Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

— Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. Typically, this caliber of bankers wouldn’t talk to you unless your company had five profitable quarters of increasing revenue. Board Control.

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

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

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 21, 2025

Building a Sustainable Business Model Establishing a business model that prioritises sustainability can yield significant long-term benefits. Beyond environmental considerations, there are ways to implement sustainable practices that enhance overall business efficiency and profitability.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Government Operations Demand 144

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2021

Yet don’t assume that any of these will override the basic need of every business to be self-sustaining via revenue to meet expenses over time. I still find entrepreneurs who are passionate about doing good and satisfying customers, but forget to focus on a business model that generates a financial return.

Customer 432

Customer Social Media Dividend Technical Review 432

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Consider the consequences of these monthly pricing possibilities: $0/mo means your goal is to maximize growth (trust and usage) instead of revenue. Your product is designed with natural tripwires to trigger other pricing ( Freemium model ), or not (business model left as an exercise to your future self).

Bootstrapping 294

Bootstrapping Technical Review B2C Sales Cycle 294

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 21, 2017

Revenue multiples, profit multiples, premium over the previous financing — these are metrics used by sellers to help determine a minimum acceptable price. Even for startups, it takes years for a new product to become good enough to demand many millions of dollars in revenue.). Yet mobile advertising revenues were paltry.

Balance Sheet 242

Balance Sheet Vertical Acquisition Revenue 242

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

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

OCTOBER 30, 2020

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. Your solution must have value for every customer. Strive to make real customers your best advocates for the initial rollout.

Merger 386

Merger Acquisition Software Review Social Media 386

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Implement a modern real business model. Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk. Measurements and business intelligence along the way also mitigate risk.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

There are currently 488 businesses in the IV therapy industry in the United States, indicating a thriving market. To stand out, new entrants must focus on creating a robust business model that prioritizes patient safety and adheres to healthcare regulations.

Mobile 97

Mobile United States Technical Review Business Model 97

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

Proving your Business Model Works - Build, Define, and Review But how do you prove your numbers? R : Revenue - Can you monetize any of this behavior? Then use what you’ve learned in this blog post to decide if the numbers validate your business model, or if you need to rethink your approach.

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 260

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Implement a modern real business model. Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk. Measurements and business intelligence along the way also mitigate risk.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2018

Solution and business model innovation require pushing the limits. A business model is not an after-thought. Passion and ego are no substitute for a business model that makes sense. Recurring revenue is the foundation for growth. Self-demanding beats boss-demanding every time.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Due Diligence Business Model Demand 233

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2020

Some analysts argue that revenue drives growth, while others say user growth drives revenue. Google reached $1B in revenue within five years of incorporation, and now has a market capitalization of over $1 trillion. A business only achieved critical mass by becoming cash-flow positive. Both have worked.

Revenue 434

Revenue Valuation Viral Retention 434

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2023

Solution and business model innovation require pushing the limits. A business model is not an after-thought. Passion and ego are no substitute for a business model that makes sense. Recurring revenue is the foundation for growth. Self-demanding beats boss-demanding every time.

Technical Review 229

Technical Review Due Diligence Business Model Demand 229

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

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. If Elon Musk is an advisor to your transportation startup, that is major traction, even without a product or revenue. Build an experienced technical and executive team.

Advisory Board 199

Advisory Board Technical Review Metrics Business Model 199

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 activities. Try this one.

Business Model 334

Business Model Intellectual Property Angel Investor Channel 334

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 10, 2014

Over 44 classes have embedded the business model canvas and/or Customer Discovery including a year-long course taken by every single one of its bioengineering majors. Elements of the business model canvas and/or discovery-based interviews of stakeholders have already been incorporated into 44 other classes at UMD.

Maryland 280

Maryland Lean DC Virginia 280

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 4, 2024

Our deep dive into the world of email newsletters unveils tactical strategies for transforming subscribers into revenue-generating assets. Key Takeaways: Russell Henneberry provides the tactical strategies to transform subscribers into revenue. Then you can add that, start adding in that advertising revenue.

Revenue 96

Revenue Advertising Email ChatGPT 96

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

For the rest of us, here is my prioritized list of key strategies that I believe every business leader can benefit from as a starting point in making the current inflation economy less of a negative impact on their business, or maybe even a pleasantly surprising positive: Solicit follow-on revenue from existing customers.

Technical Review 239

Technical Review Revenue Social Media Cost 239

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

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.”

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

VC Cafe

MARCH 16, 2025

Perhaps the most powerful content creation of all, which is growing in popularity is coding, catapulting companies like Lovable which hit $17M in annualised recurring revenue in February 2025, up from $7M at the end of 2024. These costs represent an ongoing tax on revenue, requiring careful consideration in business model design.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review B2C Generative AI IPO 78

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JULY 23, 2013

Marketo filed for IPO with impressive 80% year-over-year growth in 2012, with almost $60m in revenue. of revenue, force-feeding sales pipelines with an unprofitable product. So no, this upside-down business model isn’t what a SaaS business should construct. SaaS companies earn their revenue over time.

Business Model 335

Business Model .Net Revenue IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

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 that I’ve been too busy to finalize.”

Entrepreneur 299

Entrepreneur Technical Review Business Plan Angel Investor 299

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

She realised the revenue operations market was booming, especially within the tech industry, and therefore wanted to explore what is largely an untapped market within the UK and Europe. RevOps, or “Revenue Operations”, is a B2B function that uses automation to help teams make the right decisions to grow their business.

Congo 158

Congo Technical Review Africa Netherlands 158

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

Continuous innovation requires the imagination and courage to challenge the initial hypotheses of your current business model (channel, cost, customers, products, supply chain, etc.) Meanwhile every other department in the company would be making their plan – meaning the company was burning cash without bringing in revenue.

Restful 249

Restful Silicon Valley San Jose Puerto Rico 249

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 26, 2021

There are so many businesses around us, and to stay in the game, you need to think of ways to improve your small business revenue. It’s important to remember that every small business needs a different approach. Here are 8 straightforward ways to help you improve your small business. Follow industry best practices.

Small Business 179

Small Business Mobile Revenue Social Media 179

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2022

There is nothing wrong with a focus on making the current business model work better. Typical incentives give percentages of quarterly revenues and contribution as rewards for success. Avoid the macho concept that only top management can solve problems or address strategic challenges. Encourage an entrepreneurial culture.

Stock Options 277

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 277

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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2019

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

Software Review 192

Software Review Offshore Leadership .Net 192

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Plan for a real revenue model.

Business Model 273

Business Model Customer Angel Investor Bootstrapping 273

Hunter Walker

APRIL 17, 2025

By early 2024, we were sustainably profitable for a second time, on track to generate over $30 million in revenue and starting to get some PEs and strategics showing interest in Issuu. The most important aspect of venture debt is to fully understand the covenants, essentially business operations collateral, to which you are agreeing.

Covenant 77

Covenant Acquisition IPO Artificial Inteligence 77

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2019

Converting customer-centric advantages into business value requires a deep understanding of all the financial elements of your business, as well as customer drivers. A strategy of empowering people will produce near-term as well as lasting results for your business. Turn value creation (revenue) into value capture (profit).

Technical Review 218

Technical Review Revenue Analytics Metrics 218

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Eliminating middlemen in healthcare – from using AI to automate repetitive human jobs to exploring new and better business models for providing care. Digital Wallets – Digital wallets could grow select vertical software platforms’ revenues to $27-$50bn in 2030. trillion by 2030.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

The other aspect of the people roadmap is org-level team building necessary to unlock or accompany certain stages of the business. As the company progresses through product market fit (PMF), you will want to highlight other key senior hires required to scale and round out the functional expertise of the exec team.

Part-Time VPE 195

Part-Time VPE Seed Stage CTO Hire Forecast 195