Steve Blank

MAY 29, 2011

Max and his partners interviewed and analyzed over 650 early-stage Internet startups. Founders that learn are more successful : Startups that have helpful mentors, track metrics effectively, and learn from startup thought leaders raise 7x more money and have 3.5x Filed under: Customer Development , Teaching , Venture Capital.

Technical Cofounder 335

Technical Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 335

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 6, 2013

Once again, along with my partners at 500 Startups, we are proud to present the most substantive track at SXSW: [link] There was a running joke last year that "the Lean Startup track was the only place at SXSW you couldn't get out of the building." STAY #500STRONG ON THE INTERWEBS OUR STARTUP LOVIN' PARTNERS. We're back!

Lean 165

Lean Cofounder Startup Software Engineering 165

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Each VC firm/partner has a different spin on what to weigh more.) These types seem dangerous, yet are often the ones needed on board to get the fund to invest in the first place, seeing that the younger partners naturally have less pull during the Monday round-ups. I find the same still going on with a few firms and partners.&#

Silicon Valley 237

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 237

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

They’re deep into Customer Development ,” he said. VCs in seed clothing: Chris Dixon, Mark Suster, and Naval Ravikant interviewed - Venture Hacks , May 5, 2010 I recently got on the phone for a cross-continent conference call with Chris Dixon from Founder Collective , Mark Suster from GRP Partners , and our own Naval Ravikant.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

View from Seed

OCTOBER 24, 2019

Or, if you can’t skip a round, when should you try to work extra hard to minimize dilution and when should you be prepared to take more dilution for the right partner/situation? Also, the benefit of raising a pre-seed from great partners probably outweighs the cost. Founders with limited experience. Experienced founders: B2B.

Dilution 149

Dilution B2B Burn Rate Early Stage 149

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 11, 2016

We did three iterations of the product in less than 12 months, each one progressively going off of different consumer metrics that we found and then partner feedback. Filed under: Customer Development , SiriusXM Radio Show. Ultimately, it didn’t work and we decided we had enough time to maybe do one last iteration.

Columbus 249

Columbus Entrepreneur Cofounder Ohio 249

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

1) It all starts from the Growth Hacking Funnel - in the early stages, startups should not just focus on top/bottom line metric like unique users and revenue. Customer Development Labs recently shared a great experiment on using mTurk to interview 100 customers in 4 hours for less than $200. Distribution Hacks.

API 167

API Viral Startup Retention 167

Steve Blank

AUGUST 18, 2010

Here’s his story of when Customer Development failed. We were lucky to learn about Customer Development early on in the life of our startup. Along the way we were fortunate to meet Steve, develop strategic partnerships, and raise a series A round of investment. So how did Customer Development fail us?

Customer Development 231

Customer Development Developer Customer California 231

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 7, 2010

At least, not in the traditional sense of trying to squeeze every tenth of a point out of a conversion metric or landing page. Instead, we try to accelerate with respect to validated learning about customers. Even if it shows improvement in some micro metric, does that invalidate the overall design? No one feature is to blame.

San Francisco 154

San Francisco Lean Metrics Design 154

Up and Running

DECEMBER 6, 2012

” Blank’s main innovation here is what he calls Customer Development, which is a methodology for learning and validating market needs through detailed customer communication and follow up. These metrics should be reviewed at least monthly in a regular planning meeting with key business partners and employees.

Lean 147

Lean Silicon Valley Forecast Technical Review 147

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Establish credibility with potential partners. You need to combine your product with others, and this requires partners like OEMs or system integrators. A marketing launch can help you get in the door with those partners, if youre having trouble getting their attention. Do some Customer Development instead.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 28, 2008

We pitch to potential partners, vendors, publishers, conferences, employees, and even lawyers. Dont keep banging your head against the wall - if you cant convince your potential partners that your startup is printing money, try to figure out why. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup?

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 128

Steve Blank

JUNE 26, 2015

Companies pursuing innovation can Buy, Build, Partner or use Open Innovation. To move innovation faster, we now have 21 st century tools — Business Model Canvas , Customer Development , Agile Engineering – all adding up to a Lean Startup. Fast forward to today. Get to Yes.

Lean 120

Lean Management Business Model Incubator 120

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 6, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 6, 2008 When NOT to listen to your users; when NOT to rely on split-tests There are three legs to the lean startup concept: agile product development , low-cost (fast to market) platforms , and rapid-iteration customer development. Or to some passionate customers. Were doomed!

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Agile 128

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 26, 2009

As a result, the companies get a lot of exposure to VCs, investors, and partners in larger, more traditional startup hubs. And do your customer development. Inspiring ideas: real-time biz metrics; safe continuous deployment; A/B split testing. Some of the mentors are based in Boulder, but many are not.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Silicon Valley Startup Lean 113

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 12, 2008

You might get a bunch of inbound emails from other press and partners, and all of these things can contribute to a feeling that you’re on your way to getting tons of traffic. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development ► June (3) What is a startup? It strokes your ego.

Audience 119

Audience San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean 119

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Each of these four currencies represents a way for a customer to “pay&# for services from a company. A great product enables customers, developers, partners, and even competitors to exchange their unique currencies in combinations that lead to financial success for the company that organizes them.

Customer 156

Customer San Francisco Viral Lean 156

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

Investors sitting through Incubator or Accelerator demo days have three metrics to judge fledgling startups – 1) great looking product demos, 2) compelling PowerPoint slides, and 3) a world-class team. And we can offer investors metrics to play Moneyball – with the Investment Readiness Level. We think we can do better. Here’s how.

Oakland 330

Oakland Incubator Lean Metrics 330

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 8, 2009

That’s because many of our reports feed us vanity metrics: numbers that make us look good but don’t really help make decisions. Yet even among those who have access to good actionable metrics, I’ve noticed a phenomenon that prevents taking maximum advantage of data. Too much of this data is non- actionable.

San Francisco 84

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 84

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

The students “get out of the building” and test their hypotheses in front of potential beneficiaries using the Customer Development methodology, all while building and updating their Minimal Viable Products. They’re also focusing on developing relationships with and getting buy-in from key partners like the Red Cross and other NGOs.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Washington United Kingdom Lean 120

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

The students “get out of the building” and test their hypotheses in front of potential beneficiaries using the Customer Development methodology, all while building and updating their Minimal Viable Products. They’re also focusing on developing relationships with and getting buy-in from key partners like the Red Cross and other NGOs.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Washington United Kingdom Lean 120

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

As a founder you are testing a series of hypotheses about all the pieces of the business model: Who are the customers/users? Who are our partners? An early indication that you’ve found the right business model is when you believe the cost of getting customers will be less than the revenues the customers will generate.

Balance Sheet 307

Balance Sheet Startup Burn Rate Metrics 307

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2010

We’ll build the class around the business model / customer development / agile development solution stack. Instead you will be getting your hands dirty talking to customers, partners, competitors, as you encounter the chaos and uncertainty of how a startup actually works. What are the 9 parts of a business model?

Wiki 318

Wiki Lean Management Business Model 318

Steve Blank

JANUARY 25, 2010

Or depending on your metrics for success, get users, grow traffic, etc.). A business model diagram also shows how the product gets distributed to your customers and how money flows back into your company. A business model diagram also shows how the product gets distributed to your customers and how money flows back into your company.

Agile 335

Agile Startup Silicon Valley Business Model 335

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 24, 2011

Because then you’d miss out on: Whether it’s better experience to build a complete, tiny startup or to do more in-depth customer development for a meatier problem. So that means stuff like thinking about what a business model might be, it does mean customer development. So I have a question for you, Jason.

Cofounder 208

Cofounder Technical Review Software Review Differentiation 208

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 11, 2016

We did three iterations of the product in less than 12 months, each one progressively going off of different consumer metrics that we found and then partner feedback. Filed under: Customer Development , SiriusXM Radio Show. Ultimately, it didn’t work and we decided we had enough time to maybe do one last iteration.

Columbus 120

Columbus Entrepreneur Cofounder Ohio 120

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Also, make a bullet list of the marketing activities that will drive customers to your door. List key partners and resources you will need, and then list your core team as well as their roles. Also, make a bullet list of the marketing activities that will drive customers to your door. Step 8: Track your metrics.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

It’s the result of a decade of me learning from 1,000 of entrepreneurs, corporate partners, students and scientists the best practices of what wins in startups. In fact, you could say that all that remains from my last book are the four steps of Customer Development. Briefly, the new book.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Lean Business Model Customer Development 298

Steve Blank

MARCH 11, 2010

I taught the class this semester with Ann Miura-Ko a partner at Maples Investments. This includes how the product gets distributed to your customers and how money flows back into your company. Customer Discovery. Metrics That Matter (Business Model Metrics). Teaching Goals. Regulation and Intellectual Property.

Intellectual Property 264

Intellectual Property Business Model Customer Development Distribution 264

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 30, 2009

I thought Id share a little bit of that, too: I’ve been interested in different approaches to software development going back to 1987 when – in my first company Feld Technologies – my partner Dave Jilk and I started talking about “semi-custom software development&# (way ahead of its time).

Lean 68

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 68

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

Nick Kim , Crosscut’s Head of Platform, in his presentation at the 4th Annual VC Platform Summit, shared their Platform development methodology, which he viewed as an exercise in product development. For example, recruiting writ large is useful at all stages of development. I have developed a founder curriculum on my blog.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

Investors get board seats to assure themselves and their limited partners that they are duly informed about their investment. 3) An experienced board brings an extensive network of customers, partners, help in recruiting, follow-on financing, etc. The Wrong Metrics. What do those numbers/metrics look like?

Silicon Valley 300

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 300

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

They have many, many man-years of development and customer development in them. What I mean by that is startups nowadays that raise money have absolutely ludicrous metrics. Why not get a partner? And again, that doesn’t have the metrics that a VC wants. Edwin: There are a million others.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 21, 2011

Because then you’d miss out on: Whether it’s better experience to build a complete, tiny startup or to do more in-depth customer development for a meatier problem. We been managing the field by plan more than 75 enterprise customers and channel partners. What’s your question then? Jason: All right.

Widget 204

Widget Cofounder Technical Review Software Review 204

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 21, 2012

She suggested that how cofounders fight was a key metric in predicting the success of a founding team. And, not surprisingly, I frequently get asked what to look for or what to think about when starting the process of finding a cofounder – a true partner to start your next company with. You’re looking for an employee, not a partner.

Cofounder 332

Cofounder IPO Early Stage Green 332

Steve Blank

JUNE 1, 2011

Investors get board seats to assure themselves and their limited partners that they are duly informed about their investment. 3) An experienced board brings an extensive network of customers, partners, help in recruiting, follow-on financing, etc. The Wrong Metrics. What do those numbers/metrics look like?

Silicon Valley 273

Silicon Valley Business Model Venture Capital Balance Sheet 273

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 7, 2008

At the end of the day, the product development team of a startup (large or small) is a service organization. It exists to serve the needs of customers, and it does this by offering its capabilities to other functions in the company, and partnering with them. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

Software Review 94

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Part-Time VPE 94