Steve Blank

First and deadliest of all is a founder’s unwavering belief that he or she understands who the customers will be, what they need, and how to sell it to them.

Steve Blank

For busy young adults, the lure of meal substitutes is simple – it’s all about convenience – the level of effort to open a bottle or package is minimal, and the time from thinking you’re hungry to eating is almost zero.

Steve Blank

For customer development to succeed, everyone on the team – from investor or parent company to engineers, marketers and founders – needs to understand and agree that the customer development process is different to its core.

Steve Blank

For students to understand what the future of journalism is going to be, they’re going to have to invent it. It’s a big idea. We don’t know what journalism is going to look like in the next three years, let alone the next 10 years.

Steve Blank

Founders have continually struggled with and adapted the ‘big business’ tools, rules, and processes taught in business schools when startups failed to execute ‘the plan,’ never admitting to the entrepreneurs that no startup executes to its business plan.

Steve Blank

Founders, presuming they know their customers, assume they know all the features customers need.

Steve Blank

Founding a company is a sheer act of will and tenacity in the face of immense skepticism from everyone – investors, customers, friends, family, and employees, to name a few.

Steve Blank

Greatest risk is not development of new product, but development of customers and markets.

Steve Blank

Having someone who is convinced they can’t change the world manage someone who doesnt realize they can change the world guarantees failure.

Steve Blank

History has shown that time and market forces provide equilibrium in balancing interests, whether the new technology is a video recorder, a personal computer, an MP3 player, or now the Net.

Steve Blank