.

Offshore 140

Offshore Demand Germany Global 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2013

For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Product development. For a great idea person, the product details keep changing for the better, but nothing ever gets finished. Customer retention. Here are a few: Business networking. Investor negotiations.

Entrepreneur 275

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 275

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. So if all I need to do is make some customer calls, interview potential employees or help with his fund-raising decks – hallelujah.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

YoungUpstarts

JULY 16, 2019

Customers enjoy online shopping; their demands create enormous opportunities for eCommerce company’s growth. Have you developed any vision of a product development strategy? And keep in mind that the best option is to develop at least 5 domain names connected to your brand’s name to find an unoccupied domain.

eCommerce 113

eCommerce Software Developers Software Development Hosting 113

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 26, 2022

Designing new hardware products that have a positive impact on customers is no small feat. There are several elements that go into hardware product design that taps an unaddressed customer need, has the customer WOW factor, and succeeds long term in the market. Next is the product level planning.

Design 135

Design Development Team Review Product Technical Review 135

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Product development at this stage is the process of scaling up for manufacturing and marketing rollout. The technology is now embodied in a solution that can be replicated to reliably solve a real customer problem. Expanding the product line. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage. Business commercialization.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Early Stage Incubator Government 256

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 28, 2022

I came up with my company's name by envisioning what my company represents and that is an alpha level of customer service and training for me and my agents. We want our clients to feel like out of all the shopping they have done online they finally reached the top of their journey in securing the right product for their families.

Naming 150

Naming Entrepreneur Jordan Merger 150

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 5, 2010

I believe it is the best introduction to Customer Development you can buy. As all of you know, Steve Blank is the progenitor of Customer Development and author of The Four Steps to the Epiphany. You can imagine how well that worked. On the plus side, that means its a great deal. I think theyve succeeded.

Customer Development 166

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 166

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 10, 2023

2- Yes, to build a customer-centric business model Photo Credit: David Brewer We based and built it around the idea that our industry could, and should do better and that was the model that we were going to implement that idea as our core objective. Thanks to Evan Tunis, Florida Healthcare Insurance ! #2-

Business Plan 130

Business Plan Jordan Entrepreneur Florida 130

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 27, 2018

If you are building an innovative company, you will have to spend a good chunk of your time on customer discovery. Here are three tips for you based on my discussions with entrepreneurs who have come before you: Take Time to Understand the Needs and Expectations of Your Customers. Engage with End-Users. Engage with those end-users.

Customer 153

Customer Cofounder Demand B2B 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2013

Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. Invariably we were in crisis mode by delivery time, and the common complaint was that “management” always forced unrealistic schedules on developers. Investment partners are squeezing you.

Founder 250

Founder Startup Software Developers Software Development 250

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

Time and time again, there’s one critical component that hampers productivity and efficiency: We are wired to work within the confines of organizational silos. Your prospects, customers and partners (and employees for that matter) do not see you as a series of disparate organizations. They see you as a company.

Cofounder 174

Cofounder Technical Review Operations Employee 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

In today’s fast moving market, the basic product development cost and time are critical to survival. With the new rapid prototyping tools, products can be physically built for analysis, rather than just conceptualized. Provides networking with cofounders and strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

Muun found a market need but failed to compete with bigger names that provided customers with authoritative content and resources. One neglected its positioning by failing to target the biggest pain point, and the other failed to build a brand that its customers could trust above the other major players.

Marketing 110

Marketing Product Audience Equity 110

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

Product development at this stage is the process of scaling up for manufacturing and marketing rollout. The technology is now embodied in a solution that can be replicated to reliably solve a real customer problem. Expanding the product line. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage. Business commercialization.

Early Stage 412

Early Stage Angel Investor Incubator Government 412

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

” Below are our favorite pieces from the past few years, divided in to a few key categories: fundraising, company building, product development, industry trends, and the life of a VC. 7 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in VC Pitches and How to Fix Them “Different partners in a VC firm are different.

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2010

For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Product development. For a great idea person, the product details keep changing for the better, but nothing ever gets finished. Customer retention. Here are a few: Business networking. Investor negotiations.

Entrepreneur 237

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 237

Steve Blank

MAY 6, 2015

Build a product, get it into the real world, measure customers’ reactions and behaviors, learn from this, and use what you’ve learned to build something better. Repeat, learning whether to iterate, pivot or restart until you have something that customers love. Waterfall Development. Microsoft Windows 3.0).

Lean 120

Lean Agile Business Model Customer Development 120

Women Entrepreneurs Can

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Among these, sales, marketing, customer service, and product development take center stage. By implementing robust processes and partnering with reliable service providers, businesses can streamline their accounts receivable operations, ensuring timely payments and safeguarding their financial well-being.

Software Review 40

Software Review Metrics Analytics Software 40

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Some make big mistakes, such as Webvan expanding too fast with a huge infrastructure, and Pets.com , trying to grow the business with a negative margin, under the mistaken assumption that winning customers is more important than making a profit. Continually add new marketing and distribution partners.

Startup 335

Startup Social Media Metrics Viral 335

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2012

Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. Invariably we were in crisis mode by delivery time, and the common complaint was that “management” always forced unrealistic schedules on developers. Investment partners are squeezing you.

Software Developers 229

Software Developers Software Development Business Model Product Development 229

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

In today’s fast moving market, the basic product development cost and time are critical to survival. With the new rapid prototyping tools, products can be physically built for analysis, rather than just conceptualized. Network with potential cofounders and strategic partners.

Startup 397

Startup Cofounder Incubator Early Stage 397

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. AskAnything.VC

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

by Lu Zhang, founder and managing partner of Fusion Fund. On the other hand, if you arrive at a VC pitch without a comprehensive understanding of the industry you’re hoping to compete in, or without a clear path to profitability or a thoughtful product-development road map, you’ll likely leave empty-handed.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2012

There are unknowns at every turn, leading product development, attracting customers, managing cash, and dealing with human resources and office politics. Trusted partners quit, personal friends become enemies, and staff management becomes a huge burden.

Advisory Board 240

Advisory Board Forecast Early Stage Product Development 240

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2011

Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. Invariably we were in crisis mode by delivery time, and the common complaint was that “management” always forced unrealistic schedules on developers. Investment partners are squeezing you.

Startup 245

Startup Software Developers Software Development Business Model 245

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

Investors and partners now look only for a framework of your business essentials, within the context of your opportunity, solution, and financials. Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Early customer feedback will position your solution, and help you make pivots before critical time and money are lost.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

Up and Running

JUNE 14, 2017

Some believe in the all-in approach to product development: build an advanced app. Those partners paid for a membership with Recycler Spotter. Then, about two weeks before launch, I distributed a survey to those 256 partners. Almost on a weekly basis, I meet new aspiring entrepreneurs looking to execute on their ideas.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Distribution Redemption Demand 96

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2015

Here are key maxims that I believe indicate a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset: A need to learn from customers, rather than educate them. Successful entrepreneurs start with a customer problem, and develop a solution, rather than the other way around. Develop market insights and a growth vision far beyond today.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Metrics Hosting Leadership 120