Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

For decades startups were managed by pretending the company would follow a predictable path (revenue plan, scale, etc.) As we described in previous posts , startups fail on the day they’re founded if they are organized and managed like they are a small version of a large company. Business Model Design and Customer Development Stack.

Burn Rate 252

Burn Rate Management Business Model Customer Development 252

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 27, 2009

The full formula works like this: runway = cash on hand / burn rate # iterations = runway / speed of each iteration Very few successful companies ended up in the same exact business that the founders thought theyd be in (see Founders at Work for dozens of examples). What counts as an iteration? Were talking PayPal -sized variations.

San Francisco 117

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 117

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

Managing the Business. If you are following Customer Development , the answer is easy. Board meetings are about measuring progress measured against the hypotheses in Customer Discovery and Validation. Paying Customers (How many customers made $ purchases that month). Customer Acquisition. Here’s why.

Balance Sheet 307

Balance Sheet Startup Burn Rate Metrics 307

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Do some Customer Development instead. The product didnt convert well enough, the mainstream customers we were driving werent ready for the concept, and the event fed expectations about how successful the product was going to be that turned out to be hyper-inflated. You will NEVER be ready until some customers hit you.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

raised their voices in a annoyed investor tone) that the headcount and its attendant burn rate combined with the lack of revenue meant the company would run out of money much sooner than anyone planned. Filed under: Customer Development , Market Types. Tags: Customer Development Market Types.

Revenue 232

Revenue Balance Sheet Hockey Stick Burn Rate 232

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup’s life are burn rate and cash balance. There are no standards for what each side (board versus management) does. Most board meetings never get past big company metrics to focus on the crucial startup numbers. The Wrong Structure.

Silicon Valley 300

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 300

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup’s life are burn rate and cash balance. There are no standards for what each side (board versus management) does. Most board meetings never get past big company metrics to focus on the crucial startup numbers. The Wrong Structure.

Silicon Valley 273

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 273

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 13, 2011

Steve Blank is a retired serial entrepreneur, educator, thought leader and creator of the rigorous "Customer Development" methodology that helps startups optimize their chances for success while reducing risk. The only numbers in those documents that are important in the first year of a startup's life are burn rate and cash balance.

Silicon Valley 117

Silicon Valley Balance Sheet Metrics Early Stage 117

Steve Blank

MAY 15, 2009

We hired an interior designer and a great facilities person to manage the process. If the management team is thinking they’ve made it, the new building is just symptomatic of a company heading for a crash. The startup guys should have taken the hint that their burn rate was likely inappropriate (read: out of control).

Silicon Valley 233

Silicon Valley RSS Lean Agile 233

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 30, 2009

Worse was the large staff in departments appropriate to a mainstream-scale product, especially in customer service and QA. The passionate early adopters who flocked to the product at its launch could not sustain this outsized burn rate. We can capitalize on new customers.

San Francisco 150

San Francisco Lean Agile Continuous Deployment 150