Assessing Customer and Market Risks

Steve Blank, Stanford University

The odds of success in Silicon Valley are about 1,000:1. How can so many good ideas fail to find their place in the market? Too many start-ups burn too many resources on sales and marketing too soon, says serial entrepreneur Steve Blank. Less than ten percent of start-ups fail because of faulty technology or engineering, whereas most allude success because they don’t pinpoint the right market or the right customer.