Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. It’s important to learn from your own mistakes, but it’s even smarter to learn from someone else’s mistakes, without paying their high price in time lost, cost, and pain. Assume passion level defines business opportunity.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Steve Blank

MARCH 12, 2014

We realized that past K-12 Entrepreneurial classes taught students “the lemonade stand” version of how to start a company: 1) come up with an idea, 2) execute the idea, 3) do the accounting (revenue, costs, etc.). We wanted to teach our students how to think like entrepreneurs not accountants.

Lean 335

Lean Customer Development Startup Silicon Valley 335

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

Products that can be easily produced and sold via multiple channels, including the Internet, are more easily scaled world-wide. Minimize one-time sales in your business model. You need a stable customer base with an automatically renewing revenue stream, such as the subscription model.

Merger 386

Merger Acquisition Software Review Social Media 386

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Steve Blank

JUNE 27, 2017

Initially, a startup has no business model and no market share to defend. If they select a business model that targets industry incumbents, they don’t have to worry about upsetting existing customers, partners or distribution channels. Its employees and investors don’t depend on an existing revenue stream.

Startup 306

Startup New York City Valuation Distribution 306

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

One way to approach that last question is to use this simple model: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) How will your business reach prospects? And how much will it cost to win them? Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) How much money will your business generate from each converted customer? Apply costs to each channel.

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 260

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model. For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. These areas include market, process, and team transitions.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

Steve Blank

MARCH 8, 2011

It was designed to bring together many of the new approaches to building a successful startup – customer development, agile development, business model generation and pivots. We were positing that 20 years of teaching “how to write a business plan” might be obsolete. Get Out of the Building and test the Business Model.

Lean 308

Lean Business Model Customer Development Guinea 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2016

Even the best products and solutions won’t go anywhere unless you sell them through the right channels. They usually get chastised and declined for ignoring the realities of the retail channel. The right channel for marketing and distribution is one of the basic “four Ps” of business (product, promotion, price and placement).

Channel 120

Channel Distribution Partner Acquisition 120

Steve Blank

APRIL 4, 2011

This week they were testing who the customer, user, payer for the product will be (and discovering if they have a multi-sided business model , one with both buyers and sellers.) How can we attract buyers to our channel before they make purchasing decisions? as well as channel partners and cloud industry technology consultants.

Customer 241

Customer Business Model Nebraska Cloud 241

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

Having only a large capital base and distribution channels, with no innovation, is not a sustainable business model. Non-industrial large organizations cling to outdated business models. The cost of entrepreneur entry is at an all-time low. Many countries have learned to make products cheaper and better.

Artificial Inteligence 315

Artificial Inteligence Offshore Merger Technical Review 315

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model. For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. These areas include market, process, and team transitions.

Startup 296

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 296

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. It’s important to learn from your own mistakes, but it’s even smarter to learn from someone else’s mistakes, without paying their high price in time lost, cost, and pain. Assume passion level defines business opportunity.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model. For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. These areas include market, process, and team transitions.

Startup 286

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 286

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2014

Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model. For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. These areas include market, process, and team transitions.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Startup Angel Investor Technical Review 283

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

When the product and channel are bits, adoption by 10’s and 100’s of millions and even billions of users can happen in years versus decades. Continuous innovation requires the imagination and courage to challenge the initial hypotheses of your current business model (channel, cost, customers, products, supply chain, etc.)

Restful 249

Restful Silicon Valley San Jose Puerto Rico 249

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2023

People respond to positives, such as new growth, versus problems implying costs and loss of customers. Don’t hesitate to look for new business partners who can mitigate your constraints, including distributors, new channels, or even competitors with complementary products. Adopt alternative business models to address challenges.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Partner Matching Channel 277

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

Thus I offer the following outline for how to organize and present your business plan, with specific examples: Start with outlining the customer problem, and your solution. For example, “We just patented a new battery technology that will cut your smartphone charge time and cost in half.” Use non-fuzzy terms to quantify customer value.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2012

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Unless your volumes are in the millions or higher, the difference between manufacturing cost and customer price better be 50% or greater.

Forecast 238

Forecast Burn Rate .Net Business Model 238

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 24, 2013

Having only a large capital base and distribution channels, with no innovation, is not a sustainable business model. Non-industrial large organizations cling to outdated business models. The cost of entrepreneur entry is at an all-time low. Many countries have learned to make products cheaper and better.

Entrepreneur 263

Entrepreneur Offshore Merger Technical Review 263

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model. For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. These areas include market, process, and team transitions.

Startup 245

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 245

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2013

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Unless your volumes are in the millions or higher, the difference between manufacturing cost and customer price better be 50% or greater.

Forecast 238

Forecast Business Plan Burn Rate .Net 238

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2011

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Unless your volumes are in the millions or higher, the difference between manufacturing cost and customer price better be 50% or greater.

Forecast 230

Forecast Burn Rate Startup .Net 230

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

Most business professionals I know have been conditioned to think of inflation as highly negative, driving up their costs, and reducing customer buying. I see it as an opportunity to find new ways to attract customers , make long-needed changes to improve productivity, and lower your own costs of doing business.

Technical Review 239

Technical Review Revenue Social Media Cost 239

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2018

This can happen through early marketing, independent of whether you have yet delivered a single product, proven your business model, or have any real customers. Show validation data for business model key elements. Another term often mentioned is “momentum,” or growing visibility and advocacy within your customer set.

Advisory Board 199

Advisory Board Technical Review Metrics Business Model 199

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

With over a decade of experience in his toolkit, he specializes in helping clients build out cross-channel acquisition systems using a mix of owned, earned and paid tactics. 07:17] What is you cross-channel acquisition strategy? [11:13] 20:58] Are there any overlooked channels or platforms worth exploring? This is John Jantsch.

Channel 92

Channel Acquisition Framework B2B 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2012

In these days of rapid change, almost every startup has to adapt their solution, business model, or target customer. Don’t wait for the final production model to find out that your product has a weak link in one of the common environments. Basis for working with vendors to finalize costs, manufacturing, and marketing.

Startup 242

Startup Early Stage Database Distribution 242

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Having only a large capital base and distribution channels, with no innovation, is not a sustainable business model. Non-industrial large organizations cling to outdated business models. The cost of entrepreneur entry is at an all-time low. Many countries have learned to make products cheaper and better.

Engineer 219

Engineer Entrepreneur Offshore Merger 219

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 19, 2021

Also, it can open up numerous business models and revenue channels that were earlier inaccessible for want of a suitable hardware and software solution. IoT will also enable businesses to get a fresh pair of eyes to look into data to derive insightful business insights. . IoT’s impact on healthcare.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Software Review Cloud Vertical 215

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2010

In these days of rapid change, almost every startup has to adapt their solution, business model, or target customer. Don’t wait for the final production model to find out that your product has a weak link in one of the common environments. Basis for working with vendors to finalize costs, manufacturing, and marketing.

Entrepreneur 236

Entrepreneur Early Stage Database Distribution 236

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

— all great things when you are executing and scaling a known business model. Because the new CEO had built a team capable of and comfortable with executing an existing business model, the company would fail or get acquired. Board Control. For three decades (1978-2008), investors controlled the board. The founders.

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

An effective tool I see used more and more, as a prelude to a more detailed business plan, is the Business Model Canvas , first introduced by Alexander Osterwalder back in 2008. In my experience as a new business advisor, a business is nothing until people are aligned and work in sync. Key resources.

Business Model 334

Business Model Intellectual Property Angel Investor Channel 334

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 25, 2014

While it’s true that at no other time are customers in as much of a shopping mood, SMBs cannot afford to sit back and follow a “Field of Dreams” business model. Facebook, specifically, is a strong lead-generation channel that allows advertising through promoted content that can yield better conversion than traditional ads.

Customer 176

Customer Social Media eCommerce Campaign 176

VC Cafe

MARCH 16, 2025

Attractive Consumer Opportunities in 2025 and Beyond While there hasn’t been a blockbuster IPO for consumer tech companies (mobile apps, B2C model startups) that matches the scale of Uber, Airbnb, Roblox, DoorDash, or Unity over the past 5 years, it feels like the momentum for consumer tech is rapidly changing.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review B2C Generative AI IPO 78

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Patient-facing cost is a key driver of healthcare accessibility. Despite the structural and historical factors behind the incumbent cost structure of the US healthcare system, there are opportunities for new digital entrants to innovate around the cost stack and deliver more affordable care. . Affordability .

Vertical 156

Vertical Software Review Portfolio Demand 156

Steve Blank

MAY 6, 2015

Learning could be about product features, customer needs, the right pricing and distribution channel, etc.) These hypotheses span the gamut from who’s the customer(s), to what’s the value proposition (product/service features), pricing, distribution channel, and demand creation (customer acquisition, activation, retention, etc.).

Lean 120

Lean Agile Business Model Customer Development 120

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 9, 2012

In this excerpt from The Lean Entrepreneur , by using fishing as an analogy, Brant and Patrick reveal how market segmentation influences your business model and why “For Whom” is as important as “What” to build. Market segments drive your business model. It was a fairly organic thing.

Entrepreneur 167

Entrepreneur Lean Southern California San Diego 167