Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers? What metrics do we use to see if we learned enough in Customer Discovery ? And without revenue how do we know if we achieved product/market fit to exit Customer Validation?” End of theory.&#

Customer Development 228

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 228

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

Typical valuations range from 3x-5x revenues. Investors are rushing to offer ridiculous valuations, even to pre-revenue startups, to keep from missing out. Very few new startups are getting funded at this stage, and existing ones are looking for strategic partners and being acquired to achieve continued growth.

Artificial Inteligence 436

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Valuation Startup 436

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Investors and partners now look only for a framework of your business essentials, within the context of your opportunity, solution, and financials. Before you bring on partners, develop intellectual property, raise capital, or generate revenues, you need to establish an official business entity.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Occam's Razor

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

They will need two different implementations, it is quite likely that you will end up with two sets of metrics (more people focused for mobile apps, more visit focused for sites). Mobile content consumption, behavior along key metrics (time, bounces etc.) If you have ecommerce you will see key metrics related to money making.

Analytics 143

Analytics Metrics Mobile DC 143

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Steve Blank

AUGUST 21, 2013

Obviously there’s lots of bias built into the data – those who volunteered might be the better teams, the peer reviewers might be selecting for what we taught, funding is no metric for successful science let alone successful companies, etc. – but the difference in funding success is over 300%. – See more here.

SBIR 321

SBIR Technical Review Lean Startup 321

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

A firm like ours has almost 100 different investments across all the various partners so we get to see some businesses very intimately. " Revenue doesn't pay your bills, GM does  —  @msuster 2/ Founders obsess with revenue as a vanity metric.

Founder 242

Founder Dilution Software Review Later Stage 242

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2014

As an entrepreneur raised in the era of analytics, I want to find metrics for everything. When I was going through the co-founder “dating” process, I’d found a potential partner through my network who seemed to be perfect. Finding the right business partner for me. But how do you measure (and prove) a gut feeling?

Partner 113

Partner Cofounder Equity Metrics 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Since NewTV won’t be making the content, they will be licensing from and partnering with traditional entertainment producers. NewTV will depend on partners like telcos to distribute the content. Will consumers want to watch short-form mobile entertainment? Will these third parties produce something people will watch?

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2018

Unfortunately, your personal assessment that you have traction probably won’t be convincing to potential investors and partners, so it’s important that you create and track your progress against some metrics. Define metrics on customer feedback and user counts. Assemble a credible inside advisory board and partners.

Advisory Board 199

Advisory Board Technical Review Metrics Business Model 199

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 19, 2025

” The impact shows in concrete business growth metrics. We increased our revenue by 20% last year. ” Many small-business owners hesitated to embrace digital marketing before partnering with the agency. A Rhode Island-based general contractor had zero internet presence before partnering with the agency.

Rhode Island 86

Rhode Island Ohio Web Development Social Media 86

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Venture studios create startups by incubating their own ideas or ideas from their partners. These studios have different metrics than startup studios whose limited partners are private family offices or venture capitalists. Unlike an accelerator, a venture studio does not fund existing startups.

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

You must have a strong Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) with a clear strategy for spending, and metrics to gauge results. In addition, research shows that companies that fail to align their marketing and sales departments have less ROI, and lose 10% or more of their revenues per year. Outside partners and channel impacts are complex.

Acquisition 250

Acquisition Cost Customer Sales Cycle 250

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Dino Vendetti a VC at Bay Partners, moved up to Bend, Oregon on a mission to engineer Bend into a regional technology cluster. This is true whether the company is concept stage or ramping revenue. I’ve found a lot of companies in the region that have found a way to get to some level of revenue traction but haven’t broken out.

Early Stage 295

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 295

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 30, 2015

Google is focused on expanding its already broad reach into the advertising market by increasing the span and coverage of its digital and mobile platforms, and the company’s 4Q14 results highlight how the company’s efforts to buttress its core services is paying off: Google’s revenue and gross profit climbed 15.3% billion and generated $4.1

Advertising 100

Advertising Revenue Mobile Intellectual Property 100

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Companies horde cash and squeeze the most revenue and margin from the money they use. Metrics like Return on Net Assets, Return on Capital and Internal Rate of Return are the guiding stars of the board and CEO. To manage these employees companies create metrics to control, measure and reward execution. Companies need your help.

Private Equity 330

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 330

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. It’s your job as a leader to be the model high performer, quantify the team view with metrics, and expand awareness to the best outside competition and new tools.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 16, 2020

This method branches off into two schools of thought: Past Earning Capitalization – this suggests that the expected revenue in the future can be predicted by a record of the company’s past earnings, once undue revenue or expenses are accounted for and multiplies the projected earnings by a capitalization factor.

Valuation 162

Valuation CPA Software Review .Net 162

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

One question that keeps coming up when speaking with early stage entrepreneurs when it comes to funding, is what metrics the company needs to hit to raise seed/series A/B etc: What’s a good conversion rate? Investors look beyond top line metrics to assess other important factors. What should our MRR growth be?

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Investors and partners now look only for a framework of your business essentials, within the context of your opportunity, solution, and financials. Before you bring on partners, develop intellectual property, raise capital, or generate revenues, you need to establish an official business entity.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Unlocking the Power of Data: Transforming Metrics into Actionable Insights written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Janstch In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interviewed Peter Caputa, CEO of Databox, an innovative player in the realm of marketing analytics.

Metrics 92

Metrics Analytics Forecast Software Review 92

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

Everyone has their own definition of momentum (user numbers, revenue, channel partners, biz dev deals, whatever). That might work for $50-100k but less likely for $3m unless you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, known to the VC, have some metrics that work in your favor or have built something the VC believes to be truly unique.

Early Stage 360

Early Stage Startup Venture Capital Seed Stage 360

Feld Thoughts

JULY 20, 2020

I recently was in an email thread where a Black founder had a powerful and clear response to the question from one of her corporate partners. The question was: How can our (the corporate partner’s) team better support diversity in our work, particularly in our sourcing, diligence, and onboarding efforts?

Entrepreneur 222

Entrepreneur Software Review Metrics Community 222

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

Each VC firm/partner has a different spin on what to weigh more.) Five Quarters of Profitability During the 1980’s and through the mid 1990’s startups going public had to do something that most companies today never heard of – they had to show a track record of increasing revenue and consistent profitability.

Silicon Valley 237

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 237

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 28, 2024

But be warned: finding the right partner is key, or you could end up wasting time and money on a setup that doesn’t fit your business. Clear Metrics : You’ll get measurable results, so you’ll know exactly what’s working (and what’s not). Outsourced Marketing Outsourcing your marketing can be a much more budget-friendly option.

Small Business 80

Small Business Hiring Marketing Jordan 80

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Did the partner have a good or bad day, etc. A Progress Graph on the right visually shows how far you’ve come (in whatever units of goodness you’re tracking – revenue, units, users, etc.) Good if you have your own money, better if the cash comes from investors, but best if it’s revenues from customers.

Customer Development 270

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 270

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

1) It all starts from the Growth Hacking Funnel - in the early stages, startups should not just focus on top/bottom line metric like unique users and revenue. They should understand the different states of the user (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue) and focus on moving users from one state to the next.

API 167

API Viral Startup Retention 167

ConversionXL

JUNE 8, 2017

Quantitative research with digital analytics tools like Google Analytics , Mixpanel, Amplitude or RJ Metrics will inform you about where your users are coming from, what they are doing during their sessions and where they are dropping off from your conversion funnel or when they churn. Image Source. Second-party historical data.

Programming 97

Programming Revenue Analytics Software Review 97

Steve Blank

APRIL 21, 2011

This team spoke with 10 more customers and potential channel partners. This week’s lecture covered the Revenue Model including questions like these: How does your company make money? What types of revenue streams are there? Yet like passionate entrepreneurs, the team ignored our advice and pressed on. (To

Channel 234

Channel Artificial Inteligence San Francisco Business Model 234

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

billion in ad revenue in 2020. But you can also accumulate significant exposure and revenue through an organic YouTube strategy. As with most platforms, there are metrics that matter, and vanity metrics. Both metrics represent high engagement. YouTube generated $19.77 Time-to-value is much more important.

Analytics 134

Analytics Metrics Channel Video 134

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 4, 2019

by Bruce Cleveland, Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners and author of “ Traversing the Traction Gap “ As we continue our exploration of the Traction Gap Framework® – a step-by-step approach that startup teams can use to go from ideation to preparing to scale – I will walk you through the principles.

Framework 127

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 127

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

View from Seed

OCTOBER 24, 2019

Or, if you can’t skip a round, when should you try to work extra hard to minimize dilution and when should you be prepared to take more dilution for the right partner/situation? Also, the benefit of raising a pre-seed from great partners probably outweighs the cost. Founders with limited experience. Experienced founders: B2B.

Dilution 149

Dilution B2B Burn Rate Early Stage 149

ConversionXL

MAY 27, 2022

Then they increased their revenue from $2M to $6M in six months. In this article, you’ll learn how to build a demand generation funnel that fuels the pipeline, shortens the sale cycle, and generates revenue. Stage 1: Target the right metrics for an effective long game. Metrics for your demand generation funnel.

Demand 124

Demand B2B Distribution Channel 124

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 1, 2019

by Bruce Cleveland, Founding Partner at Wildcat Venture Partners and author of “ Traversing the Traction Gap “. And given the paucity of business metrics at this point in a startup’s lifecycle, spreadsheet analysis is of little help. At this stage, the team is seeking market and customer validation metrics.

Cleveland 150

Cleveland Framework Marketing Early Stage 150