Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

While most of the early attention in a startup is paid to finding product market fit ( the match between value proposition and customer segment on the right-side of the canvas) it’s the left side of the canvas that will tell you what your founding team should look like. So What Does this Have to Do With A Founding Team?

Cofounder 335

Cofounder Founder Intellectual Property Business Model 335

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Three types of organizations – Incubators, Accelerators and Venture Studios – have emerged to reduce the risk of early-stage startup failure by helping teams find product/market fit and raise initial capital. He had a track record of taking small teams and growing them into successful product lines.

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

Most large companies manage three types of innovation: process innovation (making existing products incrementally better), continuous innovation (building on the strength of the company’s current business model but creating new elements) and disruptive innovation (creating products or services that did not exist before.).

Acquisition 334

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 334

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation. If it’s too early for customers, make sure you understand exactly when the product ships, how detailed is the rollout and promotion plan, and how many times these plans have changed.

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Bypasses intellectual property as not worth the cost. Finish the product before marketing begins. It’s never too early to start marketing, since it usually takes as long to build marketing momentum as it does to build a product. Marketing should start before product development.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

If you have a product description, that’s necessary, but not sufficient. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO). Ship a minimum product now. For a true scientist, the product is never good enough, so it’s never done.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity Fractional CTO 281

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Minimum viable products (MVPs) are recommended for validating the market, with iterative enhancement to quickly meet market feedback. Minimum viable products (MVPs) are recommended for validating the market, with iterative enhancement to quickly meet market feedback.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

According to an old Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, like Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized. Technology limited to a single product is seldom enough for a business. Lock in your sustainable advantage.

Technical Review 391

Technical Review Intellectual Property Early Stage Global 391

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Intellectual property is required for a competitive edge. You may think that patents and copyrights are not required, since your products are so innovative, but you will find that competitors are quick to copy your idea if you don’t protect it.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2020

Rally people behind a higher purpose, not just a product. The customer culture today responds best to a greater vision for improving society and the planet, which can easily sustain a constant stream of new products. Challenge your team, and your customers, with expanding their mindset, achieving personal goals, and changing the world.

Entrepreneur 329

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Stealth Angel Investor 329

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Steve Blank

APRIL 4, 2023

On the business side that turns the product from an incredibly powerful application into an even more incredibly powerful platform that other software developers can plug into and build upon. Intellectual property lawyers are already arguing who owns the data these AI models are built on.

ChatGPT 424

ChatGPT Artificial Inteligence Intellectual Property API 424

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

It turns out it actually takes time to build a high-growth business with differentiated intellectual property and roll out large, enterprise-class marketing solutions. I remain a huge supporter and am very proud of our accomplishments and hugely optimistic about our future. 5 years ago.

Los Angeles 387

Los Angeles Intellectual Property LP Venture Capital 387

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Registered patents and other intellectual property. Rather than hide seemingly non-productive gaps in your work to-date, investors look for logical actions, and iterative small steps that could be quick to market or quick to fail. Evidence of adaptability and flexibility. Expert in your chosen domain.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

help you integrate your product with other systems making it harder for your product to be replaced by competitors. Only Work on Projects That Support Your Core Product Effort. In the Ad Tech world PS revenue often means providing “media services” as a value-add to using your product.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software IP Technical Review 321

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors and large potential customers. Building the product may be the easy part of your startup challenge. Your idea is not intellectual property yet, so it has no inherent value.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Bypasses intellectual property as not worth the cost. Finish the product before marketing begins. It’s never too early to start marketing, since it usually takes as long to build marketing momentum as it does to build a product. Marketing should start before product development.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Women Entrepreneurs Can

MAY 31, 2024

Intellectual property (IP) protection is of the utmost importance. Trademarks protect unique symbols, logos , and phrases that identify products or services offered by your business. Conclusion Protecting intellectual property should not be seen as a one-time task but an ongoing mission.

Intellectual Property 52

Intellectual Property IP Security Database 52

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

Values intellectual property. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Clearly willing to provide details of weaknesses as well as strengths of the proposed venture, and the challenges ahead You must be willing to welcome the participation of the angel investor in the company, at least at the advisory level.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 294

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Building the product may be the easy part of your startup challenge. Your idea is not intellectual property yet, so it has no inherent value.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

Steve Blank

JUNE 19, 2014

After seeing the process work so well for scientists and engineers in the NSF, we hypothesized that we could increase productivity and stave the capital flight by helping Life Sciences startups build their companies more efficiently. assess intellectual property and regulatory risk before they design and build.

Lean 277

Lean SBIR Intellectual Property Customer Development 277

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Registered patents and other intellectual property. Rather than hide seemingly non-productive gaps in your work to-date, investors look for logical actions, and iterative small steps that could be quick to market or quick to fail. Evidence of adaptability and flexibility. Expert in your chosen domain.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

Values intellectual property. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Clearly willing to provide details of weaknesses as well as strengths of the proposed venture, and the challenges ahead You must be willing to welcome the participation of the angel investor in the company, at least at the advisory level.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 273

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Building the product may be the easy part of your startup challenge. Your idea is not intellectual property yet, so it has no inherent value.

Equity 238

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

Registered patents and other intellectual property. Rather than hide seemingly non-productive gaps in your work to-date, investors look for logical actions, and iterative small steps that could be quick to market or quick to fail. Evidence of adaptability and flexibility. Expert in your chosen domain.

Angel Investor 268

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Early Stage 268

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2014

According to a Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, such as Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized. Technology limited to a single product is seldom enough for a business. Lock in your sustainable advantage.

Technical Review 266

Technical Review Intellectual Property Early Stage Global 266

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Minimum viable products (MVPs) are recommended for validating the market, with iterative enhancement to quickly meet market feedback. Minimum viable products (MVPs) are recommended for validating the market, with iterative enhancement to quickly meet market feedback.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

The single most important ingredient of success is not the idea, but having a team in place that has impeccable integrity, can iterate the product quickly, pivot the business model as necessary, and keep costs down in the process. Is your concept worthy of a company, a product, or a feature? They bet on the jockey, not the horse.

Angel Investor 269

Angel Investor Cram Down Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Here people make online pledges with their credit cards during a campaign, to pre-buy the product for later delivery, if it is ever built. There is no concept of ROI other than product. These also open new concerns about lost intellectual property, Internet scams, and long-term return on investment.

Intellectual Property 247

Intellectual Property SEC Venture Capital Equity 247

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

For an inventor , the product is everything, and managing cash flow in a business may be the least satisfying part. Working for a well-funded existing company, or pursuing your dream as a hobby, may be more satisfying and productive. Temper your passion with feedback on a minimum viable product before committing.

Founder 262

Founder Intellectual Property Social Media Business Plan 262

Steve Blank

APRIL 14, 2013

Intellectual property protection is great on paper and “limited” in practice. Small startups act the same way, simply cloning each other’s products. Eventually, China’s innovation-driven economy needs intellectual property rights and anti-trust laws that are enforced. I can’t imagine a U.S. business models.

China 328

China Silicon Valley Non-Compete Intellectual Property 328