Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Great businesses begin with a customer problem that has a big and monetizable pain point. Nail the business model.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

The book has been shepherded and edited by a great Japanese VC at Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, Takashi Tsutsumi, with help from Masato Iino. I asked Tsutsumi-san to write a guest post for my blog to describe his experience with Customer Development in Japan. But customers didn’t agree. The Crater in my rookie days.

Japan 305

Japan Customer Development Developer Customer 305

Duct Tape Marketing

JULY 5, 2023

How To Write A Business Book That Matters written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing Marketing Podcast with Josh Bernoff In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interview Josh Bernoff. Questions I ask Josh Bernoff: [01:59] What are the essential elements that a business book needs to be good? [02:49]

Audio 71

Audio Artificial Inteligence ChatGPT Naming 71

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

Every new business quickly realizes that revenue coming in every period on a committed basis is the Holy Grail to survival and growth. Based on traditional research, getting new customers is five to ten times harder than getting additional revenue from existing customers. Front-of-the-line model. Network model.

Business Model 294

Business Model Startup Cloud Curation 294

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2022

Building an ethical business is more than just compliance and meeting legal requirements, and it has big paybacks. One 11-year study of over 200 companies over a decade ago, detailed in the book “ Corporate Culture and Performance ,” found that those working on their culture improved revenue by 516%, and increased net income by 755%.

Software Review 291

Software Review Offshore Entrepreneur Leadership 291

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2023

No matter how well your business seems to have worked for you up to this point, you can be certain that it will need to be heavily transformed for tomorrow’s new world-wide economy and no industry sector boundaries. None of us can afford to be a silo anymore. A few wrong turns should never deter you from reaching the destination.

Partner 350

Partner Operations Metrics Leadership 350

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 4, 2023

This will allow you to identify opportunities, challenges, customer preferences, and emerging trends. Market research involves gathering information about potential customers in your target area, competitor strategies, pricing scales, and demand patterns amongst other things.

Balance Sheet 107

Balance Sheet Technical Review Business Model Business Plan 107

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Customer Development is a technique startups use to quickly iterate and test each part of their business model. How you execute Customer Development varies, depending on your type of business. In my book, “ The Four Steps to the Epiphany ” I use enterprise software as the business model example.

Customer Development 274

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2022

Today more than ever, the evidence is clear that business people need to find and communicate a purpose that goes beyond making a profit, in order to ensure customer engagement, as well as your own, and drive results in the marketplace. As you grow, so will your team and customers.

Technical Review 357

Technical Review Green Social Media Lean 357

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

In his classic book “ The 3rd American Dream ,” thought leader Suresh Sharma summarizes the large corporate accomplishments of the 19 th and 20 th centuries, and then lays out the potential of a new entrepreneurial business ecosystem for the 21 st century. Non-industrial large organizations cling to outdated business models.

Artificial Inteligence 315

Artificial Inteligence Offshore Merger Technical Review 315

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2020

I saw these highlighted well in a classic book, “ Get Smart! ” by prolific author and renowned business consultant Brian Tracy. He lays out seven thinking strategies for both entrepreneurs and employees that will make them business winners: Focus on the customers at all times. Think like your ideal customer seeking value.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Business Model Employee Sales 294

Start Up Blog

NOVEMBER 1, 2019

Customer service systems have improved so much in then past 20 years we take for granted how arduous some things used to be. But more importantly, it was filled with many customer centric fixes, and startups in the process of doing so. Not to mentiond customers would actually know what they are getting.

Business Model 48

Business Model Technical Review Hiring Technology 48

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Steve Blank

APRIL 16, 2013

In my 21 years as an entrepreneur, I would come up for air once a month to religiously read the Harvard Business Review. It was not only my secret weapon in thinking about new startup strategies, it also gave me a view of the management issues my customers were dealing with. I learned about Michael Porter s’s five forces.

Technical Review 331

Technical Review Lean Venture Capital Customer Development 331

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2021

Today’s customers are overloaded and overwhelmed by too much information, so making a decision is a challenge. You may think this is only important to your marketing and sales people, but in reality it doesn’t matter how great your product or technology might be, you won’t succeed if you don’t understand your target customer decision process.

Customer 340

Customer Sales Business Model Social Media 340

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2014

Product/Market fit now has its own book. It has three parts: a business model canvas to frame hypotheses, customer development to get out of the building to test those hypotheses and agile engineering to build minimum viable products. His new book does three things: 1. Alexander Osterwalder wrote it.

Business Model 335

Business Model Design Customer Development Lean 335

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

I was in New York last week with my class at Columbia University and several events made me realize that the Customer Development model needs to better describe its fit with web-based businesses. In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers?

Customer Development 228

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 228

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2013

Many entrepreneurs think that adapting to the new technologies, like smart phones and Internet commerce, are the key to attracting new customers. In fact, businesses need to adapt just as completely to the changes in the buying and social behavior of consumers. High-technology product startups, without customers, don’t make a business.

Customer 251

Customer Technical Review Startup Social Media 251

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

In her classic book on this subject, “ Who’s That Sitting at My Desk? ” More importantly, we all need to develop the right relationships, and actively avoid those types that are not right for the business, or not right for our career at a particular point in time. That’s why investors say they invest in people, not ideas.

Business Model 229

Business Model Developer Entrepreneur Partner 229

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

Providing business leadership is a challenge under the best of circumstances, but it is especially difficult in times of market and customer crises. It’s amazing what you can learn from customer-facing teams in anticipating a crisis, and looking at solution alternatives. Yet, we all know a few leaders who surged ahead.

Leadership 305

Leadership Business Model Customer Small Business 305

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. Are there customers for what you are building? Is there a profitable business model? How many are there? Can it scale?” And finally, “Is this a team that can build this company?”

Customer Development 270

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 270

Steve Blank

APRIL 7, 2020

The classes are built on the Lean Startup methodology: Customer Discovery, Agile Engineering and the Business/Mission Model Canvas. So how do our students get out of the building to talk to customers to do Customer Discovery when they can’t get out of the building? How do should startups do it?

Customer 422

Customer Business Model Restful Video 422

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Message delivery must be customized for each investor. It takes more than one person to build a business, so the lone entrepreneur, without support from any visible team, advisors, partners, or potential customers, will not attract investors. A proven business model, ready to scale, is particularly attractive.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

ReadWriteStart

JULY 7, 2021

Various business models in an on-demand courier delivery app. Business to Consumer (B2C) – It is the most common type of business model. User-friendly courier delivery apps ensure round-the-clock fulfillment of parcels to customers across different locations. .

Technical Review 163

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Demand Social Media 163

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2022

As a startup advisor, I see too many entrepreneurs get distracted by technology or their favorite cause, and then wonder why they can’t find an investor, attract customers, or build a long-term business. Customers now put big value on experience, social impact, empowerment, and feedback.

Customer 258

Customer Advertising Cost Networking 258

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

Steve Blank via Flickr by jdlasica I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Great businesses begin with a customer problem that has a big and monetizable pain point.

Startup 245

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 245

ConversionXL

JUNE 2, 2022

Account-based marketing is an approach where marketing and sales work together to nurture target accounts and convert or retain customers. Sales finds aligned accounts and works with marketing to create customized journeys. Sales and marketing collaborate until a deal is closed and beyond to secure long-term customer retention.

Customer 98

Customer Marketing Channel Acquisition 98

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Book of Five Rings. I was driving home from the BIO conference in San Diego last month and had lots of time for a phone call with Dave, an ex student and now a founder who wanted to update me on his Customer Discovery progress. Customer Discovery. “ By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist.”.

Cofounder 336

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Coder 336

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2020

In her classic book on this subject, “ Who’s That Sitting at My Desk? ” More importantly, we all need to develop the right relationships, and actively avoid those types that are not right for the business, or not right for our career at a particular point in time. That’s why investors say they invest in people, not ideas.

Business Model 339

Business Model Developer Entrepreneur Partner 339

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Rent seekers are individuals or organizations with successful existing business models who use government regulation and lawsuits to keep out new entrants that might threaten their business models. Start diagraming out the relationships of all the customer segments. Bill Gurley’s point.) Who influences who?

Washington 316

Washington Government Marketing Silicon Valley 316

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

In previous posts I’ve talked about what the combination of Business Model Design, Customer Development and Agile Methodologies mean to startups and intrapreneurs in large companies; it’s the beginning of entrepreneurship as a science with its own rules and methodologies. Teaching In the Big Apple.

Customer Development 278

Customer Development Business Model Developer Design 278

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2011

But the reality is that sellers are no longer in charge of the customer buying process. Kristin Zhivago, in her new book “ Roadmap to Revenue ,” makes the point that the selling system is broken, since sellers no longer sell the way customers are buying. The best way to do this is with real customer interviews.

Customer 242

Customer Technical Review Business Model Revenue 242

Steve Blank

APRIL 16, 2013

In my 21 years as an entrepreneur, I would come up for air once a month to religiously read the Harvard Business Review. It was not only my secret weapon in thinking about new startup strategies, it also gave me a view of the management issues my customers were dealing with. I learned about Michael Porter s’s five forces.

Technical Review 223

Technical Review Lean Venture Capital Customer Development 223

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. If you haven’t yet finalized the business model, cost projections, and customer segments, you aren’t ready for investors. Excuse the typos and cleanup -- I’ve been too busy to finalize.”

Business Plan 273

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Social Media 273

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 25, 2010

It’s the combination of Business Model Design and Customer Development. Business Model Design. Today every business organization from startup to large company uses the words “business model.” More importantly they showed how any company’s business model could be defined in 9 boxes.

Customer Development 332

Customer Development Business Model Developer Customer 332

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2022

Success in any business these days requires a constant flow of new and innovative solutions, to keep up with changes in the market, competition, and to attract new customers. Yet in my role as a small business advisor, I still see a singular focus on achieving repeatable processes and “cookie-cutter” manufacturing.

Stock Options 277

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 277