Startup Opportunities, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 9Plan

Steve Blank is famous for paraphrasing Field Marshal Helmuth Graf von Moltke on his blog and reminding us that no business plan survives first contact with the customer.¹ Many mistake Blank’s (and Graf’s) instruction and go only partway. These founders ask their customers what they want. That approach is not sufficient. Instead, entrepreneurs should present potential customers with choices and let them show their opinion with their wallets.

There is a secondary message in Blank’s warning, which is that business plans are only a starting point. You should execute on those plans, and due to high levels of uncertainty, continuously evolve and adapt the plan on the fly. Darwin was correct—those who can adapt will survive, not just in nature but in the startup jungle as well.

Launch Early and Often

By David Cohen (Founder, Techstars)²

A product that nobody uses is like a tree falling in the forest when no one is around to hear it. Maybe it makes a sound, maybe not—but really, who even cares? The same goes for your product. It could be the coolest idea ever, but if no one is around to use it, who cares? If actual customers aren’t using your product or service, there’s no way to know what’s working and what needs to be changed. Keep in mind that the product launch and the marketing launch are two separate things. Your marketing launch can wait. It’s fine to delay making a lot of noise and promoting your company in the media until you have good product/market fit ...