Date: March 23, 2011 Time: 6:00 pm Schmooze; 6:30 pm Talk
Join us for a special evening with one of Silicon Valley's leading thinkers on the practice of entrepreneurship. Named as one of the top 10 influencers in Silicon Valley, Steve Blank is a serial entrepreneur and the author of the Customer Development model for startups. In his talk, Steve will explain:
- the metrics startups should use to measure their progress
- why a startup is not just a smaller version of a large company – and how start ups need to be managed and held accountable differently
- why no business plan survives first contact with customers – and what start ups should be doing instead of writing business plans
Steve will also discuss the current entrepreneurship landscape, the cutting-edge approach to teaching entrepreneurship he uses with his students, and what today's innovators must do in order to succeed.
Steve Gary Blank is a retired serial entrepreneur and has founded or been part of eight start-up companies. Today he teaches entrepreneurship at Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Columbia University. Steve is the author of the Customer Development model for early stage companies, which views entrepreneurship as a practice that can be effectively managed, rather than as an art form to be experienced. Customer development has become a guiding methodology for successful startups around the world. Steve Blank is also Chairman of Audubon California, serves of the board of the Peninsula Open Space Trust, and was appointed to the California Coastal Commission.
This event is part of UpStart Innovation Talks, in partnership with the San Francisco Jewish Community Center.
