Steve Blank

MAY 28, 2009

Market Risk vs. Invention Risk - Click to Enlarge For companies building web-based products, product development may be difficult, but with enough time and iteration engineering will eventually converge on a solution and ship a functional product - i t’s engineering, not invention.

Vertical 167

Vertical Silicon Valley Marketing Customer 167

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 17, 2018

As a startup co-founder with a growing team, here are the recruiting tips I’ve learnt over the last couple of years. You need to sell them on why your startup is the best. As with sales, these core reasons need to be compelling to candidates, while being as unique to you (competitive differentiation) as possible.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Elevator Pitch Hiring Dividend 164

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

In the startup world, opportunities are fleeting, and obstacles are ubiquitous. Competition from other startups and established incumbents, constraints on time and capital, and limited access to talent and technology resources are just a few of the hurdles nearly every first-time founder faces while trying to build a business.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

Up and Running

JANUARY 3, 2019

This article is part of our Business Startup Guide , a curated list of our articles that will get you up and running in no time! Here’s the simple truth of business: Without customers to buy your products, you’re not going to make any money. For many businesses, buyers and users are the same person. Common mistakes to avoid.

Software Review 130

Software Review Product Development Portland Technical Review 130

ConversionXL

JUNE 14, 2021

In this guide, you’ll learn how to differentiate your business and attract your ideal customers by creating a unique selling proposition. This leads to brands and startups playing a game of catch up on each other’s features. How do they differentiate from other competitors (including yourself) and handle objections?

Software Review 158

Software Review Audience Differentiation Framework 158

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 19, 2020

In a conventional business perspective, there are significantly lesser areas to differentiate yourself from the competition. 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

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 7, 2021

These are the four stages of a product we’ll be focusing on. . However, on a more granular graph, the introduction phase would be preceded by a product development stage. This stage is used to determine the viability of your product and confirm when it should go to market. It also gives you a product to market.

Product 142

Product Marketing Software Review Social Media 142

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

This philosophy comes from The Lean Startup methodology , which relies on testing hypotheses to better understand your customers’ pain points and goals. To truly differentiate your brand, center your growth strategy around creating unique and personalized customer experiences. Product development. New channels.

Marketing 115

Marketing Framework Metrics Channel 115

Up and Running

DECEMBER 22, 2015

We don’t just reject startups; we explain why. Angel investors are individuals willing to invest their own money to fund new startups. Most of them have made money with startups; they’ve been through the ringer, they’ve succeeded, and they are in a position to share. So if you’re a startup, always focus on listening first.

Angel Investor 60

Angel Investor IRR Software Review Startup 60

Up and Running

JULY 6, 2016

Establish technology as a differentiator, when it is. Even if technology isn’t the driving force of your business or your main differentiator, these days, almost all businesses have to manage technology as part of branding, marketing, and communications. Does your technology differentiate your business from all others?

Technical Review 72

Technical Review Software Review Business Plan Development Team Review 72

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 17, 2010

This drives our own product development strategy, and we constantly ask for feedback and suggestions to help us understand how we can do better. But critical to consider are whether your product offers enough variation (is there something for (almost) everyone?); differentiation (can people tell it apart from other offerings?)

Marketing 84

Marketing Startup Small Business Viral 84

ConversionXL

MARCH 28, 2019

The community can jump start products through votes and (honest) reviews, which are essential in the early stages of campaigns. Product Hunt pairs people working in product development and people interested in testing new products in their infancy. Product Hunt is free, an added benefit for many startups.

Campaign 127

Campaign Product Technical Review Social Media 127

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

The lack of market need is the main reason why most startups fail. Business owners invest a lot into building a good product, marketing it properly , and onboarding a solid team. Optimize product development and marketing process. Understand how to monetize a product based on actual user needs. Predict demand.

San Francisco 106

San Francisco Audience SMS Demand 106

Software By Rob

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Join nearly 6,000 startup entrepreneurs by subscribing to my RSS feed. Geoffrey Moore Author of Crossing the Chasm and four other books, Geoffrey Moore has been thinking about high-tech product development longer than most of have been doing anything on a computer. Follow me Startups for the Rest of Us.

Software Review 47

Software Review Software San Francisco RSS 47

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 26, 2018

In our experience, structured customer development work is right up there amongst the most valuable things a founder can do in the early days of their startup. But good customer development is tough to do. Let me use the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework for product development to explain why.

Customer 75

Customer Framework Differentiation Customer Development 75

Steve Blank

JULY 29, 2013

(However, in some industries such as life sciences, founders may be tenured professors who are not going to give up their faculty positions, so they often become the head of a startup’s scientific advisory board, but aren’t part of the founding team.). Speed, tempo and fearless decision-making are a startups strategic advantage.

Cofounder 335

Cofounder Advisory Board Customer Development Leadership 335

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 9, 2022

3:43] How do you differentiate between a tactic and what you’re calling strategy? [4:41] 10:20] How do you differentiate between execution and planning? [12:00] 12:52] How do you help somebody understand the importance of brand development? [15:17] How do you differentiate between execution and say planning?

Marketing 93

Marketing Differentiation Sacramento Small Business 93

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

To give you a better idea of what entrepreneurs in this industry are thinking about during each phase of the startup process, I interviewed SaaS entrepreneurs from all over the world, including our own COO Noah Parsons. Noah has been a key figure in the making of LivePlan, our own SaaS product. Step 3: Brand and differentiate yourself.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 18, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, April 18, 2010 Four myths about the Lean Startup Myth: Lean means cheap. Lean startups try to spend as little money as possible. Truth: The Lean Startup method is not about cost, it is about speed. Myth: The Lean Startup methodology is only for Web 2.0/internet/consumer

Lean 167

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment Startup 167

Steve Blank

JANUARY 6, 2014

In the last few years Agile and “Continuous Deployment” has replaced Waterfall and transformed how companies big and small build products. Agile is a tremendous advance in reducing time, money and wasted product development effort – and in having products better match customer needs.

Continuous Deployment 332

Continuous Deployment Customer Agile Cloud 332

ConversionXL

JUNE 25, 2021

There are several documents you can create in pre-launch to encourage buy-in (no matter the size of your startup or organization): Sales messaging guide. Develop a sales messaging guide to create consistency around how your team describes the product, showcases its benefits, and differentiates it from competitors.

Product 96

Product Social Media Audience Software Review 96

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

This past week while I was in Tokyo for meetings with potential partners for Fab, I was invited to participate in a panel discussion on startups. There’s no time to dicker around at a startup. Startups are hard work. At my first startup I soured on executives too quickly, blaming them vs. accepting ownership myself.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Technology Software Review Valuation 108

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. In-house, brand-name guru.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

abovethecrowd.com

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The second activity, which I believe should be the obsession of all analytical startups, is customer optimization. This is the art of conversion: improve your site’s conversion and you simultaneously increase operating leverage AND increase competitive differentiation – a truly powerful combination.

Metrics 93

Metrics Conversion Internet Acquisition 93

Hippoland

OCTOBER 9, 2016

I just passed my 2 year mark at 500 Startups. This is one of my favorite startup presentations of all time by Mike Cassidy on going fast. Demonstrate that you can pull the trigger on things quickly — whether it be getting customers, hiring / firing employees, or product development. And convey this in your pitch.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage CTO Hire Email Later Stage 48

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

There is a myth among first time tech founders that product is everything. Many lack intuitive financial sense that can help them build a great company once they achieve product-market fit. Here are five financial concepts that every startup founder should know to build an everlasting company. Asset valuation. venkatarag.

Founder 140

Founder Valuation Dividend Startup 140

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

I’m a very big believer in the “Lean Startup&# principles as espoused by Steve Blank and Eric Ries. When you see evidence that there is this so called “product / market fit&# then you may be ready for larger amounts of capital. In the seed phase startups are typically raising between $500k-$1m in today’s market.

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

Up and Running

OCTOBER 8, 2015

Instead, we built a product first (that’s expensive!) and then started hunting around for the right target market (that’s usually the cheap part of product development). Do you have a plan for differentiating yourself from your competition? We neglected to do our market research. First, what’s market research?

Marketing 60

Marketing CTO Hire Forecast Finder 60

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 13, 2023

What differentiates your card from other cards on the market is your niche. Analyze your competitors and identify opportunities for differentiation. This research is the basis for building your product development and marketing strategy. Are you drawn to quirky humor, elegant design, or eco-friendly materials?

Differentiation 148

Differentiation Audience Social Media Design 148

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 13, 2017

A poem from our very own CF-Poe at Sputnik ATX on the Austin Startup Crawl Startups are everywhere and that isn’t changing soon: 99.7% Before you go and abandon all your hopes and dreams of launching a startup, hear me out. A typical mistake startups make is creating a solution to a problem that only they have.

Product Development 48

Product Development Developer Product Startup 48

Women Entrepreneurs Can

JULY 18, 2024

Agility and Speed to Market A direct-to-consumer strategy significantly reduces the time from product development to launch, enabling companies to introduce innovations faster than competitors. Tech startups frequently launch updates or new gadgets directly to consumers online, as an illustration.

Sales 40

Sales Technical Review Agile Analytics 40

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

2010 – Sean Ellis, who currently runs Qualaroo , coins the term “growth hacking” in his article, Find a Growth Hacker for Your Startup. He puts the focus on product, not “growth hacks” Unfortunately, this post only receives 182 shares. Andrew Chen , Uber : “Startups don’t need growth hackers – at first.

Retention 48

Retention Metrics Acquisition Conversion 48

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 18, 2012

Yet, where a company can *really* differentiate itself is in its ability to identify and recruit top talent. Top talent drives revenues, business development, great product development. Unless startups figure this stuff out, they're going to be toast.

Hiring 111

Hiring PR Differentiation Acquisition 111

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

Most startups view venture capital funding as a blessing from above — eager to take it as soon as they can get it. Typical startups take in multiple rounds of funding from multiple investors. Focus on Product Development First. In the startup world, who you are is often just as important as what you make.

Early Stage 91

Early Stage Venture Capital Bootstrapping Pre-Money Valuation 91

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Marketing-led strategies often scale more efficiently than sales-led strategies, but rising PPC costs—especially in established markets—can price-out startups in some channels. Product led. For SaaS companies, product-led strategies have the potential to bypass the shortcomings of the other two. Marketing led. Research needs.

Product 124

Product Marketing Differentiation Harvest 124

Duct Tape Marketing

AUGUST 20, 2019

” I think that’s such a great way to actually get not only your differentiation, but maybe your promise across. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have differentiation; therefore, we wouldn’t have strong enough margins to stay in business. Lindsay Pedersen: Absolutely. You also brought up this idea of intention and control.

Audience 71

Audience Customer Differentiation Advertising 71

Up and Running

JULY 13, 2022

One of the most common goals among startups is to acquire funding. Many startups start off with a simple site that expands as they grow their business. Templates can be used by competitors and are often overutilized, making it harder to differentiate your business. For a startup, you may not have a lot of customers or reviews.

Elevator Pitch 140

Elevator Pitch Web Design Affiliate 140