Up and Running

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

Sedibeng’s primary market advantages are their company culture, consistent “quality” branding, traditional brew recipes, and commitment to rural distribution. Developing an efficient employee onboarding process and training program will be increasingly critical to the company’s ability to grow and manage culture. . Employee training.

Botswana 148

Botswana Business Plan Oregon Distribution 148

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Over the same 30 years, Venture Capital firms have honed their skills and strategies to match Wall Streets needs to achieve liquidity for their portfolio companies. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. What Do VC’s Do?

Silicon Valley 235

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 235

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Another topic we debated early in the program was “lean startup” vs. “ fat startup ” where we both took the obvious hedge and said “it depends.” OTHER DEALS: 1. Total raised: $29.5mm.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

Steve Blank

JANUARY 21, 2016

It ultimately failed because she was focused on engineering the product, but didn’t validate the rest of her business model (product/market fit, distribution channel, customer acquisition, etc.). Her first startup, Pencil You In, grew from a personal need to schedule hair appointments. If you can’t hear the clip, click here.

Detroit 120

Detroit Baltimore Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

One is explaining the world as it used to work: the importance of gatekeepers, the scarcity implied by limited distribution, and the resulting quality bar that the industry is so proud of. Mostly it is the time and expense required to create the means of distribution for that industry. It’s just taking some longer than others.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

VC Cafe

MAY 23, 2023

More and more, established companies are leaning into generative AI by either adding generative AI features to their existing suite of tools or partnering with AI companies (mostly OpenAI or the open source HuggingFace) to launch entirely new products. There’s an interesting thing happening in the generative AI world.

Generative AI 165

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence ChatGPT API 165

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

But builders who see AI as the driving force behind product development and GTM strategy will actually create new markets and experiences that never existed before. It’s essential to note that this figure is influenced by several massive transactions, including the $10 billion round of funding received by OpenAI.

Generative AI 78

Generative AI ChatGPT Artificial Inteligence Cofounder 78

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 6, 2011

The Lean Startup Book is done. If you've been waiting for a comprehensive account of the Lean Startup and how it can help you achieve dramatically better business results, this is it. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.

Lean 167

Lean Startup Metrics Private Equity 167

Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2019

Lean LaunchPad class developed for Stanford. Other classes were on how to prep for VC pitches or develop the five year income statements, balance sheets and cash flows or read case studies. And the Lean LaunchPad class I developed at Stanford was the first such class. Worth a read. Mission-Driven Entrepreneurship.

Incubator 332

Incubator Lean Programming Government 332

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

For those of you who have been following the discussion, a Lean Startup is Eric Ries ’s description of the intersection of Customer Development , Agile Development and if available, open platforms and open source. Over its lifetime a Lean Startup may spend less money than a traditional startup.

Lean 260

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 260

Steve Blank

MARCH 26, 2014

In this post, I want to share some new thoughts that build on Steve’s post, and connect them to Lean Startup methods. However, I will then argue that while these methods are necessary to managing new ventures inside a company, they are insufficient. This suggests a further modification to Lean Startup: Get Upstairs in the Building.

Startup 330

Startup Business Model Lean Russia 330

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

The problem with a Lean Startup: the Minimum Viable Product | Paul Kortman – [link]. Want Venture Capital Funding? How PRWeb Helps Distribute Crap Into Google & News Sites – [link]. 20 Useful Tools For Designer and Developers – [link]. What’s the secret to a great team?

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Central African Republic Design 100

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

Lean Startups/Back to Basics (2000-2010): No IPO’s, limited VC cash, lack of confidence and funding fuels “lean startup” era with limited M&A and even less IPO activity. 2001 – 2010: Back to Basics: The Lean Startup. The New Bubble : (2011 – 2014): Here we go again…. (If Rules For the New Bubble: 2011 -2014.

Internet 335

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 335

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Research & Development. Dave Graham Business Venture Capital Private Equity GlobalLogic Inc. Venture Capital Firms. In one recent deal, Arizona Bay agreed to invest $140,000 worth of website development work in a company called Pro Player Connect. But Ive definitely had to lean on Dave. TECHNOLOGY.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

He’ll be speaking at this year’s Lean Startup Conference , and also has a new book (for which I very happily wrote a short foreword) coming out next month: Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It. What is venture capital, really? And what does a venture capital firm do?

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

500hats.com

AUGUST 2, 2012

TL:DR : This post aims to recap significant changes in the venture capital industry over the past ten years, and then make some [biased] predictions as to major forces at play in the next five years. However, all three shifts are related and can be summed up simply as: Geeks are Taking Over Venture Capital.

Silicon Valley 74

Silicon Valley Early Stage Venture Capital Valuation 74

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. Hopefully you and your co-founders are experts in one or two parts (agile development, SEO/SEM, etc.) But the computer retail channel was a large part of our sales.

Sales 120

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas 120

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

Larry had the DNA I’ve seen common with all the successful entrepreneurs I’ve backed in my 25 years of Venture Capital work—only he had a more exaggerated case than most. Being distributed/network ready (even though Ethernet was just barely coming into use in the enterprise). Pragmatic and Lean. What a gift!

Technical Review 334

Technical Review Venture Capital Software Review Database 334

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 29, 2020

Wikipedia.com defines a “startup company (startup or startup) is an entrepreneurial venture which is typically a newly emerged, fast-growing business that aims to meet a marketplace need by developing a viable business model around an innovative product, service, process, or a platform.”. Implement the “lean startup” philosophy.

Bootstrapping 85

Bootstrapping Global Startup Hungary 85

Steve Blank

MAY 22, 2009

Everyone should have a chance to walk the floor looking for deals, technology, distribution, customers, etc. Partnership Opportunities At any show you are attending there has to be tons of opportunity for business to business relationships you hadn’t thought about. What didn’t? Go to trade shows like it matters.

Silicon Valley 136

Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development 136

Genuine VC

JANUARY 3, 2013

Look back to the reasons why there was a Cambrian explosion of seed funding in the first place – a dramatic reduction in the initial capital requirements to launch a new company because of cloud hosting infrastructure, social graph distribution platforms, open source and low-cost development tools/methods, etc.

Seed Stage 166

Seed Stage Venture Capital Audience New York 166

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

This series of posts is a brief explanation of how we’ve evolved from Product Development to Customer Development to the Lean Startup. The Product Development Diagram Emerging early in the twentieth century, this product-centric model described a process that evolved in manufacturing industries.

Silicon Valley 269

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 269

Steve Blank

JULY 29, 2016

The future is here it’s just distributed unevenly – Silicon Valley view of tech adoption. The threat is here it’s just distributed unevenly – A2/AD and the aircraft carrier. The threat is here; it’s just distributed unevenly – A2/AD and the aircraft carrier. But using Lean Innovation they’ll fail quickly and cheaply.

Syria 120

Syria Silicon Valley Afghanistan Iran 120

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

I responded to their RFP by proposing that Ardent build the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center a distributed supercomputing environment with hundreds of Ardent personal supercomputers rather than a monolithic Cray supercomputer. And where are we today…distributed computing. Love it… Great closure.

Silicon Valley 210

Silicon Valley San Diego RSS California 210

Steve Blank

JUNE 5, 2009

You make several first order approximations about your business model, distribution channels, demand creation, and customer acceptance. Customer Development This strategy of starting on faith, and quickly turning them into facts is the core of the Customer Development process. Employ customer development. Order Here.

Silicon Valley 234

Silicon Valley RSS Vertical California 234

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 11, 2019

Ann will be speaking at this year’s Lean Startup Conference in October about all of this and more. I've been in venture now twice. I was in Boston, working for the first time in venture capital as an analyst for this guy who was incredible and an amazing mentor. How do you develop power within a venture capital firm?

Founder 68

Founder Lean Venture Capital Cofounder 68

Steve Blank

MAY 16, 2016

In companies this would be product line extensions, more efficient supply chain, new distribution channels. NarrativeMind is developing tools that will optimize discovery and investigation of adversary communication trends on social media, allowing the U.S. If you can’t see the presentation click here. makes an appearance in the class.

San Diego 145

San Diego Metrics Indonesia Silicon Valley 145

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Step 1: Start with a lean plan. It’s the fastest way to get your idea onto paper, and it’s the very first step in the lean planning process, which is much easier and more iterative than traditional business planning methods. Introducing Lean Planning: How to Plan Less and Grow Faster. How to Write a Traditional Business Plan.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Up and Running

MARCH 1, 2016

All you have to do is read (and learn), develop a good sense of focus (think essentialism, or one priority at a time), do your research, test, test, test, and stick it through! If You Want Venture Capital, You Need It. You can do this on your own too using the lean planning methodology. See Also: Got “Founder Fit”?

Non-disclosure Agreement 60

Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Non-Compete Naming 60

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

Yesterday I wrote Part 1 of the series on the changes to the software industry over the past decade that has led to changes in the venture capital industry itself. In addition it is much easier to get distribution than it was in the pre Facebook, pre iPhone world. They should start “lean.&#

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Software LP Early Stage 296

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2009

In the last three posts, we drew the relationship of market risk and invention risk with vertical markets and pointed out verticals where customer development would be useful. In contrast to simply executing your business plan, the Customer Development process is built on low-cost and continuous learning and iterating. M&A, IPO?

Vertical 125

Vertical Silicon Valley RSS Marketing 125

Steve Blank

AUGUST 20, 2009

Some of the conversations went like this: Startup 1 Entrepreneur -“I’m competing against Company x and have been following the Customer Development process and I’ve talked to lots of customers.” Do you know have they distribute their product? Me – “Have you used Company x’s product? Do you know how they create demand?

Silicon Valley 206

Silicon Valley Startup RSS Customer Development 206

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. . At Flow Capital, we use HubSpot’s sequences and workflows functions to automate a bulk of our emails and internal tasks. 3) Raise capital. Fincura specializes in serving lenders.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 3, 2009

Worries from the garage One of the worries I hear from entrepreneurs (not just my students) is that Customer Development means getting out of the building and sharing what you are working on. My co-founder, head of business development and I were in Japan raising money. Once it almost mattered. This is about the time it didn’t.

Silicon Valley 166

Silicon Valley RSS Startup California 166

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Top management was trying to coordinate all of the operating details (sales, manufacturing, distribution and marketing,) across all the divisions and the company almost went bankrupt that year when poor planning led to excess inventory (with unsold cars piling up at dealers and the company running out of cash.)

Silicon Valley 179

Silicon Valley United States RSS Customer Development 179

The Equity Kicker

FEBRUARY 24, 2014

By doing so early and by using our expert team of designers, product managers, developers and marketers they can refine their business model without needing to hire full time staff or find their own office space. In the last 15 years, the cost of production has gone down, distribution has gone mainstream.

Partner 91

Partner Early Stage Business Model HTML 91

Steve Blank

JULY 9, 2009

So I got out out of the building to meet and understand our customers and distribution partners. Unfortunately, while I had gone through phases of video game addiction in my life, in no way could I be described as even a “moderate hard-core gamer,” which ruled me out as a domain expert.

Silicon Valley 155

Silicon Valley RSS California Video 155