Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

This post describes how following the traditional product development can lead to a “startup death spiral.&# In the next posts that follow, I’ll describe how this model’s failures led to the Customer Development Model – offering a new way to approach startup sales and marketing activities.

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Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 232

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

5) The customer’s needs don’t match your long term direction. While I completely agree with this notion, the signals might be more important (when you might fire them): 1) You don’t have a bi-directional (respectful) relationship. 2) They don’t care about your profitibility and ultimately, your staying power.

Customer 216

Customer Silicon Valley RSS California 216

Steve Blank

JUNE 25, 2009

They couldn’t keep up with the fast product development times that were enabled by using standard microprocessors. So their management teams were insisting that they OEM (buy from someone else) these products. The next thing you need to do is match your sales team with your market type.

Technology 143

Technology Silicon Valley Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE 143

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

It should go without saying that this post is not advice, nor is it recommendation of what you should do, it’s simply my observation of how companies using Customer Development positioned themselves to successfully raise money from venture investors. Your presentation doesn’t have a single word about Lean Startups or Customer Development.

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Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 267

Steve Blank

AUGUST 24, 2009

His wife, about my age, could have been a poster child for the stereotypical California hippie surfer, with politics that matched her style – antiwar, anti government, antiestablishment.

Silicon Valley 210

Silicon Valley PR Technical Review RSS 210

Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

Next, you have to deal with the daily crisis of product development and acquiring early customers. And here’s where life gets really interesting, as the reality of product development and customer input collide, the facts change so rapidly that the original well-thought-out business plan becomes irrelevant.

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