SKMurphy’s Startup Stages: Idea, Open for Business, Early Customers, Finding Your Niche, and Scaling Up also map to Survive, Explore, Focus, Refine, and Grow.
Startup Stages: Survive, Explore, Focus, Refine, Grow Read More »
A collection of humorous tools that generate buzzword compliant business models.
Tools for Buzzword Compliant Business Models Read More »
Product-market fit is not a ratchet: competitive response, new entrants, changes in technology and customer preference require ongoing customer development. You will need to continue to do customer development–and customer discovery for that matter–even after you have a first prototype, an MVP, early customers, and an established niche. Markets and competitors don’t stand still, no
Q: We Already Have a Prototype, Can We Still Do Customer Development? Read More »
John Gardner outlines how leaders detect and act on weak signals of the future by looking beyond the horizon and planning for renewal.
John Gardner: Leaders Detect and Act on the Weak Signals of the Future Read More »
I believe that Patrick Steyaert’s Discovery Kanban offers a critical perspective on how large organizations can cultivate lean innovation methods for product delivery beyond isolated spike efforts or innovation colonies.
Discovery Kanban Allows Firms to Balance Delivery and Discovery Read More »
We work with several teams who have launched or are launching an application that makes a team or group more productive. Here are a couple of suggestions for things to consider. Be compatible with the status quo if at all possible Collaboration or workflow applications that require at least two people to adopt in order
A Simple Checklist for Introducing a Collaboration Application Read More »
If you want to be a succeed as a bootstrapper, start with what you’ve got: you have an insight into an opportunity, a marketing edge, a particular problem where you’re going to bring distinctive value.
Successful Bootstrappers Are Trustworthy Salespeople Committed to Customer Satisfaction Read More »
Early trials allow you to tune your message, adjust your view and selection criteria for a target customer, and refine your feature set.
Q: How To Speed Up Early Trials, Adoption, and Sales Read More »
Dan Scheinman (@dscheinm) graduated from Duke Law School in 1988 and went to work as an associate at DLA Piper before joining the Cisco legal department. Once inside he worked his way up to General Counsel, then ran corporate development which included managing minority investments and acquisitions, and finally was general manager for Cisco’s Media Solutions
Dan Scheinman’s Blue Ocean Venture Strategy: Target Entrepreneurs Over 35 Read More »
Shared trust and integrity form the basis for the key resource in a bootstrapping startup: morale. Founders must foster actions and behaviors that build trust in the early days if they hope to create a startup with a culture that will enable it to prosper.
Ten Principles for Trust and Integrity from Adventures in Missions Read More »
In “Our ‘For Impact’ Culture Code,” Possible Health outlined a number of operating principles and cultural values that are also very appropriate for bootstrappers.
Bootstrappers Turn Time Into Resources and Possibilities For Customers Read More »
D. H. Lawrence’s “Escape” Offers a Vision of the Entrepreneur’s Journey
D. H. Lawrence’s “Escape” Offers a Vision of the Entrepreneur’s Journey Read More »
Some advice from a couple of founders that ran successful crowdfunding campaigns: Matt Oscamou, CEO of Frontier Bites, Mark Palaima, Distinguished Engineer at Avagent, and Noah Dentzel, CEO of Nomad Goods.
Advice on Crowdfunding from Matt Oscamou, Mark Palaima, and Noah Dentzel Read More »
Instead of looking left and right for potential competition, I would walk around the table and look at the situation from your prospect’s perspective.
Q: How Much Attention Should I Pay To Potential Competition? Read More »
Don’t do a big launch before you have get answers to your customer discovery questions or you are running a very expensive test of your key customer and market hypotheses.
Q: Can We Launch First and Ask Customer Discovery Questions Later? Read More »
One of the hallmarks for success in a business-to-business market is the ability to form personal relationships as well as professional business relationships. Both require building trust. I am always dismayed when I read advice that advocates bait and switch or other forms of con games that erode trust and make it difficult for any
Building a Business Requires Building Trust Read More »
Without a revenue hypothesis your business model is just a list of activities users are engaging in. You need to map customer actions to revenue and costs.
Without A Revenue Hypothesis Your Business Model Is a List of User Activities Read More »
One question entrepreneurs ask themselves is whether to persevere or get a job. What follows is an email exchange that has been edited into a Q&A.
Q: Should I Persevere With My Product Or Get A Job? Read More »
Some startups just “go for it” and pursue their vision without any real strategy. In the same way that the losers are never interviewed after the lottery numbers are announced, press and pundits draw startup lessons by restricting their focus to the winners. It’s bullshit.
Feeling Lucky Is Not a Strategy Read More »
Lean innovation models provide a scientific approach for creating and testing a product and developing a new business around it.
Video from Lean Innovation 101 Talk at SF Bay ACM Nov-20-2013 Read More »
