Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

That’s no longer the case in Silicon Valley. In the past you have focused on revenue because (a) getting real orders at any price over 0 proves whether people value the offering at all, and (b) setting a real price via real orders is much more realistic than market research forecasts. Keep teaching! Order Here.

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

Silicon Valley is still emerging from the tech bubble and massive downturn of late 2000-2002. Online social networking is a concept still being evangelized even in Silicon Valley… Friendster is in private beta (wasn’t until Oct 2003 they received Google acquisition offer which they turned down for Kleiner/Benchmark round).

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

when to build out our offices in Silicon Valley, New York & Los Angeles. How to build a great forecast. So our board meetings consisted of discussion about. how much energy to put into channel partners vs. direct sales. how to build an initial sales organization. how to market our products and company.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

But, getting in the doors of a Sand Hill Road VC in Silicon Valley can be an incredibly difficult undertaking. Jason does an excellent job explaining the math behind more complex subscription forecasting, but also touches on topics like marketing and company culture. Follow Jason on Twitter @ASmartBear. Bothsides of the Table.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Technical Review Silicon Valley Cofounder 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Founded in November 2007 in New York City by Alexis Maybank and Kevin Ryan (co-founder of DoubleClick); CEO is Susan Lyne (ex-CEO Marta Stewart Living Omnimedia) Revenue estimates: $50mm in 2008; $170mm in 2009 (versus budget of $150mm); $450mm forecasted for 2010. Note that these are “gross” revenue numbers.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

Up and Running

OCTOBER 4, 2017

Running a startup in New York or Silicon Valley is very expensive, so no wonder that recently, there has been an explosion of new locations starting to see growth in tech startups. European cities like Berlin, Stockholm, or Amsterdam were on the list of the top locations for tech startups in the global Startup Ecosystem Report 2017.

Startup 115

Startup Estonia Poland Silicon Valley 115

VC Cafe

JANUARY 12, 2017

Gil Dibner – Venture Capital forecasts in 2017 – https://medium.com/yankeesabralimey/10-thoughts-from-a-vc-on-enterprise-tech-in-2017-390da5fb870b#.3rm3kbjb4. VentureBeat – What top Silicon Valley investors expect in 2017 – [link].

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Venture Capital Silicon Valley Cloud 60

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 14, 2011

Then, Satish from Chennai, India, discussed Quantum Arc, a solution for predictive analysis and forecasting of fire breakout hazards by monitoring electrical/power infrastructures in major facilities. The value proposition is well articulated, validated, and very clean. Quantum Arc. From 2008 to 2010, Mitra was a columnist for Forbes.

India 126

India Technical Review Entrepreneur Silicon Valley 126

Up and Running

MAY 20, 2014

While data science is still a nascent field, knowing basic calculus and statistics and learning how they are applied to modeling and forecasting changed the way I think about customers. Data is changing the way that businesses operate, and most of the start-ups that I see achieving success are highly reliant on customer analytics.

Entrepreneur 88

Entrepreneur Advisory Board Silicon Valley New York 88

YoungUpstarts

MAY 16, 2018

Instead, he would take his evident talent to Silicon Valley. Only after his company was underway did his investors insist he write a business plan, with detailed sales forecasts, staffing strategies, pricing regimens, and financial projections including when he would be able to take the company public.

Silicon Valley 157

Silicon Valley Forecast Venture Capital Business Plan 157

Steve Blank

JULY 28, 2011

Silicon Valley was born in an era of applied experimentation driven by scientists and engineers. This approach would shape Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial ethos: In startups, failure was treated as experience (until you ran out of money). Yet this system isn’t perfect. – seems like another planet.

Engineer 278

Engineer Silicon Valley United States Intellectual Property 278

YoungUpstarts

MAY 26, 2017

Based off the “Pitch then Plan” template originated by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, I believe in creating a strong pitch first and then building a business plan based on it. A common mistake is using a top-down model to forecast financials. Because if you get the pitch right, you’ll get the plan right.

Cofounder 185

Cofounder Silicon Valley Forecast Business Plan 185

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

That’s the sales forecast, the spending forecast and the cash flow. You want to show that, and investors need to see the scale of a business that have to do with your sales forecast. They’re going to look first at the sales forecast. That’s a lean business plan. It is not a document.

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60

Up and Running

MAY 3, 2012

Entrepreneurship continues to be a sexy topic for governments, with every country worth its salt trying to create its own tech hub, mimicking Silicon Valley. We need to insist that they set goals and milestones, create cash flow forecasts and devise ways to test their assumptions. ??We

Entrepreneur 82

Entrepreneur Technical Review Silicon Valley Lean 82

Steve Blank

JULY 11, 2016

When Peggy first arrived in Silicon Valley, she worked for Boole & Babbage , before founding her own firm. And, Pitch Johnson who was the chairman of the board at Boole & Babbage and a venture capitalist, took me around and introduced me to every venture capital firm in Silicon Valley at the time.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Cofounder Customer Development 120

Austin Startup

JANUARY 20, 2021

The Ferrari Museum in Modena, Italy The defining characteristic of the Silicon Valley startup is speed. I had to throw out my desire to build a perfect strategy and forecast for the business. It is so important that not a week goes by without a successful investor/founder extolling the benefits of moving quickly.

Sales 64

Sales Startup Sales Cycle Revenue 64

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

If it’s a new division inside a larger company, forecasts talk about return on investment. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. Thirty years later we now realize that its one the causes of early startup failure. Reply Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply. Order Here. To Order Outside of the U.S.

Silicon Valley 260

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 260

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Sloan put in place GM’s management accounting system (borrowed from DuPont) that for the first time allowed the company to: 1) produce an annual operating forecast that compared each division’s forecast (revenue, costs, capital requirements and return on investment) with the company’s financial goals. Order Here. Now In Print!

Silicon Valley 156

Silicon Valley United States RSS Customer Development 156

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2009

Startup executives have three documents to guide their hiring and staffing; a business plan, a product development model and a revenue forecast. Steve Blanks 30 years of Silicon Valley startup advice. Customer Development Manifesto Part II [.] Reply Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply. Order Here. Now In Print!

Customer Development 215

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 215

Growthink Blog

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

CCS Insights forecasts that 411 million smart wearable devices, worth a staggering $34 billion, will be sold in 2020 (up from 274 million this year). Based in Silicon Valley, the company has raised over $13 million in funding, including from Khosla Ventures. Isy Goldwasser , CEO of thync. Mr. David Mays , CEO of Walker Tracker.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Forecast Cofounder Hosting 48

Ben's Blog

MARCH 1, 2011

This kind of yo-yo emotional state can rattle a VC who may hear a massively aggressive forecast for the business one day then despondency the next. Venture Capitalists in Silicon Valley are notorious for both their tardiness and distractedness. We strive to sort the emotional rollercoaster from the actual progress.

Partner 78

Partner Technical Review Venture Capital Cofounder 78

Up and Running

DECEMBER 4, 2014

This is true whether you’re a bootstrapped startup that’s funded with credit cards and loans from friends and family, or the next darling of Silicon Valley that’s sitting on a war chest of millions in venture capital funding. What choices do your customers have today? How is your solution better? Do you think you can make money?

Forecast 152

Forecast Elevator Pitch Lean Silicon Valley 152

Growthink Blog

SEPTEMBER 11, 2016

CCS Insights forecasts that 411 million smart wearable devices, worth a staggering $34 billion, will be sold in 2020 (up from 274 million this year). Based in Silicon Valley, the company has raised over $13 million in funding, including from Khosla Ventures. Isy Goldwasser , CEO of thync. Mr. David Mays , CEO of Walker Tracker.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Forecast Cofounder Agile 48

Up and Running

AUGUST 19, 2014

With this history, you can accurately forecast business decisions and needs that will eventually drive growth going forward—which will, eventually, lead to a situation where you can potentially give yourself a raise. Once you generate the financial support of investors, it may be time to reward yourself with a salary.

Salary 119

Salary Sweat Equity Silicon Valley Sales Cycle 119

Up and Running

DECEMBER 6, 2012

Develop a forecast: Basic forecasts and budgets are critical; And tracking them is even more so. This form of planning condensed the business model onto one page and is most useful for high-growth, technically focused startups (think Silicon Valley). Instead, the sales forecasts should be as realistic as possible.

Lean 147

Lean Silicon Valley Forecast Technical Review 147

Up and Running

AUGUST 21, 2018

The last component of your Lean Plan is a basic forecast and budget to ensure that a great idea can actually lead to a great business. Yes, forecasting and budgeting do mean looking into the future, and no one knows the future (at least I don’t!). Instead, the sales forecasts should be as realistic as possible. Why or why not?

Lean 134

Lean Forecast Software Review Business Plan 134

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 26, 2012

Most have discovered just how difficult it is to make a Silicon Valley from scratch. You can’t simply choose a local geographic feature, attach the word “Silicon” and wait for the high-tech boom. Too often these first attempts are sheer mimicry of what’s happening in Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley 60

Silicon Valley Chile Startup Turkey 60

Up and Running

APRIL 28, 2015

I’ve also built my own pitch decks and presented to major Silicon Valley VC firms over the years and have learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. Investors will expect to see your sales forecast, profit and loss statement, and cash flow forecast for at least three years. Slide 9: Financials.

Forecast 60

Forecast Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 60

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 3, 2011

Orbiter expects to give its investors a 15 times return on investment based on their current pipeline and revenue forecast. She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategy consultant, writes the blog Business Strategy for Entrepreneurs and is author of the Entrepreneur Journeys book series and Vision India 2020.

San Jose 115

San Jose Entrepreneur United States Washington 115

Duct Tape Marketing

JUNE 20, 2023

If only we could do amazing, you know, supply chain forecasting, right? So there was this giant trend, you know, five to eight years ago around go to Silicon Valley or you know, go to London or you know, New York and you know, sort of hire the cool kids from digital natives to come to your company.

Technical Review 65

Technical Review Silicon Valley Generative AI Arizona 65

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

While it’s useful to be able to have a sales forecast and expense budget early on, it’s not something you need until you’ve validated your idea. Later you will want to come back and create a proper sales forecast, cash flow forecast, and expense budget. Circle back and create a more detailed forecast.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Steve Blank

MAY 7, 2009

At a university business plan competition, for the first time they can swim in the sea of expertise that we/I take for granted in the middle of Silicon Valley. I love business plan competitions (and with my valley-centric bias, I think Berkeley and Stanford have two of the best.) bplan document is just that. Order Here.

Business Plan 140

Business Plan Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital 140

www.mint.com

MARCH 9, 2010

If the answer to the question centers around “We will achieve revenue soon so our net will improve and give us more runway,” it means the company is in trouble because no product ever ships on time nor achieves the company’s “conservative forecast.” He would publish a $5 million 6-month sales forecast and actually close $87,000.

Software Review 68

Software Review Startup Post-Money Valuation Technical Review 68

Venture Chronicles

JANUARY 5, 2014

I always take predictions posts with a grain of salt because they reflect the aspirations of the author as much as a qualified and objective forecast of what will happen in year ahead. but to quote Bill Gates: We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.

Silicon Valley 62

Silicon Valley Cloud B2C Mobile 62

Pascal's View

SEPTEMBER 1, 2008

.’ One dissonant voice, that of Paul Saffo, is quoted as saying “The whole innovation crisis thing is a bit overblown,” said Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster. What makes Silicon Valley unique is that this place has stumbled onto a way to sustain innovation even when the place is doing well,” he said.

Silicon Valley 28

Silicon Valley America Venture Capital United States 28

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 9, 2020

5:01) Brian's thoughts on the human dimension to his approach and how that sets him apart in Silicon Valley. (6:06) 59:03) The need for creativity, intuition and compassion in Silicon Valley and business. (1:00:23) 59:03) The need for creativity, intuition and compassion in Silicon Valley and business. (1:00:23)

Silicon Valley 60

Silicon Valley Hosting Cofounder Employee 60

Venture Chronicles

JANUARY 25, 2011

The short answer to this question is that there are too many variables to project what the point of intersection between Q&A and customer communities will be, however it does seem plausible to forecast that there will be a convergence in these two closely aligned sectors over time.

Community 51

Community Search Social Network Social Media 51