On Tuesday, 1776 hosted author and Silicon Valley veteran Steve Blank at its Crystal City campus, packing the house with excited entrepreneurs on an otherwise-dreary D.C. evening. During the event, a fireside chat with 1776 Cofounder and Co-CEO Donna Harris, Blank shared his background as an experienced entrepreneur, as well as tales of startup success and failure along the road to what is today known as the lean startup methodology.
Countdown to @sgblank #LeanStartUp discussion at @1776 #SteveBlank1776 pic.twitter.com/ytSGMvWNer
— Invisible Neighbors (@ViennaNairobi) June 2, 2015
Blank’s casual charm captivated the audience, who loved his first-hand insights into the startup experience. Blank explained that many entrepreneurs end up being seen as the “crazy idea person,” rather than the “execution person.” Working from a methodology—such as lean startup—can help alleviate the perception issue, he said.
"Having a methodology and a visionary founder is like yin and yang." @sgblank #SteveBlank1776 @1776
— dr. vanessa e. beary (@vbeary) June 3, 2015
#SteveBlank1776 passion of an entrepreneur is like passion of an artist. Many founders don't want to adopt a methodology but can be key
— Craig Zelizer (@CraigZelizer) June 3, 2015
Once the methodology is in place, the company has a framework upon which it can build. When it moves from an idea or concept stage into the customer development stage, Blank’s advice was clear: “Get out of the building.” Although a founder or a company’s team may be subject-matter experts within their office or building, they can’t beat out the collective intelligence of their customers—especially if there’s an urgent need for a startup’s solution among those customers.
What drives customer development is speed and urgency –@sgblank @1776 #SteveBlank1776
— Amita Shukla (@AmitaShukla) June 3, 2015
And if you start running out of cash, that’s okay, too. Startups may find that lack of money helps refine a team’s efforts.
Running out of $ helps focus a startup. @1776 @sgblank #SteveBlank1776
— dr. vanessa e. beary (@vbeary) June 3, 2015
What do you call a failed #entrepreneur? "Experienced." @sgblank #SteveBlank1776
— 1776 (@1776) June 3, 2015
Often, Blank explained, the first question after an entrepreneur has failed in one venture is, “What will your next company be?” And that’s great news for today’s creatives, because they’re living in a culture that accepts and even encourages entrepreneurial endeavors.
This is the best time, the best country to be an entrepreneur. You're living in the golden age of entrepreneurship –@sgblank #SteveBlank1776
— Amita Shukla (@AmitaShukla) June 3, 2015
#SteveBlank1776 entrepreneurship is world's worst job , needs to be a calling but amazing way to spend a life
— Craig Zelizer (@CraigZelizer) June 3, 2015
Great talk by @sgblank #SteveBlank1776. Inspired! pic.twitter.com/kOi9ZaLUSX
— Veni Kunche (@venikunche) June 3, 2015
Melissa Steffan
Melissa is the former assistant editor for 1776, where she worked on the media team to create compelling, idea-driven content and reporting. A Seattle native, she graduated from Seattle Pacific…
