Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Software apps that once required a 10-person team can now be done with the Lean Development methodology by two people in a couple of months.

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Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

To create this first year in business checklist, I turned to our in-house experts here at Palo Alto Software: Sabrina Parsons, CEO; Noah Parsons, COO; Josh Cochrane, Vice President of Product Development; and Josh Fegles, Academic and Government Channel Sales Director, and founder of gluten-free cookie company Jude’s Foods.

Forecast 60

Forecast Software Review Lean Finance 60

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

With all these new tasks, there’s no way you can also manage the projects and client relationships and internal product development, so you’ll need a project manager or a sales person or an office manager or some kind of help, and all of those come out of your profits. None of these new tasks are fun or creative.

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America Employee Hiring HTML 330

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 30, 2017

Written by Misti Yang, Contributor for Lean Startup Co. In the opening paragraphs of Eric Ries’s upcoming book The Startup Way , Eric sets the scene: He arrived at GE in the summer of 2012 amidst a multi-hundred-million-dollar, five-year plan to develop a new diesel and natural gas engine. And the plan did succeed. 5) this fall.

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Lean Startup Engineer Conversion 123

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

Guest post by Lisa Regan, writer for T he Lean Startup Conference. We’ve posted the full program for The Lean Startup Conference , and it includes more than three days of events for Gold pass holders and six days of events for VIP pass holders. On the evening of December 8, Ignite Lean Startup kicks off the conference.

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Continuous Deployment Norway Lean Analytics 162

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Very few people turn up with a strong sense of “what we should be doing” or ready to lean into a productive conversation The financials were prepared by the VP of Finance / CFO. This can include: Fund raising, product development choices, sales, marketing effectiveness, competition, business development, M&A … whatever.

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Stock Options Metrics Stock Valuation 226

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. The Traditional VC Pitch Entrepreneurs who pursue the traditional product development model don’t have customer data to answer these questions. Is there a profitable business model? Great post!

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 20, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 20, 2008 The engineering managers lament I was inspired to write The product managers lament while meeting with a startup struggling to figure out what had gone wrong with their product development process. First of all, its a myth that cutting corners saves time.

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Software Review Engineer Management Technical Review 164

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Here’s the punchline: if you run your company as if you have closed a VC equity financing round even though you actually closed a convertible debt round, you’ll be in much better shape when it comes time to raise your Series A financing. One of them used to be a lead developer at [insert hot consumer tech company here].

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Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 152

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

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Their product definition fluctuates wildly – one month, it’s a dessert topping, the next it’s a floor wax. Their product development team is hard at work on a next-generation product platform, which is designed to offer a new suite of products – but this effort is months behind schedule.

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Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Mucker Lab

MAY 28, 2020

These lost startups land higher valuations, have larger teams, outsource more product development and spend more money on customer acquisition than their peers. Before you indulge in marketing, sales and blinged-out offices, find product-market fit. Sometimes founders misapply lean startup methodology.

Startup 78

Startup Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Review 78

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 23, 2009

If you never have, you can create your own using Google Finance. If you never have, you can create your own using Google Finance. The Lean Startup Intensive is tomorrow at Web 2.0. Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? Why vanity metrics are dangerous What is Lean about the Lean Startup?

Metrics 167

Metrics San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 167

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2012

Let’s start out with the basic functions of a tech company: 1) Engineering 2) Marketing 3) Sales 4) Business development 5) PR 6) Design 7) Product Management 8) HR 9) Operations 10) Finance Ok, that's just overwhelming. In a way, you can think of BD as “sales when you don’t know what the product is yet.”

PR 144

PR Technical Review Seed Stage Design 144

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

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

A company at this stage could also face product development costs from consultants if they decided to outsource product development. However, Praveena has committed to personally get the first version of the product up and launched without outside consultants, so there is no expense here either.

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Balance Sheet Fractional CTO Burn Rate Salary 125

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 7, 2009

In the case of an entrepreneur pitching for finance, its the same fear that has them putting on a facade and not comfortable in what they do and dont know that will see them a long way off getting funded. The Lean Startup Intensive is tomorrow at Web 2.0. Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science?

Continuous Deployment 131

Continuous Deployment San Francisco Software Review Lean 131

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

So What is Customer Development? Steve Blank, a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, developed a methodology for creating businesses that runs in parallel with the traditional product development process. The core idea behind customer development is that the assumptions you make about a target market are only guesses.

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Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 126

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

I know that this all seems obvious now with the movements started by Steven Blank ( Four Steps of Epiphany ) with the whole Customer Development processes / Lean Startup movements also popularized by people like Eric Ries. They had decided to take a Digg style approach to product development. Back then it seemed foreign.

Customer 280

Customer Technical Review Software Review Mexico 280

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 28, 2009

Because, unless you are working in an extremely static environment, your product development team is learning and getting better all the time. Compounding is not a process that most people find intuitive, and thats as true in engineering as it is in finance, so it requires a lot of encouragement in the early days to stay the course.

San Francisco 79

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 79

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

The second thing that’s changed is that we’re now Compressing the Product Development Cycle. In the 20 th century startups I was part of, the time to build a first product release was measured in years as we turned out the founder’s vision of what customers wanted. (And Third, venture capital has now become Founder-friendly.

Restful 222

Restful Silicon Valley Puerto Rico San Jose 222

steveblank.com

JULY 8, 2011

AgileZen – project management visually see and interact with your work Kanbanery – Simple online team or personal kanban board LeanKit Kanban – Great for visualizing work of product development Kanban Pad – “Nice and lean” and free online Kanban tool Banana Scrum – A tool simple as Scrum itself.

Software Review 110

Software Review Startup Silicon Valley Analytics 110

Up and Running

OCTOBER 10, 2018

You might develop a fairly simple business plan first as you start a small business, and that might be enough for you. This is an excellent use of the Lean Business Planning methodology , based on a simple Lean Plan combined with regular updates and revisions. And you can do a simple Lean Business Plan in less than an hour.

Startup 114

Startup Forecast Lean Balance Sheet 114

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 6, 2018

In today’s rough-and-tumble startup scene, “lean” is all the rage, and the ability to cut costs without compromising performance is prized above virtually any other managerial competency. Product Development. Most lean startups simply don’t have the wherewithal to get a dozen consumers in a room somewhere.

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CPA Bandwidth Lean Startup 124

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.

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Vertical Silicon Valley Marketing Customer 144

Steve Blank

MARCH 4, 2014

Product management tools like Stage-Gate ® emerged to systematically manage Waterfall product development. The product management process assumes that product/market fit is known, and the products can get spec’d and then implemented in a linear fashion. StageGate Process. This is a big idea. What to Do?

IRR 335

IRR Startup Business Model Agile 335

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 29, 2020

Your data will be ordered and structured into information based on specific niches like engineering and construction, finance, technology, and business. Thus, you must manage your available finances wisely. Implement the “lean startup” philosophy. Product development also occurs in small iterations or changes.

Bootstrapping 85

Bootstrapping Global Startup Hungary 85

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Lean Methodology Sources. Steve Blank on Lean Customer Development. Part 3- Lean Cust. Steve Blank’s Lean Startup Resources. Lean Startup Circle â?? Great for visualizing work of product development. Lean project management. agile product management. Codeacademy. SW Courses.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Startup 53

bizthoughts.mikelee.org

MARCH 8, 2012

link] # 4 hours ago Going #lean and testing with imagemaps, cuz concepts are cheap and code is expensive. # Mint & finances #distribution #andalsoproduct # 19 hours ago @davemcclure Idea 3: Build brand buzz to epic proportions, aka a Purple Cow, ie. coolcatteacher "If you don’t have any interests, you won’t be interesting."

Technical Cofounder 40

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Technical Review Software Review 40

techcocktail.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

But while you are small and lean, take advantage of everyone skills; if someone on your team is a great writer, have them take charge of your press releases and marketing content. be the manager and product developer). Talent: Each team member needs to have talent – they all need to own their abilities and focus on their assets.

San Francisco 44

San Francisco Startup PHP San Diego 44

conversionxl.com

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

So What is Customer Development? Steve Blank, a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, developed a methodology for creating businesses that runs in parallel with the traditional product development process. The core idea behind customer development is that the assumptions you make about a target market are only guesses.

Customer Development 60

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 60

Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

You literally have to take your vision of the opportunity and against all rational odds assemble financing, and a team to help you execute. Next, you have to deal with the daily crisis of product development and acquiring early customers. And that’s just to get started. And that’s just to get started. ?

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Founder Silicon Valley RSS China 297

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

Young founders tend to complicate things too much, from structuring partnership agreements, financing, leases, etc. Some entrepreneurs think it’s a luxury to have accounting, finance, or other support functions, but it’s important not to be afraid of spending resources early on for administrative efficiency.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 6, 2014

This is a quote from Leander Kahney’s recently published book on Apple design chief Jony Ive: “In the world according to Steve Jobs, the ANPP would rapidly evolve into a well-defined process for bringing new products to market by laying out in extreme detail every stage of product development.

Product 84

Product Venture Capital Lean Finance 84

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

Price and plan-mix are complex areas to test because they impact several areas of your business and product, so any changes need to be made carefully. In addition, you need to coordinate with other teams that touch pricing, such as marketing, finance, customer support, and sales. We also highlighted the savings on the checkout page.

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Revenue Conversion Programming eCommerce 121

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

In future posts I’ll describe how Eric Ries and the Lean Startup concept provided the equivalent model for product development activities inside the building and neatly integrates customer and agile development. Market Type also affects the market size as well as how you launch the product into the market.

Customer Development 196

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 196

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2009

Execution by Vertical Market As the class progressed, students asked how the activities/functions of a startup; (Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Product Development, etc.) How does product development differ in communications hardware versus enterprise software, etc. Waterfall, Agile, Lean?

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Vertical Silicon Valley RSS Marketing 122