Steve Blank

APRIL 11, 2018

If you asked me why I gravitated to startups rather than work in a large company I would have answered at various times: “I want to be my own boss.” “I love risk.” “I want flexible work hours.” “I want to work on tough problems that matter.” “I have a vision and want to see it through.” “I saw a better opportunity and grabbed it. …”. It never crossed my mind that I gravitated to startups because I thought more of my abilities than the value a large company would put on them.

Entrepreneur 335

Entrepreneur Startup Business Model Venture Capital 335

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 29, 2018

With multibillion-dollar tech companies and growth startups making headlines left and right, it’s natural to want to get a piece of the action. Ant Financial, for example, recently closed a ridiculous Series C funding round of $14 billion — one of the largest VC funding rounds in history. The China-based fintech company pushed its value to $150 billion with the latest […].

Startup 390

Startup China 390

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 13, 2018

This is one of my favorite insights, since I lived this one in a positive exit from my computer business. Types of business buyers expanded. Most people will tell you that there are two kinds of eventual buyers for your business: financial and strategic. A financial buyer will analyze your numbers, past and forecast, to the n’th degree, and calculate the price based upon the result, after carefully comparing your numbers with those of others in the same and similar industries.

Intellectual Property 240

Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Acquisition Revenue 240

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

There are so many things I wish I’d known before I started my first company. Hindsight’s 20/20, but I wish someone had sat me down before I wasted a lot of time and money on a company I wasn’t ready to start. While the project quickly fizzled out, it did give me some valuable insights into all the groundwork that needs to be done before getting started which helped me succeed in my second endeavor.

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Elevator Pitch Startup Due Diligence Networking 242

Speaker: Nick Noreña, Innovation Coach and Advisor, Kromatic

Every startup and innovation project exists within an ecosystem that either helps or hurts that project. As innovation managers, we need to keep a pulse of that ecosystem and make sure we're helping those innovation projects we're managing every step of the way. In this webinar, Nick Noreña will walk through an Innovation Ecosystem Model that he and his team at Kromatic have developed to help investors, heads of product, teachers, and executives understand how they can best support innovation in

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2018

I still know some entrepreneurs who boast of simply following their gut instincts, rather than listen to anyone or any data, to make strategic decisions. We’ve all worked with autocratic leaders in large companies who seem to thrive in this mode. They all forget or ignore the high-profile failures that have resulted from some single-handed business decisions.

Merger 276

Merger Analytics Open Source Social Media 276

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 30, 2018

While doing research for his extraordinary new book, Great at Work , Morten Hansen studied more than 5,000 managers and employees in corporate America to identify the key practices that explain why some perform better than others. What he and his research team discovered is that seven key practices explain a whopping 66% of the difference in performance among people in the sample.

Startup 349

Startup Metrics Lean Cofounder 349

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

You had an amazing meeting with an investor. Your product demo crushed. The dialog was great. They told you how much they loved your space. The meeting was only supposed to last 45 minutes but you ran 90. The assistant tried to end the meeting twice but was shoooshed away. You race back to the office to tell everybody how well it went and you wait for the follow-up call to have a partners’ meeting or talk about term sheets or at least dip into due diligence.

Software Review 381

Software Review Cofounder Entrepreneur Due Diligence 381

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

by Judith Nowlin, Chief Growth Officer for Babyscripts. If I had a dime for every time someone told me “you can’t do this” on my entrepreneurial journey, I would be swimming in a pool of coins like Scrooge McDuck from DuckTales, my favorite after school cartoon from the late 80’s. I had every reason to listen to the naysayers. I never paid my dues at a corporate job.

Technical Review 370

Technical Review Venture Capital Entrepreneur Bootstrapping 370

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018

A few weeks ago I shared some important leadership lessons from Stewart Butterfield , including investing in your own growth to make sure that the founder scales as fast as the company. Growing with your start-up can be a very tough undertaking for a founder. It requires reinventing yourself dramatically in very little time. When you start your company, you will be a “maker” for most of your days, wearing a thousand hats and tackling whatever needs to be tackled.

Part-Time VPE 261

Part-Time VPE Management CTO Hire Silicon Valley 261

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 18, 2018

When I last checked, there were 987,119 “thought leaders” on LinkedIn. Soon, there’ll be more than a million. How many of those do you trust? “False expertise” is misidentified competence: We perceive expertise where there is none or evaluate expertise based on irrelevant factors. False experts include legions of self-appointed “gurus” and “visionaries” who saturate social media with bad advice.

Technical Review 188

Technical Review Differentiation Hiring Montana 188

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 29, 2018

If you haven’t gotten a new car in a while you may not have noticed that the future of the dashboard looks like this: That’s it. A single screen replacing all the dashboard gauges, knobs and switches. But behind that screen is an increasing level of automation that hides a ton of complexity. At times everything you need is on the screen with a glance.

Technical Review 286

Technical Review Engineer New York Design 286

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 13, 2018

This is the most comprehensive guide online to creating a strong brand identity for your business or organization in 2019. A brand identity is the most effective way any organization (startups, small businesses, agencies, nonprofits, or others) can gain a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Both new and existing businesses and organization can benefit from reading this guide.

Marketing 156

Marketing Naming Design Charlotte 156

The Next Web

MAY 13, 2018

Whoever coined the mantra ‘The customer is always right’ has never tried to undertake development tasks for clients with grandiose ideas, but zero technical background. Nowadays, every company might be a software company, but not everyone knows how to effectively manage software development projects. But give them the option, and they will sure as hell try.

Product Development 167

Product Development Developer Software Developers Software Development 167

Up and Running

JANUARY 8, 2018

It’s never been easier to start your own business. With the range of financing options out there and free online tools available, pretty much anyone with a great idea and a solid head for business can take the first steps into entrepreneurship. There are a lot of different tasks that entrepreneurs need to attend to when building a business, particularly at the beginning.

Entrepreneur 177

Entrepreneur Hiring Small Business Algorithm 177

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

The Startup Magazine recently featured two of the FUND Conference Top 3 Exhibitor winners, Happenstance , and Digs. We’ve saved the best for last. The top startup at this year’s FUND Conference in Chicago, Illinois was Balodana , a fashion purchasing platform disrupting the women’s e-commerce fashion industry. The event presenter, FUND, is a national connector of entrepreneurs, VCs, angel investors, and industry experts with a focus on deal flow and making connections.

Startup 152

Startup Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence 152

Haystack

DECEMBER 29, 2018

It’s that time of year, time to look back and reflect on the most significant storylines in the tech, startup, and VC world. A comprehensive post on this topic could be 5,000+ words, but we do not do such things here. We kept detailed notes month by month and today, I tried to organize them by key sections, what you’ll see below. There’s a good chance I’ve missed something — if you feel that way, by all means, please share your point of view on Twitter (or email) an

Technical Review 165

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Valuation 165

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 15, 2018

David Meyer founded Adopt-a-Pet.com (formerly 1-800-Save-A-Pet.com) in 2000 as a way of ending pet overpopulation. Today it’s North America's largest non-profit pet adoption website, with millions of visitors to the site each month and partnerships with more than 17,000 animal shelters, pet rescue groups, humane societies and shelters. When the non-profit was nearly acquired by a for-profit company several years ago, the time came to take a step back and re-evaluate what they were doing.

Lean 146

Lean Startup North America Technical Review 146

deal architect

JANUARY 18, 2018

My first exposure to a software “platform” was back in 1983 when McCormack and Dodge introduced Millennium and started to migrate all its modules to have the same look and feel, extensibility, queries and other features. I was part of.

Software 512

Software Cloud 512

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 8, 2018

From flying drones to autonomous vehicles that can navigate a shipment to your door within an hour of clicking “Buy!” — the future of eCommerce is looking pretty flash. …or at least it does up to that final, awkward step of the fulfillment cycle when your order is just waiting there, exposed to the world until you take physical possession of it.

Networking 279

Networking Technical Review eCommerce Software Review 279

Version One Ventures

DECEMBER 11, 2018

In case you missed our posts from the previous weeks, we have been summarizing what founders should focus on at each stage of their startup’s journey. Priorities and strategies change as a company grows – starting with finding product-market fit after a seed round to figuring out distribution between Series A and Series B. And that brings us to the B Round.

Founder 157

Founder Leadership Hiring Employee 157

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

In the world of data-driven marketing, more and more tasks require a bit of coding. You might need to add an extra parameter to your tracking code or pull raw data from Google Analytics. You may want to create a simple prediction—or automate a few repetitive tasks in your PPC campaigns. Or maybe you simply want to speak a common language with your developers so that you can brief them better and understand they may say, “This will take two weeks.” Regardless, knowing one or two data

Programming 134

Programming SQL Marketing Analytics 134

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. 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.

Lean 334

Lean Startup Venture Capital Burn Rate 334

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 8, 2018

Many people want to start a clothing brand or clothing line. After all, how difficult could it be? The truth is that successful clothing brands become successful in part because they’re created by people who are passionate about clothing. But, a clothing brand needs more than just exquisite apparel design to create a lasting business. It needs all the trappings of a successful business as well.

Small Business 136

Small Business Small Business Administration Social Media Business Plan 136

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 15, 2018

Being a founder means showing confidence. It’s nearly impossible to fundraise, hire, or lead without it—but at the same time, founders don’t know everything. There are many things they’re going to be doing for the first time that are ridiculous to expect them to know how to do right off the bat. Just because you start a company doesn’t necessarily mean you’re automatically a good manager, a good recruiter, or good at PR.

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Early Stage Founder PR Hiring 420

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

It’s a very exciting time in the cannabis industry right now. One of our Bplans writers described going into business in cannabis as a “ once-in-a-generation opportunity ,” with the product rapidly becoming legal for recreational as well as medical use in many states. Legal cannabis generated $16 billion in total economic output in the United States in 2017, and research indicates it will increase 150 percent by 2021, according to a report from cannabis industry analysts Arcview Market Research

Business Plan 154

Business Plan Technical Review Exit Strategy Startup 154

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

One of the big decisions every aspiring entrepreneur has to make is when to quit your current job to devote yourself fulltime to your new startup. Some of you are so committed to the new passion that you quit your day job early, and dedicate all your time and resources to the new venture. Others wait until the new business starts to generate revenue and profit before making the move.

Entrepreneur 383

Entrepreneur Startup Salary Cofounder 383

Duct Tape Marketing

JULY 26, 2018

Honest Startup Advice From Somebody Who’s Been Through It written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Marketing Podcast with Rand Fishkin. Podcast Transcript. My guest for this week’s episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is Rand Fishkin. He is the founder and former CEO of Moz and currently has a new venture called SparkToro , a software and data company focused on helping people understand how and where to reach their target audiences.

Startup 70

Startup Founder Software Review Small Business 70

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 31, 2018

One of the speakers at this year’s Lean Startup Conference , which kicks off on November 14th in Las Vegas, is Giff Constable. Giff is a repeat entrepreneur whose companies include Neo, a product innovation consulting firm where he worked with organizations like the Mayo Clinic and Time, Inc. before it was acquired by Pivotal. He was most recently VP of product at Axial, a fintech startup that connected medium-sized businesses with capital providers and buyers, where he oversaw product managemen

Lean 335

Lean Startup Las Vegas Entrepreneur 335

deal architect

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

No, this does not have much to do with Oracle’s recent quarter. Nor is it about intrigue and gossip so many analysts use to compare Oracle to the Trumpian White House. It has more to do with two decades of.

Software 362

Software 362

For Entrepreneurs

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018

There is much hand wringing in the startup ecosystem about various forms of signaling between the seed and A rounds. Conventional wisdom, and advice, abounds: entrepreneurs should never include a venture firm in their seed round because it’ll scare other VCs off from pursuing the A. After all, the “insider” VC has more information and.

Entrepreneur 313

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital 313

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

One of the most important decisions for a founder of an early stage company is deciding who should be on the cap table. We’ve written about doing your due diligence on investors and funds to make sure you find the right partners for the journey. Lately, we have seen more founders grappling with the question of whether to include a Series A investor in their seed round.

Early Stage 351

Early Stage Cap Table Due Diligence Founder 351

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

If you’ve ignored the design and content of your “thank you” page, you’re neglecting: Recent purchasers. New leads. These are some of the highest value segments of an online audience, yet what most sites decide to show them is an afterthought. Whether you’re confirming access to a PDF download or thanking someone for a four-figure purchase, there are ways to add value for users—and get more value for your business.

Technical Review 133

Technical Review Email eCommerce Video 133

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2018

I know a change is going to come. If you’re an early employee at a startup, one day you will wake up to find that what you worked on 24/7 for the last year is no longer the most important thing – you’re no longer the most important employee, and process, meetings, paperwork and managers and bosses have shown up. Most painfully, you’ll learn that your role in the company has to change.

Part-Time VPE 331

Part-Time VPE Startup Cofounder Employee 331

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 8, 2018

Silicon Valley has dominated the U.S. startup ecosystem for many decades. Despite repeated efforts, only a few cities outside the Valley (New York and Boston) have historically had the critical mix of VC funding, network, and talent to fuel vibrant startup centers. Best startup city rankings have reflected this truth for a long time. But this is becoming less true today, as more and more entrepreneurs find their way across the U.S.

United States 110

United States Entrepreneur Startup Las Vegas 110

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 22, 2018

In almost every single investment I’ve ever made, I can think of a singular moment in my relationship with a founder that, no matter what came before or what might come after, defined our relationship. Often times, it came in a very vulnerable and down moment for the founder—perhaps they just lost out on a big opportunity, had someone from the team leave, or they’re running low on capital before sales have come around.

Founder 402

Founder Reputation Demand Conversion 402

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2018

Image via WOCinTechChat. I know what it’s like to pitch to investors—both angels and venture capitalists. I’ve raised close to $1 million from angel investors for my previous technology startups. Sometimes you only get 10 minutes to pitch your business opportunity to the investors (or less in some cases). Here’s how to get started. Create a presentation.

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Exit Strategy Angel Investor Hockey Stick Technical Review 164