Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

Guest post by Lisa Regan, writer for T he Lean Startup Conference. We’ve posted the full program for The Lean Startup Conference , and it includes more than three days of events for Gold pass holders and six days of events for VIP pass holders. On the evening of December 8, Ignite Lean Startup kicks off the conference.

Continuous Deployment 162

Continuous Deployment Norway Lean Analytics 162

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2012

Let’s start out with the basic functions of a tech company: 1) Engineering 2) Marketing 3) Sales 4) Business development 5) PR 6) Design 7) Product Management 8) HR 9) Operations 10) Finance Ok, that's just overwhelming. In a way, you can think of BD as “sales when you don’t know what the product is yet.”

PR 152

PR Technical Review Seed Stage Design 152

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Here’s the punchline: if you run your company as if you have closed a VC equity financing round even though you actually closed a convertible debt round, you’ll be in much better shape when it comes time to raise your Series A financing. One of them used to be a lead developer at [insert hot consumer tech company here].

Burn Rate 155

Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 155

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Very few people turn up with a strong sense of “what we should be doing” or ready to lean into a productive conversation The financials were prepared by the VP of Finance / CFO. This can include: Fund raising, product development choices, sales, marketing effectiveness, competition, business development, M&A … whatever.

Stock Options 226

Stock Options Metrics Stock Valuation 226

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

A company at this stage could also face product development costs from consultants if they decided to outsource product development. However, Praveena has committed to personally get the first version of the product up and launched without outside consultants, so there is no expense here either.

Balance Sheet 129

Balance Sheet Fractional CTO Burn Rate Salary 129

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

The second thing that’s changed is that we’re now Compressing the Product Development Cycle. In the 20 th century startups I was part of, the time to build a first product release was measured in years as we turned out the founder’s vision of what customers wanted. (And Third, venture capital has now become Founder-friendly.

Restful 249

Restful Silicon Valley San Jose Puerto Rico 249

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

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

To create this first year in business checklist, I turned to our in-house experts here at Palo Alto Software: Sabrina Parsons, CEO; Noah Parsons, COO; Josh Cochrane, Vice President of Product Development; and Josh Fegles, Academic and Government Channel Sales Director, and founder of gluten-free cookie company Jude’s Foods.

Forecast 60

Forecast Software Review Lean Finance 60

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Step 1: Start with a lean plan. It’s the fastest way to get your idea onto paper, and it’s the very first step in the lean planning process, which is much easier and more iterative than traditional business planning methods. Introducing Lean Planning: How to Plan Less and Grow Faster. How to Write a Traditional Business Plan.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 6, 2011

The Lean Startup Book is done. If you've been waiting for a comprehensive account of the Lean Startup and how it can help you achieve dramatically better business results, this is it. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.

Lean 167

Lean Startup Metrics Private Equity 167

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 30, 2017

Written by Misti Yang, Contributor for Lean Startup Co. In the opening paragraphs of Eric Ries’s upcoming book The Startup Way , Eric sets the scene: He arrived at GE in the summer of 2012 amidst a multi-hundred-million-dollar, five-year plan to develop a new diesel and natural gas engine. And the plan did succeed. 5) this fall.

Lean 123

Lean Startup Engineer Conversion 123

techcocktail.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

But while you are small and lean, take advantage of everyone skills; if someone on your team is a great writer, have them take charge of your press releases and marketing content. be the manager and product developer). Talent: Each team member needs to have talent – they all need to own their abilities and focus on their assets.

San Francisco 44

San Francisco Startup PHP San Diego 44

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 21, 2010

This is why so many small businesses can be financed with simple bank loans; the level of risk and uncertainty is well enough understood that a reasonably intelligent loan officer can assess its prospects. I emphasize this point because it is necessary to motivate large amounts of the theory of the lean startup. Expo SF (May.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco Startup Lean Continuous Deployment 168

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2009

Execution by Vertical Market As the class progressed, students asked how the activities/functions of a startup; (Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Product Development, etc.) How does product development differ in communications hardware versus enterprise software, etc. Waterfall, Agile, Lean?

Vertical 126

Vertical Silicon Valley RSS Marketing 126

Up and Running

OCTOBER 10, 2018

You might develop a fairly simple business plan first as you start a small business, and that might be enough for you. This is an excellent use of the Lean Business Planning methodology , based on a simple Lean Plan combined with regular updates and revisions. And you can do a simple Lean Business Plan in less than an hour.

Startup 114

Startup Forecast Lean Balance Sheet 114

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 6, 2018

In today’s rough-and-tumble startup scene, “lean” is all the rage, and the ability to cut costs without compromising performance is prized above virtually any other managerial competency. Product Development. Most lean startups simply don’t have the wherewithal to get a dozen consumers in a room somewhere.

CPA 124

CPA Bandwidth Lean Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Software apps that once required a 10-person team can now be done with the Lean Development methodology by two people in a couple of months.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

BeyondVC

DECEMBER 10, 2009

So first and foremost, I let him know that while it was nice to have a well thought out spreadsheet, that the most important thing was getting the product developed and the right team in place. While many SAAS companies may collect cash monthly or quarterly, some collect annual fees by offering discounts by paying upfront.

Churn Rate 112

Churn Rate Burn Rate Startup Metrics 112

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 6, 2014

This is a quote from Leander Kahney’s recently published book on Apple design chief Jony Ive: “In the world according to Steve Jobs, the ANPP would rapidly evolve into a well-defined process for bringing new products to market by laying out in extreme detail every stage of product development.

Product 84

Product Venture Capital Lean Customer Development 84

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 20, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 20, 2008 The engineering managers lament I was inspired to write The product managers lament while meeting with a startup struggling to figure out what had gone wrong with their product development process. First of all, its a myth that cutting corners saves time.

Software Review 164

Software Review Engineer Management Technical Review 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

Software apps that once required a 10-person team can now be done with the Lean Development methodology by two people in a couple of months. In reality, the financing valley of death tests the commitment, determination, and problem solving ability of every entrepreneur.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

After 20 years of working in startups, I decided to take a step back and look at the product development model I had been following and see why it usually failed to provide useful guidance in activities outside the building – sales, marketing and business development. So what’s wrong the product development model?

Customer Development 245

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 245

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

Price and plan-mix are complex areas to test because they impact several areas of your business and product, so any changes need to be made carefully. In addition, you need to coordinate with other teams that touch pricing, such as marketing, finance, customer support, and sales. We also highlighted the savings on the checkout page.

Revenue 121

Revenue Conversion Programming eCommerce 121

BeyondVC

DECEMBER 9, 2009

  So first and foremost, I let him know that while it was nice to have a well thought out spreadsheet, that the most important thing was getting the product developed and the right team in place.    This is a great way for SAAS companies to keep the cash coming in earlier so they can use it to fuel growth.

Churn Rate 78

Churn Rate Burn Rate Startup Metrics 78

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 11, 2008

Among those: plentiful financing and nerds , a culture that celebrates both failure and success, and an ethos of openness and sharing. The Lean Startup Intensive is tomorrow at Web 2.0. Amazing lean startup resources Is Entrepreneurship a Management Science? Principles of Lean Startups, presentation for Mapl.

Silicon Valley 68

Silicon Valley San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 68

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. The Traditional VC Pitch Entrepreneurs who pursue the traditional product development model don’t have customer data to answer these questions. Is there a profitable business model? Great post!

Customer Development 270

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 270

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Software apps that once required a 10-person team can now be done with the Lean Development methodology by two people in a couple of months.

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

Up and Running

JULY 24, 2015

Product development. If you need a little help with your product development and getting it on store shelves, you can check out Edison Nation. They can help with development and licensing, too. Business USA Finance Wizard. As an entrepreneur, you’ll need a solid understanding of small business finances.

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur SBA Small Business Administration Pennsylvania 60

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

So, please note the TAM Analysis is a vitally important aspect of building any financing strategy. He needs to generate enough profit so that he can grow organically and build his business systematically, and without expecting a lot of outside financing. Raymond is wondering why he cannot attract financing.

Marketing 52

Marketing Bootstrapping Incubator Angel Investor 52

www.readwriteweb.com

OCTOBER 18, 2010

So, please note the TAM Analysis is a vitally important aspect of building any financing strategy. He needs to generate enough profit so that he can grow organically and build his business systematically, and without expecting a lot of outside financing. Raymond is wondering why he cannot attract financing.

Marketing 52

Marketing Bootstrapping Incubator Angel Investor 52

Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

You literally have to take your vision of the opportunity and against all rational odds assemble financing, and a team to help you execute. Next, you have to deal with the daily crisis of product development and acquiring early customers. And that’s just to get started. And that’s just to get started. ?

Founder 312

Founder Silicon Valley RSS China 312

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Finance, IT, Legal). Today, brands are hiring social media specialists for customer support, crowdsourced product development, promotions and even leads generation. Vision Synching in a Lean Startup - Startup Marketing Blog , November 12, 2010 In the age of the lean startup , we often forget about the importance of vision.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 13, 2016

In some situations the product or service itself can accomplish these goals, but often it is great brand identity that can make the difference between your first customer or a lost lead. Though most startups know the importance of brand identity, it can often take the back seat to more pressing matters such as product development or finances.

Marketing 48

Marketing Startup Differentiation Naming 48

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Software apps that once required a 10-person team can now be done with the Lean Development methodology by two people in a couple of months.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

Young founders tend to complicate things too much, from structuring partnership agreements, financing, leases, etc. Some entrepreneurs think it’s a luxury to have accounting, finance, or other support functions, but it’s important not to be afraid of spending resources early on for administrative efficiency.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

So What is Customer Development? Steve Blank, a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, developed a methodology for creating businesses that runs in parallel with the traditional product development process. The core idea behind customer development is that the assumptions you make about a target market are only guesses.

Customer Development 126

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 126

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

You have your general management meeting and in your general management meeting you talk about product development, about marketing and about finance. So again, none of this is me trying to say what you should do for product development, in fact, or what you should write in code in fact. Edwin: I know.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220