article thumbnail

Careers Start by Peeling Potatoes

Steve Blank

When I got to my first airbase my job was lugging electronics boxes on and off fighter planes under the broiling hot Thailand sun, to bring them into the technicians inside the air-conditioned shop, to troubleshoot and fix. Filed under: Air Force , Customer Development , Family/Career/Culture. Solutions From Hands On.

Thailand 334
article thumbnail

The Secret History of Silicon Valley Part V: Happy 100th Birthday.

Steve Blank

Berkeley Haas Business School was courageous enough to give me a forum teach the Customer Development Methodology. These components were the heart of the electronic warfare equipment I have worked on; including fighters in Thailand and on B-52 bombers. After 20 years, the story started coming home for me.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Love/Hate Business Plan Competitions

Steve Blank

I Love Business Plan Competitions I had a breakfast with a friend who has founded a few companies in Thailand and started the New Ventures Program at one of their universities. I hate business plan competitions.

article thumbnail

Philadelphia University Commencement Speech – May 15th 2011

Steve Blank

My first week on the base… our shop chief announced: “We’re looking for some volunteers to go to Thailand.” Two weeks later I was lugging heavy boxes across the runway under the broiling Thailand sun. Eighteen months after arriving in Thailand, I was managing a group of 15 electronics technicians. You get to make your own luck.

article thumbnail

Thirty-Six Years Later

Steve Blank

Home Books for Startups Secret History-Bibliography Steve Blank Startup Resources Steve Blank Entries RSS | Comments RSS Categories Air Force (9) Ardent (9) Big Companies versus Startups: Durant versus Sloan (29) California Coastal Commission (3) Conservation (2) Convergent Technologies (1) Customer Development (98) Customer Development Manifesto (..)

article thumbnail

The Story Behind the Secret History Part II. Getting B-52s through.

Steve Blank

After been stationed at three fighter bases in Thailand ( Ubon , Udorn and Korat ) and working on Electronic Warfare suites on F-4’s, A-7’s, F-105’s and AC-130’s, I got orders to report to a Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-52 bomber base in Alpena Michigan. Imagine how hot, humid and unbearable the weather was in Thailand.

article thumbnail

If I Told You I'd Have to Kill You: The Story Behind “The Secret.

Steve Blank

And you’d like me to do my talk on Customer Development and startups?” “No, we’re the other CIA.” Thailand: Bats, Moths and John Scoggins I was 19 in 1973 and in Thailand in the Air Force working on electronic warfare equipment on fighter planes, gunships and Wild Weasels, at the tail end of the Vietnam War.