Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
88
We just finished our 9th annual Hacking for Defense class at Stanford. What a year. Hacking for Defense, now in 60 universities, has teams of students working to understand and help solve national security problems. At Stanford this quarter the 8 teams of 40 students collectively interviewed 968 beneficiaries, stakeholders, requirements writers, program managers, industry partners, […]
8 months ago

Improve your reading experience

Logged in users get linked directly to articles resulting in a better reading experience. Please login for free, it takes less than 1 minute.

More from Steve Blank

How to Flip the Script, Beat China and Russia – And Fix the Broken Department of Defense

A version of this post previously appeared in War on the Rocks. This version has been updated with suggestions from leaders across the Department of Defense and Venture Capital community. BLUF: In WW II, the U.S. outsourced advanced weapons systems development to civilians. The weapons they developed won the war. It’s time to do that […]

3 months ago 65 votes
Quantum Computing – An Update

In March 2022 I wrote a description of the Quantum Technology Ecosystem. I thought this would be a good time to check in on the progress of building a quantum computer and explain more of the basics. Just as a reminder, Quantum technologies are used in three very different and distinct markets: Quantum Computing, Quantum […]

4 months ago 62 votes
How Saboteurs Threaten Innovation–and What to Do About It

“Only the Paranoid Survive” Andy Grove – Intel CEO 1987-1998 I just had an urgent “can we meet today?” coffee with Rohan, an ex-student. His three-year-old startup had been slapped with a notice of patent infringement from a Fortune 500 company. “My lawyers said defending this suit could cost $500,000 just for discovery, and potentially […]

4 months ago 60 votes
What Does Product Market Fit Sound Like? This.

I got a call from an ex-student asking me “how do you know when you found product market fit?” There’s been lots of words written about it, but no actual recordings of the moment. I remembered I had saved this 90 second, 26 year-old audio file because this is when I knew we had found […]

5 months ago 64 votes
How To Find Your Customer In the Dept of Defense – The Directory of DoD Program Executive Offices

Finding a customer for your product in the Department of Defense is hard: Who should you talk to? How do you get their attention? How do you know if they have money to spend on your product? It almost always starts with a Program Executive Office. The Department of Defense (DoD) no longer owns all […]

5 months ago 79 votes

More in startups

In India, buying a gun is a WhatsApp message away

An analysis of more than 8,000 messages by Digital Witness Lab at Princeton University finds the Meta-owned platform is a thriving illegal firearms marketplace.

14 hours ago 2 votes
Is China inventing big important things?

More thoughts on a great civilization at its peak.

an hour ago 1 votes
Power Cut

A week ago, analyst TD Cowen revealed that Microsoft had canceled leases "totalling a couple hundred MWs," with "at least two private data center operators across multiple US markets." The report also details how Microsoft "pulled back on converting negotiated and signed Statement[s] of

2 days ago 3 votes
Mexico’s new tariffs hit Shein — and millions of local resellers

The government hopes the 19% tax will push Asian e-commerce giants to grow their operations in Mexico, and make up for 79,000 textile jobs lost to fast fashion.

2 days ago 4 votes
The Great Movie Theory

Man's pursuit of greatness is the pursuit of a great film.

3 days ago 5 votes