Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

Moreover, since the first CEO was likely to have been one of the founders, the trauma of CEO removal begins. I think Customer Development (iterative model) helps by putting a strong thought in the mind (at a very early stage) that you could be wrong unless the customer agrees; this helps the mind to be more receptive.

Customer Development 228

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 228

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

We spent the first 45 minutes or so talking about industry trends (in this order): The history and background of True Ventures, one of my favorite early-stage VC’s (and the one with whom Om is a venture partner). The strategy of GigaOm and where they differentiate in the market.

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital Non-Compete Vertical Europe 225

cdixon.org

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

Quite early on, you will be able to differentiate yourself – and having competitors help you grow the market can actually be a good thing. But it’s probably wise to be more secretive in some vertical markets: [link]. ” He noted that Chris Dixon (@cdixon) of Hunch tweeted, “New early-stage start up [.].

Stealth 68

Stealth Startup NDA Cofounder 68

Hippoland

JULY 24, 2016

Valuation is a nebulous topic amongst early stage startups, so I thought I’d really spell it out in detail. In short: Valuations for seed stage companies are fairly arbitrary and driven solely by supply and demand. It will be REALLY important for you to put a LOT of work into your differentiation story.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Valuation Vertical Demand 48

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 25, 2023

7:30] Would you say self-publishing is seen as a differentiator for businesses? [11:42] We were founded by a gentleman named Bob Young, who was the original co-founder of Red Hat, which is a massive software company. People wanna get on the speaking circuits for whatever, you know, industry or vertical they're in.

Audience 89

Audience Revenue Distribution Differentiation 89

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 24, 2011

How to differentiate yourself in a crowded market (and when perhaps you shouldn’t try). Well when I hear that I think of writing checks because I feel like that’s all I do sometimes as a founder of start ups is write checks because you don’t see them when they come in. Ryan: C-H-E-X-T. Jason: Wow, Chext. Jason: Nice.

Cofounder 208

Cofounder Technical Review Software Review Differentiation 208

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

If you are genuinely passionate about it, that will shine through and you will immediately be differentiated from the many sales people that attend these events. Opportunity cost is very real for any stage company, but it is critical for an early-stage one. make that fourteen years now).

Software Review 48

Software Review Sales Cofounder Analytics 48

Reid Hoffman

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

For example, if you’re an early-stage SaaS provider that is shifting from a horizontal solution to a vertical focus, your mission, culture, and competencies can stay the same and the pivot transition will probably go smoothly. It’s easier (but still hard) when you’re running a small, early-stage organization.

Startup 36

Startup Silicon Valley Business Model Mobile 36

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2011

I first met the founder of Pose, Dustin Rosen , when he was a junior person with an LA-based venture capital firm called The Mail Room Fund. Our firm invested at a very early stage in retail brands including CostCo, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ulta, Starbucks and many more. The other “first call” went to Founder Collective.

Term Sheet 303

Term Sheet Mobile Cofounder Early Stage 303

Steve Blank

JULY 16, 2009

We Don’t Need Domain Experts When I looked around at our executive staff, there wasn’t a single founder who was a gamer. Founders need to validate their vision in front of customers early and often. Worse, there wasn’t a single person on our executive team who had come from a game company. More on this in future posts.)

Silicon Valley 212

Silicon Valley RSS Video San Diego 212

mashable.com

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Not to mention, early-stage startups usually only employ a few people focused on product and development. Then research which journalists at that publication cover the vertical in which your startup or its news would fall. ” Be sure to differentiate your company from ones that the journalist has already covered, however.

PR 103

PR Startup Social Media Technical Review 103

techcrunch.com

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Been there Done that This is very depressing for all future founders, or even currently early stage founders. The cost of money is steep, and only works in certain verticals, of which software is NOT one. These two factors alone represent a real double whammy for early stage growth companies.

Venture Capital 62

Venture Capital Technical Review Sweat Equity Valuation 62

Cracking the Code

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

As it takes around 10 years for a SaaS company to reach maturity, the explosion we are seeing at the early stage has not yet translated into a significant number of exits. Europe is underrepresented in vertical SaaS solutions – 17% of the companies vs. 23% in the US.

Europe 48

Europe Artificial Inteligence Vertical 48