Steve Blank

DECEMBER 10, 2009

Early on in my career I took a “we’re moving too fast to deal with lawyers” attitude to patents and Intellectual Property (IP.) At one of my entrepreneurship classes at Stanford, Dan Dorosin , of Fenwick & West LLP guest lectures about startups and Intellectual Property. Intellectual Property.

Intellectual Property 235

Intellectual Property IP Software Review Non-disclosure Agreement 235

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Years ago, it cost a million dollars for a new e-commerce site, one that you can now create for almost nothing with current tools and technology. The cost of social media done well is low. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

If they decide to buy, large companies can: license/acquire intellectual property. buy out an entire company for its revenue and profits. These include the product itself, the customer, the distribution channel, revenue model, how to get, keep and grow customers, resources and activities needed to build the business and costs.).

Acquisition 334

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 334

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. Get a real customer and real revenue. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Register some intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2020

Check for intellectual property barriers in your way. Even good social causes need to bring in revenue to continue their worthy efforts. New smartphone apps cost only a few thousand, if you have the programming skills. Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes.

Technical Review 434

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 434

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. Get a real customer and real revenue. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Register some intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. Get a real customer and real revenue. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Register some intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

For example, “We just patented a new battery technology that will cut your smartphone charge time and cost in half.” If possible, quantify these in non-technical business terms, such as dollars saved or replacement costs over time. They want to see revenue to share in the return. Use non-fuzzy terms to quantify customer value.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

I think it’s important for enterprise startups to layer in professional services into your revenue stream. deliver profitable revenue that while on gross margins of 50% vs. software at 85-95% it is still profits to help you cover fixed costs. Protect Your Intellectual Property. rollout support.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software IP Technical Review 321

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Join a startup incubator.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

Don’t expect them to believe your $100M revenue projection, if you are still waiting for the first revenue dollar. Get a real customer and real revenue. Funding for pre-revenue startups used to be the domain of angel investors, but they have moved up-stage. Register some intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 222

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Years ago, it cost a million dollars for a new e-commerce site, one that you can now create for almost nothing with current tools and technology. The cost of social media done well is low. Marty Zwilling

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Define some intellectual property. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. In most cases, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet is adequate, with projection formulas for revenue, costs, and cash flow over the next five years. Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

The single most important ingredient of success is not the idea, but having a team in place that has impeccable integrity, can iterate the product quickly, pivot the business model as necessary, and keep costs down in the process. This requires a visible focus on the company’s revenue model, the costs to get there, and cash on hand.

Angel Investor 269

Angel Investor Cram Down Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

Check for intellectual property barriers in your way. Even good social causes need to bring in revenue to continue their worthy efforts. New smartphone apps cost only a few thousand, if you have the programming skills. Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes.

Technical Review 267

Technical Review Due Diligence Entrepreneur Intellectual Property 267

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2023

Check for intellectual property barriers in your way. Even good social causes need to bring in revenue to continue their worthy efforts. New smartphone apps cost only a few thousand, if you have the programming skills. Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes.

Technical Review 267

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 267

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Define some intellectual property. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. In most cases, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet is adequate, with projection formulas for revenue, costs, and cash flow over the next five years. Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 30, 2015

Google is focused on expanding its already broad reach into the advertising market by increasing the span and coverage of its digital and mobile platforms, and the company’s 4Q14 results highlight how the company’s efforts to buttress its core services is paying off: Google’s revenue and gross profit climbed 15.3% billion and generated $4.1

Advertising 100

Advertising Revenue Mobile Intellectual Property 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

The cost of rolling out a business has never been lower – it only takes a few hundred dollars to incorporate a Limited Liability Corp (LLC) online, create your own website, use social media to get attention, and you are in business. In the early Internet days, it would cost a million dollars to get this far.

Technical Cofounder 184

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JANUARY 24, 2011

Of course this is Survivor Bias at it’s finest; these examples don’t prove this is a great strategy , they just illustrate that it can work: Zappos decided to sell shoes over the Internet, even though it meant eating shipping costs as customers tried shoe after shoe, constantly returning merchandise on the basis of fit or look.

Intellectual Property 242

Intellectual Property Open Source Bandwidth IP 242

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

Check for intellectual property barriers in your way. Even good social causes need to bring in revenue to continue their worthy efforts. New smartphone apps cost only a few thousand, if you have the programming skills. Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes.

Technical Review 208

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 208

Up and Running

JULY 28, 2022

Small Business Administration , an organization is considered to be a small business if their: Firm revenue ranges from $1 million to $40 million Number of employees is between 100 and 1,500. Secure your intellectual property. It pays for medical care, funeral costs, death benefits, and income compensation during recovery.

Small Business 167

Small Business Intellectual Property Cofounder Software Review 167

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Women Entrepreneurs Can

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Begin by outlining your business model, including your revenue streams, pricing strategy, and growth projections. Don’t forget to outline your businesss financial projections , including startup costs, operational expenses, and expected revenue.

Intellectual Property 52

Intellectual Property Social Media Software Review Audience 52

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

In case you haven’t noticed it, the rapid evolution of do-it-yourself (DIY) facilities for developers, including 3-D printers, SketchUp and makerspaces such as TechShop , have scaled down the cost of prototypes and hardware design by an order of magnitude. Quick low-cost design and fabrication alternatives are extremely valuable.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Companies horde cash and squeeze the most revenue and margin from the money they use. For example they can reduce component cost, introduce a line extension or create new versions of the existing product. Yet in the face of all this change, traditional firms continue to embrace a management ethos that values efficiency over innovation.

Private Equity 330

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 330

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

As a result, repeating any of the following 10 mistakes outlined here won’t get you any credit for intelligence and learning and will cost you dearly in your funding credibility and real cash. Forecast revenue growth that defies business principles. Dismiss the need to register any intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Forecast Angel Investor 120

Steve Blank

MAY 26, 2009

Different market opportunities present radically different startup risks and costs. Intellectual Property At the next class I said, “You all ought to get out and start talking to customers on day one, and get early feedback on your idea. You don’t need to worry about any Intellectual Property (IP) issues.

Vertical 159

Vertical Silicon Valley Intellectual Property RSS 159

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

Even social entrepreneurs need milestones, quantifiable results, and revenue to sustain their value. Investors like to see new intellectual property as a barrier to entry. Investors expect to hear annual revenues, average margins, customer acquisition costs and sales pipelines. Focus on customer needs.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology." " Investors want to buy into an entrepreneur with a startup that can provide evidence of an ability to double customer productivity, at half the cost, with patented technology.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Technical Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Years ago, it cost a million dollars for a new e-commerce site, one that you can now create for almost nothing with current tools and technology. The cost of social media done well is low. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 6, 2013

Obviously you need to clearly understand your situation and your cost benefit analysis so that you can go into the deal with a solid understanding of what is a huge success for yourself. What would be a above and beyond success for that party and what would be below their expectations? Understand your deal limitations.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Securities and Exchange Commission Non-disclosure Agreement Due Diligence 164

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2016

Project your costs as diligently as your revenues. Be extra careful with your intellectual property. Don’t forget to account for the time and cost of crowdfunding campaigns. Several crowdfunding successes have failed as a business. Don’t underestimate the amount of funding actually required.

Non-disclosure Agreement 120

Non-disclosure Agreement Intellectual Property Technical Review Vesting 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

Thus it’s a waste of time for most entrepreneurs to be looking for investors until they have a product and some customer revenue. The best technologies are barely invisible and low cost. The right marketing efforts can cost as much as the technology. Intellectual property is a business issue, not a technical issue.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

Up and Running

AUGUST 24, 2020

Cutting costs , revisiting forecasts , and stabilizing your business. In 2020, data breaches are among the greatest cybersecurity concerns, with health records, corporate intellectual property, smart cars, and connected devices being the most vulnerable targets. The first stage in this crisis was survival. 5G Network.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Analytics Forecast Artificial Inteligence 131