Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

It should go without saying that this post is not advice, nor is it recommendation of what you should do, it’s simply my observation of how companies using Customer Development positioned themselves to successfully raise money from venture investors. Is there a profitable business model? Can it scale?” Did the VC’s like your team ?

Customer Development 270

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 270

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 30, 2011

93% of startups that scale prematurely never break the $100k revenue per month threshold. Inconsistent startup outsource 4-5 times as much of their product development than consistent startups. In the validation phase, where startups should be testing demand for a functional product, inconsistent startups are 2.2

Silicon Valley 189

Silicon Valley Software Review Startup Cofounder 189

Berkonomics

JANUARY 3, 2013

Most every business can take advantage of continuing, recurring revenues from its customer base. Sometimes, products are designed to make all of their profit upon the recurring revenues from supplies or support. Usually that amount exceeds 50% of total revenues, and is often much more.

Revenue 79

Revenue Software Review Vertical Valuation 79

K9 Ventures

AUGUST 13, 2010

In fact, at the time (1996-1997) we offered both a downloadable product, that our customers could install on their own servers, and a “hosted-offering”, which came to be known as “On-Demand”, then the “ASP” (Application Service Provider) model, and today we call it “SaaS” (Software as a Service). This time we’d gotten it right.

Revenue 72

Revenue Developer Java Customer Development 72

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 6, 2024

The main reasons are: Ever-evolving Customer Base: From mobile phones to customised gadgets, from televisions to Desktop Computers, the consumer base is getting more diverse and assorted, with different age groups, genders, ethnicities, and races demanding different products and services.

Operations 158

Operations Management Software Review Technical Review 158

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2012

In circumstances like this, most firms call their legal departments and start issuing cease and desist demands. MIT professor Eric von Hippel has coined the term “lead users” to describe them, and worked with 3M’s healthcare business to develop a system for finding them. But LEGO took a smarter approach.

Marketing 234

Marketing Software Review Technical Review Social Network 234

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

APRIL 5, 2010

When we demand overwhelming customer outcry before committing to the slightest product change, we're in danger of losing the value of creating a cool feature that takes too much effort but people just love. Now sure, there are many of aspects of business and product development where it's best to stop obsessing and just cut corners.

Software Review 226

Software Review Metrics Lean Agile 226

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

is an elegant way to model any service-oriented business: Acquisition Activation Retention Referral Revenue We used a very similar scheme at IMVU, although we werent lucky enough to have started with this framework, and so had to derive a lot of it ourselves via trial and error. The AARRR model (hence pirates, get it?)

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

For those companies operating in a dynamic market driven by user behavior, for example, retail and eCommerce, staying trends-aware equals staying competitive by tailoring their offers to the specific demands and expectations. Creating a perfect-fit product or delivering the highest-end service leads to profit growth anyway.

Offshore 140

Offshore Demand Germany Global 140

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

In today’s fast moving market, the basic product development cost and time are critical to survival. They come at the early stage while a startup has no revenue or valuation, so professional investors are hard to find. These ideas can grow quickly into real products. Meeting the new consumer demand for customization.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

The entrepreneur who founded and grew the largest startup in the world to $10 billion in revenue and got fired is someone you have probably never heard of. Finally, GM created the notion of perpetual demand within brands by continually obsoleting their own products with new models rolled out every year.

Michigan 301

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 301

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 19, 2020

Similarly, customers are more knowledgeable, aware, and conscious to choose from the variety out there, which slows down the company’s revenue and growth. Most industries have touched their peak, matured, and there is little room to improve in the world of homogenous products, similar marketing, and standardized, efficient processes.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Forecast Analytics Social Media 158

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 4, 2024

Examples of Goals Increase Market Share: By expanding your product line, aim to capture 10% more of the market within two years. Customer Satisfaction: Improve customer satisfaction scores by 15% in the next year through enhanced support and product improvements. It involves budgeting, forecasting, and efficient use of resources.

Technical Review 146

Technical Review Agile Audience Employee 146

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

The massive shift in revenue models in recent years. Application developers once considered their products as licensed in what would closely be allied to a single sale. Sometimes, products are designed to make all their profit upon the recurring revenues from supplies or support. Call it “predictable revenue”.

Revenue 48

Revenue Software Review Application Development Valuation 48

Steve Blank

MAY 6, 2015

Waterfall Development. While it sounds simple , the Build Measure Learn approach to product development is a radical improvement over the traditional Waterfall model used throughout the 20 th century to build and ship products. customer relationships to create demand. Lessons Learned.

Lean 120

Lean Agile Business Model Customer Development 120

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

Product marketing informs strategic positioning and ensures alignment across the company. It partners with sales to close more revenue, informs product teams to deliver better products, and in some cases, co-owns demand generation activities with marketing teams. They rely on each other for success.

Marketing 110

Marketing Product Audience Equity 110

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 2, 2016

It’s generally accepted to praise developers and designers for bringing these products to life but there is usually someone else behind the concepts and ideas. And this is the product manager who dictates the strategies and processes, controls the product’s lifecycle and ensures that it meets all the set demands.

Management 100

Management Product Churn Rate Green 100

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

On the other hand, if you arrive at a VC pitch without a comprehensive understanding of the industry you’re hoping to compete in, or without a clear path to profitability or a thoughtful product-development road map, you’ll likely leave empty-handed. You may be able to generate revenue, but VCs want exponential growth.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2014

PopInShop’s progress retroactively validated my decision, as the metrics on overall growth supported my gut: after reverting to my status as a lone founder, the company made fast strides on product development and partnerships. I got customers, found partnerships, and generated revenues. I could hustle.

Partner 113

Partner Cofounder Equity Metrics 113

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 8, 2008

Customer development is a parallel process to product development, which means that you dont have to give up on your dream. Our goal in product development is to find the minimum feature set required to get early customers. What is customer development? Using AdWords to assess demand for your new online.

Customer Development 168

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 168

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 10, 2009

It’s important to note that system I’m about to explain evolved organically in response to new demands on the system and in response to post-mortems of failures. Nobody gets here overnight, but every step along the way has made us better developers. If a feature worked, wed keep it. If it didnt, wed trash it. But it worked.

Continuous Deployment 123

Continuous Deployment San Francisco Software Review Lean 123

Up and Running

JUNE 14, 2017

Some believe in the all-in approach to product development: build an advanced app. Others believe in the start small, grow strong approach: build a small version of the app, test user demand, and then take it from there. This could have validated their interest and provided me with a tangible proof of demand.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Distribution Redemption Demand 96

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

People had a terrible experience using their product. After turning their attention toward feedback and testing, letting the voice of their customers fuel their content strategy and product development, they took off. Your audience is aware of and has accepted your product. Revenue grew by 637%. The result?

Product 102

Product Marketing Social Media Channel 102

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 22, 2023

Regarding extended reality, gaming is a key sector for popular jobs that do not demand advanced degrees but do require a desire for online gaming. As a result, securing and properly storing our data has become an in-demand specialization in our economy. Thanks to Max Whiteside, Breaking Muscle ! #3-

Artificial Inteligence 127

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Entrepreneur Social Media 127

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

In today’s fast moving market, the basic product development cost and time are critical to survival. They come at the early stage while a startup has no revenue or valuation, so professional investors are hard to find. These ideas can grow quickly into real products. Meet the new consumer demand for customization.

Startup 397

Startup Cofounder Incubator California 397

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 2, 2009

Labels: five whys root cause analysis , product development 15comments: Anonymoussaid. oh, and on the book front, you'll be able to get all of my essays so far in ebook, print-on-demand, and kindle editions - coming soon. Leave your thoughts in a comment. I’ll do my best to help.) Great article as always, Eric.

San Francisco 164

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Software Review 164

ConversionXL

JUNE 25, 2021

In this article, we’ll explain how to build a resilient product launch strategy that survives a non-linear journey. We’ll also share when to transition to the growth stage in the product lifecycle so you can drive conversions and revenue off your momentum. Your goal here is to sustain revenue and your position in the market.

Product 96

Product Social Media Audience Software Review 96

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 26, 2022

You're likely going to be experiencing revenues in waves, owing to the pandemic booms and dips, and the varying regulations. With more of us working from home and placing more demands on our bandwidths, faster internet with increased capacity for file sharing and uninterrupted Zoom conversations is the natural next step.

Software Review 127

Software Review Technical Review Entrepreneur Artificial Inteligence 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2022

Both risks and opportunities in this area can arise from many aspects of your startup, before and after product development. Then you walk the delicate balance between burn rates, revenue flows versus expenses, investment in marketing, and employees. Operational.

Burn Rate 382

Burn Rate Angel Investor Operations Demand 382

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

If there is a gap in the market, there will be demand. Product development. Now that you have a refined product idea and a team that can turn this idea into reality, the product development stage will start. Initial product development usually consists of prototyping and MVP. Prototyping.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 17, 2008

Strategy - startups first encounter this when they have the beginnings of a product, and theyve achieved some amount of product/market fit. If youre making revenue, you should be finding ways to grow it predictably month-over-month; if youre focused on customer engagement, your product should be getting more sticky, and so on.

San Francisco 88

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 88

Steve Blank

MAY 14, 2012

These founders specify, design, and build a fully featured product using classic product development methods without ever leaving their building. Executives look at that date and the calendar, working backward to ignite fireworks on the day the product is launched. Start-ups by definition have few, if any, of these.

Balance Sheet 335

Balance Sheet Business Model Customer Development Metrics 335

VC Cafe

DECEMBER 28, 2010

Virtualization and cloud computing products allow multiple users to run on a single physical host, with each virtual machine sharing the resources of that hardware across multiple environments. Virtualization technology is increasingly in demand as large corporations try to cut back on hardware in their data centers.

Israel 87

Israel Technical Review South Korea Mexico 87

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 15, 2009

As a consumer internet company with millions of customers, it may seem to have little relevancy for an enterprise software company with only a handful of potential customers, or a computer security company whose customers demand a rigorous audit before accepting a new release.

Continuous Deployment 167

Continuous Deployment Software Review San Francisco Lean 167

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2009

This post describes how the traditional product development model distorts startup sales, marketing and business development. Once the product begins to ship, startup sales execs use orders and revenue as its marker of progress in understanding customers. Freemium models have their own scorekeeping.)

Customer Development 229

Customer Development Developer Silicon Valley Customer 229

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 14, 2009

In other words, the minimum viable product is designed to answer the question: does the product generate enough demand and margin to support a growing ecosystem? In an entrepreneurial situation, this is hard, because artifacts that we are creating (products, code, marketing campaigns, even revenue) are of secondary importance.

Customer 156

Customer San Francisco Viral Lean 156

Steve Blank

MARCH 4, 2014

A business model guides an organization to create and deliver products/service and make money from it. It describes the product/service, who is it for, what channel sells/deliver it, how demand is created, how does the company make money, etc. StageGate Process. Corporate KPI’s, Policy and Procedures: Innovation Killers.

IRR 335

IRR Startup Business Model Agile 335