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Steve Blank

Steve Blank
Founders Need to Be Ruthless When Chasing Deals One of the most exciting things a startup CEO in a business-to-business market can hear from a...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
One of the most exciting things a startup CEO in a business-to-business market can hear from a potential customer is, “We’re excited. When can you come back and show us a prototype?” This can be the beginning of a profitable customer relationship or a disappointing sinkhole of...
Steve Blank
The Venture Mindset – Worth A Read Ilya Strebulaev at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Director of the Stanford Venture...
9 months ago
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9 months ago
Ilya Strebulaev at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Director of the Stanford Venture Capital Initiative just came out with a book that should be on your reading list – The Venture Mindset. The books premise is that Venture Capitalists (who were responsible for the...
Steve Blank
Secret History – When Kodak Went to War with Polaroid This part 2 of the Secret History of Polaroid and Edwin Land. Read part 1 for context. Kodak and...
9 months ago
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9 months ago
This part 2 of the Secret History of Polaroid and Edwin Land. Read part 1 for context. Kodak and Polaroid, the two most famous camera companies of the 20th century, had a great partnership for 20+ years. Then in an inexplicable turnabout Kodak decided to destroy Polaroid’s...
Steve Blank
Profound Beliefs This post previously appeared in EIX. In the early stages of a startup your hypotheses about all the...
a year ago
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a year ago
This post previously appeared in EIX. In the early stages of a startup your hypotheses about all the parts of your business model are your profound beliefs. Think of profound beliefs as “strong opinions loosely held.” You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite of a...
Steve Blank
Security Clearances at the Speed of Startups Imagine you got a job offer from a company but weren’t allowed to start work – or get paid – for...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Imagine you got a job offer from a company but weren’t allowed to start work – or get paid – for almost a year. And if you can’t pass a security clearance your offer is rescinded. Or you get offered an internship but can’t work on the most interesting part of the project. Sounds...
Steve Blank
Hacking for Defense @ Stanford 2024 – Lessons Learned Presentations We just finished our 9th annual Hacking for Defense class at Stanford. What a year. Hacking for...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
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...
Steve Blank
Gordon Bell R.I.P. Gordon Bell passed on this month. I was a latecomer in Gordon Bell’s life.  But he made a lasting...
9 months ago
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9 months ago
Gordon Bell passed on this month. I was a latecomer in Gordon Bell’s life.  But he made a lasting impact on mine. The first time I laid eyes on Gordon Bell was in 1984 outside a restaurant in a Boston suburb when he pulled up in a Porsche. I was the head of Marketing for […]
Steve Blank
You’re Invited: Hacking for Defense and Lean LaunchPad Final Presentations Join us for the final presentations of our two Stanford classes this Tuesday June 4th and Wednesday...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
Join us for the final presentations of our two Stanford classes this Tuesday June 4th and Wednesday June 5th. Tuesday = Hacking for Defense Wednesday = Lean Launchpad The presentations just get better every year.  Attend in person or via Zoom. This year AI seems to be part of...
Steve Blank
Why Large Organizations Struggle With Disruption, and What to Do About It Seemingly overnight, disruption has allowed challengers to threaten the dominance of companies and...
6 months ago
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6 months ago
Seemingly overnight, disruption has allowed challengers to threaten the dominance of companies and government agencies as many of their existing systems have now been leapfrogged. How an organization reacts to this type of disruption determines whether they adapt or die. I’ve...
Steve Blank
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?...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
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)...
Steve Blank
Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition – 2023 Wrap Up We just wrapped up the third year of our Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition class...
a year ago
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a year ago
We just wrapped up the third year of our Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition class –part of Stanford’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. Joe Felter, Mike Brown and I teach the class to: Give our students an appreciation of the challenges and...
Steve Blank
Is a $100 Million Enough? Capitalism has been good to me. After serving in the military during Vietnam, I came home and had a...
11 months ago
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11 months ago
Capitalism has been good to me. After serving in the military during Vietnam, I came home and had a career in eight startups. I got to retire when I was 45. Over the last quarter century, in my third career, I helped create the methods entrepreneurs use to build new startups,...
Steve Blank
Playing With Fire – ChatGPT The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of...
a year ago
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a year ago
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. John F. Kennedy Humans have mastered lots of things that have transformed our lives, created our civilizations, and might ultimately...
Steve Blank
Lean LaunchPad @Stanford 2024 – 8 Teams In, 8 Companies Out This post previously appeared in Poets and Quants. We just finished the 14th annual Lean LaunchPad...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
This post previously appeared in Poets and Quants. We just finished the 14th annual Lean LaunchPad class at Stanford. The class had gotten so popular that in 2021 we started teaching it in both the winter and spring sessions. During the quarter the eight teams spoke to 919...
Steve Blank
Apple Vision Pro – Tech in the Search of a Market A version of this article previously appeared in Fortune. If you haven’t been paying attention Apple...
a year ago
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a year ago
A version of this article previously appeared in Fortune. If you haven’t been paying attention Apple has started shipping its Apple Vision Pro, its take on a headset that combines Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). The product is an amazing technical tour de force....
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...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
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...
Steve Blank
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?”...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
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...
Steve Blank
Quantum Computing – An Update In March 2022 I wrote a description of the Quantum Technology Ecosystem. I thought this would be a...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
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...
Steve Blank
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...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
“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...
Steve Blank
Leaving Government for the Private Sector – Part 2 Laura Thomas is a former CIA operations officer. Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops to a...
a year ago
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a year ago
Laura Thomas is a former CIA operations officer. Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops to a quantum technology company offered insightful career transition advice for those leaving her agency. Most of her lessons were applicable to any government employee venturing out to...
Steve Blank
Why The Pentagon Can’t Count: It’s Time to Reinvent the Audit This article previously appeared in War on the Rocks. In the past, headlines about the Pentagon...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
This article previously appeared in War on the Rocks. In the past, headlines about the Pentagon failing its financial audit again would never have caught my attention. But having been in the middle of this conversation when I served on one of the Defense Department’s advisory...
Steve Blank
The Secret History of Polaroid CEO Edwin Land – part 1 The connections between the world of national security and commercial companies still has surprises....
9 months ago
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9 months ago
The connections between the world of national security and commercial companies still has surprises. December 1976 – Vandenberg Air Force Base, U.S. military space port on the coast of California As a Titan IIID rocket blasted off, it carried a spacecraft on top that would change...
Steve Blank
Leaving Government for the Private Sector – Part 1 Laura Thomas is a former CIA operations officer. Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops into a...
a year ago
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a year ago
Laura Thomas is a former CIA operations officer. Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops into a quantum technology company offered insightful career transition advice for those leaving her agency. Most of her lessons were applicable to any government employee venturing out to...
Steve Blank
Reorganizing the DoD to Deter China and Win in the Ukraine – A Road Map for Congress This article previously appeared in Defense News. It was co-written with Joe Felter, and Pete...
a year ago
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a year ago
This article previously appeared in Defense News. It was co-written with Joe Felter, and Pete Newell. Today, the U.S. is supporting a proxy war with Russia while simultaneously attempting to deter a China cross-strait invasion of Taiwan. Both are wakeup calls that victory and...
Steve Blank
Even the Smartest VCs Sometimes Get it Wrong – Bill Gurley and Regulated Markets Bill Gurley was one of Silicon Valley’s smartest and most successful VCs. He recently gave a talk at...
a year ago
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a year ago
Bill Gurley was one of Silicon Valley’s smartest and most successful VCs. He recently gave a talk at the All-In Summit that was really two talks in one. The first part was railing against the consequences of regulatory capture on innovation and a second part, about the...
Steve Blank
The Department of Defense Is Getting Its Innovation Act Together – But More Can Be Done This post previously appeared in Defense News  and C4SIR. Despite the clear and present danger of...
a year ago
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a year ago
This post previously appeared in Defense News  and C4SIR. Despite the clear and present danger of threats from China and elsewhere, there’s no agreement on what types of adversaries we’ll face; how we’ll fight, organize, and train; and what weapons or systems we’ll need for...
Steve Blank
Be Where Your Business Is This post previously appeared on the readwrite blog.   A CEO running a B-to-B startup in needs to...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
This post previously appeared on the readwrite blog.   A CEO running a B-to-B startup in needs to live in the city where their business is – or else they’ll never scale. I was having breakfast with Erin, an ex-student, just off a red-eye flight from New York. She’s built a...
Steve Blank
Mapping the Unknown – The Ten Steps to Map Any Industry A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step  Lǎozi 老子 I just had lunch with Shenwei, one...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step  Lǎozi 老子 I just had lunch with Shenwei, one of my ex-students who had just taken a job in a mid-sized consulting firm.  After a bit of catching up I offered he was looking a bit lost. “I just got handed a project to […]
Steve Blank
Startups that Have Employees In Offices Grow 3½ Times Faster This article previously appeared in EIX – Entreprenuers and Innovators Exchange. Data shows that...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
This article previously appeared in EIX – Entreprenuers and Innovators Exchange. Data shows that pre-seed and seed startups with employees showing up in a physical office have 3½ times higher revenue growth than those that are solely remote. Let the discussion begin. During the...
Steve Blank
Save the Date! the 5th Lean Innovation Educators Summit SAVE THE DATE for the 5th Lean Innovation Educators Summit on The Role of Educators and the...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
SAVE THE DATE for the 5th Lean Innovation Educators Summit on The Role of Educators and the University in Building Sustainable and Innovative Ecosystems February 3rd, 2022 from 1 to 4pm EST, 10 to 1pm PST Join me, Jerry Engel, Pete Newell, and Steve Weinstein as well as educators...
Steve Blank
The Semiconductor Ecosystem – Explained The last year has seen a ton written about the semiconductor industry: chip shortages, the CHIPS...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
The last year has seen a ton written about the semiconductor industry: chip shortages, the CHIPS Act, our dependence on Taiwan and TSMC, China, etc. But despite all this talk about chips and semiconductors, few understand how the industry is structured. I’ve found the best way to...
Steve Blank
The 6th Lean Innovation Educators Summit – Education and Innovation in the Age of Chaos and... Join Jerry Engel, Pete Newell, and Steve Weinstein for the sixth edition of the Lean Innovation...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Join Jerry Engel, Pete Newell, and Steve Weinstein for the sixth edition of the Lean Innovation Educators Summit December 14, 1-4 pm Eastern Time, 10 am-1 pm Pacific Time. Register here. — This virtual gathering will bring together entrepreneurship educators from around the world...
Steve Blank
Lessons for the DoD – From Ukraine and China Portions of this post previously appeared in War On the Rocks. Looking at a satellite image of...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Portions of this post previously appeared in War On the Rocks. Looking at a satellite image of Ukraine online I realized it was from Capella Space – one of our Hacking for Defense student teams who now has 7 satellites in orbit. National Security is Now Dependent on Commercial...
Steve Blank
Is a Venture Studio Right for You? This post previously appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Three types of organizations –...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
This post previously appeared in the Harvard Business Review. 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. Venture...
Steve Blank
Finding and Growing the Islands of Innovation inside a large company – Action Plan for A New CTO This post previously appeared in Fast Company. How does a newly hired Chief Technology Officer (CTO)...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
This post previously appeared in Fast Company. How does a newly hired Chief Technology Officer (CTO) find and grow the islands of innovation inside a large company? How not to waste your first six months as a new CTO thinking you’re making progress when the status quo is working...
Steve Blank
Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition  – 2022 Wrap Up We just wrapped up the second year of our Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition class...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
We just wrapped up the second year of our Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition class – now part of our Stanford Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. Joe Felter, Raj Shah and I designed the class to 1) give our students an appreciation of the...
Steve Blank
Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition  – Wrap Up This article first appeared in West Point’s Modern War Institute. We just had our final session of...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
This article first appeared in West Point’s Modern War Institute. We just had our final session of our Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition class. Joe Felter, Raj Shah and I designed the class to give our students insights on how commercial technology (AI, machine...
Steve Blank
Lean Meets Wicked Problems This post previously appeared in Poets & Quants. I just spent a month and a half at Imperial College...
a year ago
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a year ago
This post previously appeared in Poets & Quants. I just spent a month and a half at Imperial College London co-teaching a “Wicked” Entrepreneurship class. In this case Wicked doesn’t mean morally evil, but refers to really complex problems, ones with multiple moving parts, where...
Steve Blank
Cram Down – A Test of Character for VCs and Founders This article previously appeared in TechCrunch. Cram downs are back – and I’m keeping a list. At the...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
This article previously appeared in TechCrunch. Cram downs are back – and I’m keeping a list. At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. Most existing investors...
Steve Blank
What’s Plan B? – The Small, the Agile, and the Many This post previously appeared in the Proceedings of the Naval Institute. One of the most audacious...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
This post previously appeared in the Proceedings of the Naval Institute. One of the most audacious and bold manifestos for the future of Naval innovation has just been posted by the Rear Admiral who heads up the Office of Naval Research. It may be the hedge we need to deter China...
Steve Blank
The Three Pillars of World-class Corporate Innovation My good friend Alexander Osterwalder, the inventor of the business model canvas (one of foundations...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
My good friend Alexander Osterwalder, the inventor of the business model canvas (one of foundations of the Lean Methodology) has written a playbook (along with his associate partner Tendayi Viki,) From Innovation Theater to Growth Engine to explain how to build and implement...
Steve Blank
A Simple Map for Innovation at Scale An edited version of this article previously appeared in the Boston Consulting Group’s strategy...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
An edited version of this article previously appeared in the Boston Consulting Group’s strategy think tank website. I spent last week at a global Fortune 50 company offsite watching them grapple with disruption. This 100+-year-old company has seven major product divisions, each...
Steve Blank
The Quantum Technology Ecosystem – Explained If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics Richard...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics Richard Feynman Tens of billions of public and private capital are being invested in Quantum technologies. Countries across the world have realized that quantum technologies can be a major...
Steve Blank
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning– Explained Artificial Intelligence is a once-in-a lifetime commercial and defense game changer (download a PDF...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Artificial Intelligence is a once-in-a lifetime commercial and defense game changer (download a PDF of this article here) Hundreds of billions in public and private capital is being invested in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning companies. The number of patents...
Steve Blank
National Industrial Policy – Private Capital and The America’s Frontier Fund Steps Up This article previously appeared in The National Interest. Last month the U.S. passed the CHIPS and...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
This article previously appeared in The National Interest. Last month the U.S. passed the CHIPS and Science Act, one of the first pieces of national industrial policy – government planning and intervention in a specific industry — in the last 50 years, in this case for...
Steve Blank
Here’s What Happened When Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks visited Stanford’s Gordian... It was an honor to host US Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks at Stanford’s Gordian Knot...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
It was an honor to host US Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks at Stanford’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.  (Think of the Deputy Secretary of Defense as the Chief Operating Officer of a company – but in this case the company has 3 million...
Steve Blank
Before there was Oppenheimer there was Vannevar Bush I just saw the movie Oppenheimer.  A wonderful movie on multiple levels. But the Atomic Bomb story...
a year ago
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a year ago
I just saw the movie Oppenheimer.  A wonderful movie on multiple levels. But the Atomic Bomb story that starts at Los Alamos with Oppenheimer and General Grove misses the fact that from mid-1940 to mid-1942 it was Vannevar Bush (and his number 2, James Conant, the president of...
Steve Blank
The Secret History of Minnesota Part 1: Engineering Research Associates This post is the latest in the “Secret History Series.” They’ll make much more sense if you watch...
a year ago
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a year ago
This post is the latest in the “Secret History Series.” They’ll make much more sense if you watch the video or read some of the earlier posts for context. See the Secret History bibliography for sources and supplemental reading. Silicon Valley emerged from work in World War II...