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bobdorf

Re:Ask HN: Which books made you the most money? on Thursday March 11, 2021 @06:19PM (#26430294)
as Steve Blank's co-author, I must comment that building a startup is NOT gambling...his and my work and book are often discussed as "applying the scientific metnod to starups..." have a hypothesis, develop a test to prove or disprove it, run the test, read the results, iterate and test again...It is a serious, demanding process that has generated many millions in value for thousands of startups around the world. There is no other process so detailed and granular in its step-by-step process. And luck is at best a trivial influence on startup success...lean methods conceived by steve and in our book are a a far better alternative to the startup casino...

World's Largest MVP scores revenue and investment

By Bob DorfAlmost without a doubt, it’s the largest MVP in history: more than 20 feet long, 10’ high and 10’ wide—2,000 cubic feet and 5,000 pounds in all. What’s more, the huge MVP has already recorded some $305,000 in sales from its first user and half of the seed round for “Block Party Suites.”I met co-founder Steve Gilman in my full-semester Lean LaunchPad class at Columbia B-School, where...

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NET NEUTRALITY: what is it, and why we need it so very badly

by Bob Dorf Finally, there’s a slight wisp of sanity in the FCC’s view on the proposal to create a high-priced “fast lane” on the Internet. Thursday’s New York Times reports, “Federal regulators appear to share one view about so-called net neutrality: It is a good thing.” While the battle is far from over, for sure, it’s perhaps the first positive sign that there’s hope for...

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Re:Show HN: Unleash Your Inner How-to Guide on Wednesday November 07, 2012 @01:54PM (#4754646)
a very powerful inexpensive tool
As Steve Blank says, "most products fail for lack of customers, not technology." Why would you spend time building a product--almost any product--unless you are absolutely sure there's a market for it? What makes your file sharing service different from the others? Where will its market share(and revenue) come from? Why will people choose your product instead of entrenched competition? And why would you spend weeks or months building something unless you're absolutely certain there's a market for it?