Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

After 20 years of working in startups, I decided to take a step back and look at the product development model I had been following and see why it usually failed to provide useful guidance in activities outside the building – sales, marketing and business development. So what’s wrong the product development model?

Customer Development 243

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 243

Steve Blank

JUNE 25, 2009

Twenty eight years ago I was the bright, young, eager product marketing manager called out to the field to support sales by explaining the technical details of Convergent Technologies products to potential customers. So their management teams were insisting that they OEM (buy from someone else) these products.

Technology 142

Technology Silicon Valley Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE 142

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

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

This product development diagram had become part of the DNA of Silicon Valley. That’s in stark contrast to the traditional Product Development Model where it’s expected a customer is already there and waiting and it’s simply a matter of [.] familiar with Customer Development you should be.

Product Development 155

Product Development Developer Silicon Valley Product 155

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

I was consulting for the two venture capital firms who between them put $12 million into my last failed startup. (My Yet when I talked to my venture capital friends, they said, “Well, that’s just how startups work. My mother kept asking if they were going to make me pay the money back.

Silicon Valley 129

Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital Customer Development 129

crowdSPRING Blog

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

The Myth of Venture Capital | Re/code by Jon Oringer – crowdspring.co/1tNFeV7. Bad Notes on Venture Capital – crowdspring.co/1u3NJvn. Busting the Lean-Startup Myth – crowdspring.co/1ozOXHA. Livescribe Notebooks by Moleskine marry analog and digital technology – crowdspring.co/1lYTFTX.

Social Media 94

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Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 4, 2008

Maybe youd like to start with The lean startup , How to listen to customers , or What does a startup CTO actually do? ) He previously co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer of IMVU. Eventually, I came to summarize these themes with the phrase " the lean startup." Ive founded and self-funded a (lean) startup on my own.

San Francisco 155

San Francisco Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO CTO 155

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 11, 2012

Lean Marketing: Delivering Customer Service via Social Media – [link]. Six Myths of Product Development – [link]. Unlimited Vacation Doesn’t Create Slackers–It Ensures Productivity – [link]. What I learned from raising venture capital – [link]. – [link]. Who’s Next?

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Why should they risk investing in a startup that could get commoditised by either OpenAI, Google, Microsoft or open source technology? Undoubtedly, there will be detractors who believe many products are simply features on top of foundational models.

Generative AI 78

Generative AI ChatGPT Artificial Inteligence Cofounder 78

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

Steve Blank

MAY 28, 2009

Markets with Invention Risk are those where it’s questionable whether the technology can ever be made to work – but if it does customers will beat a path to the company’s door. Markets with Customer/Market Risk are those where the unknown is whether customers will adopt the product. (The

Vertical 159

Vertical Silicon Valley Marketing Customer 159

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

For those of you who have been following the discussion, a Lean Startup is Eric Ries ’s description of the intersection of Customer Development , Agile Development and if available, open platforms and open source. Over its lifetime a Lean Startup may spend less money than a traditional startup.

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Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

The other revels in the world as we all know it will be someday: limitless distribution enabled by new technologies, the importance of collaborative filters, and on-demand availability of all content for end-users. There are too many products clamoring for attention. I’ve met a lot of gatekeepers in the past few months.

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Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009

Home Books for Startups Secret History-Bibliography Steve Blank Startup Resources Steve Blank Entries RSS | Comments RSS Categories Air Force (9) Ardent (9) Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan (29) California Coastal Commission (3) Conservation (2) Convergent Technologies (1) Customer Development (98) Customer Development Manifesto (..)

Customer 214

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SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. Storm Clouds - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , November 12, 2010 We have enjoyed an amazing run in the web startup and investing space over the past five or six years. This should not deter you.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 30, 2010

This way, you're getting the product feedback you need from customers and partners, I'm seeing what the market thinks of what you have, and we didn't even talk money at all yet. If the feedback is great, I'm going to lean forward with some more interest.

Technical Review 113

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Steve Blank

JULY 30, 2009

Look for some “ skunk works &# project where the product developers are actively seeking alternatives to their own engineering organization. But there’s nothing like in-person interaction to find out what your startup/product/messaging REALLY should be.

Silicon Valley 140

Silicon Valley RSS California Customer Development 140

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

Larry had the DNA I’ve seen common with all the successful entrepreneurs I’ve backed in my 25 years of Venture Capital work—only he had a more exaggerated case than most. Pragmatic and Lean. Great entrepreneurial DNA is comprised of leadership; technological vision; frugality; and the desire to succeed. What a gift!

Technical Review 334

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Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2009

This post describes how the traditional product development model distorts startup sales, marketing and business development. The Use of a Product Development Model to Measure Sales Using the product development diagram for startup sales activities is like using a clock to tell the temperature.

Customer Development 227

Customer Development Developer Silicon Valley Customer 227

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

This series of posts is a brief explanation of how we’ve evolved from Product Development to Customer Development to the Lean Startup. The Product Development Diagram Emerging early in the twentieth century, this product-centric model described a process that evolved in manufacturing industries.

Silicon Valley 268

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 268

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 29, 2020

Most importantly, the phrase “ bootstrapping a startup ” translates into “growing your business with little or no venture capital or outside investment. It is also important to realize that, statistically speaking, most startups become operational without any venture capital or external funding sources.

Bootstrapping 85

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Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

This post describes a solution – the Customer Development Model. In future posts I’ll describe how Eric Ries and the Lean Startup concept provide the equivalent model for product development activities inside the building and neatly integrates customer and agile development.

Customer Development 252

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 252

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

In hindsight it appeared clear that startups that survive the first few tough years do not follow the traditional product-centric launch model espoused by product managers or the venture capital community. But it is life and death for a new venture. It is the path that is hidden in plain sight.

Silicon Valley 132

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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 217

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 217

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2009

Eighty some pages later I realized that a) I had some great war stories as a good marketeer and failed CEO, b) I’d have to pay my wife and kids to read them, c) the three of them were probably the entire total available market, and d) when I looked at what I had done and what other entrepreneurs had done at their startups, that there was a pattern.

Redemption 130

Redemption Silicon Valley RSS California 130

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. Technology? New/Disruptive?

Vertical 124

Vertical Silicon Valley RSS Marketing 124

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 28, 2009

Home Books for Startups Secret History-Bibliography Steve Blank Startup Resources Steve Blank Entries RSS | Comments RSS Categories Air Force (9) Ardent (9) Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan (29) California Coastal Commission (3) Conservation (2) Convergent Technologies (1) Customer Development (98) Customer Development Manifesto (..)

North Carolina 157

North Carolina Silicon Valley RSS Connecticut 157

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. This is a radical departure from a traditional VC pitch. Great post!

Customer Development 266

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 266

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 17, 2015

In the second stage, it moves into Investing, Inventing, Incubating and Acquiring technologies and companies, and in the third stage building product(s ). Stage 1: Networking and Partnering – the Technology Connectors. Could create and introduce new and disruptive products and/or services for new markets.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Incubator Acquisition Business Model 120

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

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 1, 2009

It is interesting to note that some advocates of lean management and accounting (including Waddell and Bodek in *The Rebirth of American Industry*) have a strong dislike of Sloan/Brown management cost accounting.

Silicon Valley 175

Silicon Valley United States RSS Customer Development 175

Steve Blank

MAY 7, 2009

I finally understood how valuable these contests can be for students in cities or countries without a venture capital or entrepreneurial infrastructure. Over scrambled eggs and diet coke, I listened to this seasoned startup veteran describe the excitement of his students who came to the U.S. to compete. You’ll learn a lot.

Business Plan 152

Business Plan Silicon Valley RSS Venture Capital 152

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

You’ve got a great idea and domain expertise, but limited money and insufficient technology resources. Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? portfolio operator VCs, e.g., Andreessen Horowitz, ff Venture Capital, First Round Capital, Google Ventures.

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

technologies, there are many nuggets that will help you build an efficient, repeatable sales process.) He should then bootstrap his product development by using the consulting fees. Sramana Mitra is a technology entrepreneur and strategy consultant in Silicon Valley. process in detail. Chaks budget is very low.

Marketing 52

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www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

technologies, there are many nuggets that will help you build an efficient, repeatable sales process.) He should then bootstrap his product development by using the consulting fees. Sramana Mitra is a technology entrepreneur and strategy consultant in Silicon Valley. process in detail. Chaks budget is very low.

Marketing 52

Marketing Bootstrapping Incubator Angel Investor 52

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.

Founder 308

Founder Silicon Valley RSS China 308

Steve Blank

AUGUST 24, 2009

Home Books for Startups Secret History-Bibliography Steve Blank Startup Resources Steve Blank Entries RSS | Comments RSS Categories Air Force (9) Ardent (9) Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan (29) California Coastal Commission (3) Conservation (2) Convergent Technologies (1) Customer Development (98) Customer Development Manifesto (..)

Silicon Valley 206

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