YoungUpstarts

APRIL 21, 2013

Creators of new products in environments of extreme uncertainty, startups face enormous risks. As a startup owner, what can you do to improve your chances? Through rapid experimentation, short product development cycles, and rigorous measurements of the right metrics, they can ascertain what customers really want.

Lean 193

Lean Technical Review North America Startup 193

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 23, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Why vanity metrics are dangerous In a previous post, I defined two kinds of metrics: vanity metrics and actionable metrics. In this post, Id like to talk about the perils of vanity metrics. My personal favorite vanity metrics is "hits."

Metrics 167

Metrics San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Successful startup teams today have a mix of remote employees, freelancers, and contractors.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

.” Below are our favorite pieces from the past few years, divided in to a few key categories: fundraising, company building, product development, industry trends, and the life of a VC. Free Template for Great Startup Pitch Decks, Direct from VCs. ’ like all startups have to, but also “why invest now?'”

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 26, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, April 26, 2009 Product development leverage Leverage has once again become a dirty word in the world of finance, and rightly so. But I want to talk about a different kind of leverage, the kind that you can get in product development. Its a key lean startup concept.

Product Development 88

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 88

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

When you see startups like SpaceX and Pinterest grow from a low valuation to a billion dollars in just a few years, it’s easy to assume that if you just keep doing what you are doing, you can get there as well. In fact, it’s highly unlikely that you as the Founder will survive. Switch your focus from product development to sales.

Merger 379

Merger Due Diligence SEC IPO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Cashflow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

by Lu Zhang, founder and managing partner of Fusion Fund. In the startup world, opportunities are fleeting, and obstacles are ubiquitous. Poor founder dynamics or a focus on small or shrinking markets can also sink your chances. I knew no one, which meant I had to spend a lot of time meeting people and developing relationships.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 22, 2008 Thoughts on scientific product development I enjoyed reading a post today from Laserlike (Mike Speiser), on Scientific product development. I agree with the less is more product development approach, but for a different reason. Now that is fun.

Product Development 68

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 68

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 4, 2015

It’s no secret that setting goals is critical to achieving any kind of success, and making sure they’re realistic and measurable is vital to maintaining momentum and motivation, especially in the startup game. The challenge for most startups is that they don’t just have a few goals — they have every goal. How OKRs Can Help.

Agile 100

Agile Startup Cofounder Metrics 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and founders being replaced, to their chagrin. According to one study a decade ago, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Neither is effective without the other.

Mezzanine 368

Mezzanine Private Equity Bandwidth Metrics 368

YoungUpstarts

MAY 30, 2019

by Will Koffel , head of the Google Cloud Startup Program in the Americas. In 2013, I left a CTO job overseeing a 50-person product engineering team for the same job at a four-person startup. ” Most early startups don’t understand the distinction between the two.

Management 138

Management Product SCRUM Early Stage 138

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 30, 2018

I was really curious to learn more about his research and findings, but also how these practices apply to working in startups. Q: Startups are inherently unstable. Can you explain how the principles that make people successful in more traditional, less volatile work environments can also work for startups?

Metrics 349

Metrics Startup Lean Detroit 349

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 29, 2013

This post was written by Sarah Milstein, co-host of The Lean Startup Conference. We’re looking for speakers for the 2013 Lean Startup Conference. If you’re a Lean Startup veteran, feel free to skim the beginning, as this is mostly stuff you already know. Often, in very young organizations, those people are simply the founders.

Lean 165

Lean Technical Review Startup Software Review 165

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 8, 2008 The lean startup Ive been thinking for some time about a term that could encapsulate trends that are changing the startup landscape. After some trial and error, Ive settled on the Lean Startup. Of course, many startups are capital efficient and generally frugal.

Lean 168

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 168

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and founders being replaced, to their chagrin. According to one study a while back, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Neither is effective without the other.

Mezzanine 244

Mezzanine Private Equity Startup Bandwidth 244

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 25, 2011

It’s been just over a year since the inaugural Startup Lessons Learned conference , and it’s time to do it again. The Lean Startup movement has made tremendous progress in the past year. Kent Beck himself helped us explain that “quality work” means something different when we’re facing the extreme uncertainty of a startup.

San Francisco 146

San Francisco Silicon Valley Lean Agile 146

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, July 9, 2010 Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# theory of management At any given time, something like four percent of the US population is engaged in some form of new-company-creation. Let’s start with the startup personality attributes. for my more expansive definition).

San Francisco 161

San Francisco Management Founder Lean 161

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 24, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, March 24, 2009 The metrics and levers of engagement, presentation on Engagement Loops for Facebook Developer Garage SF Ill be presenting a talk at the Facebook Developer Garage SF Wednesday evening. What good are these metrics if they dont help guide product or business decisions?

Metrics 88

Metrics San Francisco Lean Viral 88

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 2, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Wednesday, June 2, 2010 The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business Review) I continue my series for Harvard Business Review with the Lean Startup technique called Five Whys. Five Whys has its origins in the Toyota Production System. Five Whys has its origins in the Toyota Production System.

Technical Review 132

Technical Review San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 132

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2020

I’m sure you have all seen entrepreneurs and startups with great ideas that never seem to live up to their potential, while others with more mundane solutions seem to take off quickly and never slow down. If you tell me that you have been working on your startup for two years, but can’t quite quantify the progress, I’m not impressed.

Advisory Board 308

Advisory Board Agile Social Media Metrics 308

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Once a startup has raised seed capital, plenty of theories and advice exist on how to successfully raise a Series A. Recently, we looked at our own portfolio at NextView Ventures to dig a little deeper on how startups actually raise that next round of financing. More on these below.). There was no meaningful difference.

Syndicate 333

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Startup 333

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

As part of a startup business, you’ll know that there is no greater desire to win your first customer or your tenth customer. As a founder of a startup myself (we’re six years old now, in fact), I know those feelings all too well. Ensure company founders do customer support. So, the cycle continues.

Customer 60

Customer Retention Startup Metrics 60

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2014

I’ve worked with a lot of amazing people on my startup, PopInShop. As an entrepreneur raised in the era of analytics, I want to find metrics for everything. When I was going through the co-founder “dating” process, I’d found a potential partner through my network who seemed to be perfect. Why did I think that?

Partner 113

Partner Cofounder Equity Metrics 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2015

Successful entrepreneurs start with a customer problem, and develop a solution, rather than the other way around. They build a startup culture of working for customers rather than pushing a product. Develop market insights and a growth vision far beyond today. Manage by metrics rather than by crisis and emotion.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Metrics Hosting Leadership 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

But the thing I am most proud of about Rob is that he has taken a company with a uniquely talented founder & CTO – Nick Halstead – and managed to build a very tight working relationship with Nick where we drive world-class product development without having the usual founder / CEO conflicts.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Most startups fail. Not because they have a conversion problem but because they never really nail the product or how to market it. The most common mistake startups make is assuming they can operate the same way big companies do, and expect success with little to no feedback from potential customers. image source.

Customer Development 126

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 126

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, September 30, 2008 What does a startup CTO actually do? When Ive asked mentors of mine who have worked in big companies about the role of the CTO, they usually talk about the importance of being the external face of the companys technology platform; an evangelist to developers, customers, and employees.

CTO 168

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 168

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Master of 500 Hats: Startup Metrics for Pirates (SeedCamp 2008, London) This presentation should be required reading for anyone creating a startup with an online service component. He also has a discussion of how your choice of business model determines which of these metric areas you want to focus on. Choose one.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

Nick Kim , Crosscut’s Head of Platform, in his presentation at the 4th Annual VC Platform Summit, shared their Platform development methodology, which he viewed as an exercise in product development. For example, recruiting writ large is useful at all stages of development. AskAnything.VC Advantages.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 31, 2016

More than 75 marketplace founders and investors attended the event – coming from as far as South Africa and Nova Scotia. As an investor and former founder, I know that scalable growth (and the pretty hockey stick graph) is the holy grail for every startup. Then, the startup needs to get strong product-market fit.

Software Review 60

Software Review South Africa Hockey Stick Viral 60

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 12, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, January 12, 2010 Amazing lean startup resources A year ago, there was no lean startup movement. I continue to believe that the explosion of interest in the lean startup has very little to do with me. If you are attempting to apply lean startup ideas in your own business - you are not alone.

Lean 146

Lean San Francisco Wiki Startup 146

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 26, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Building a new startup hub Last week, I had a unique opportunity to spend some time in Boulder at the behest of TechStars. It was a great experience to see a relatively new startup hub in action - and thriving. Their model looks like a key ingredient in the startup brew there.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Silicon Valley Startup Lean 113

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 7, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Wednesday, April 7, 2010 Learning is better than optimization (the local maximum problem) Lean startups don’t optimize. At least, not in the traditional sense of trying to squeeze every tenth of a point out of a conversion metric or landing page. Split-testing is great for figuring out which is which.

San Francisco 154

San Francisco Lean Metrics Design 154

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

To give you a better idea of what entrepreneurs in this industry are thinking about during each phase of the startup process, I interviewed SaaS entrepreneurs from all over the world, including our own COO Noah Parsons. Noah has been a key figure in the making of LivePlan, our own SaaS product. “If Solve a problem you can relate to.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

David Cohen

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

This year we had 220 alumni founders in Boston for the annual gathering, which culminated in a demo day with entrepreneurs from the Boston TechStars program. Shah, founder and CTO of Hubspot , spoke on Monday afternoon about inbound marketing for startups. Everlater co-founders Nate Abbott and Natty Zola are awarded gold shirts.

Boston 82

Boston Cofounder Software Engineering Acquisition 82