Startup guru calls for data sharing

Sometimes even a prophet has to leave his own country to better understand the world.

That’s certainly the case for startup guru Steve Blank. The retired serial entrepreneur and author is the co-pioneer of the “lean startup” methodology, a customer-first model that has revolutionized the way startup companies come to market.

Blank now thinks the world needs another revolution, because he no longer believes his model works for startups outside of Silicon Valley.

The trouble is, as Blank admits, the “lean startup” was developed in and for Silicon Valley. So the process assumes startup entrepreneurs have full access to eager and intelligent business customers, hosts of industry angels and venture capitalists with money to burn.

On a trip to Australia last month, Blank experienced an epiphany. Meeting with a coalition of entrepreneurs in the tech/sports space (think wearable devices and cutting-edge fabrics), he realized the lean startup framework didn’t account for the vagaries of local economies. Australia sports-tech entrepreneurs trying to scale their businesses would find that their major customers are in the U.S., halfway around the world. And unlike most Valley startups, the Aussies would need to source manufacturing expertise — which means budgeting for several trips to China.

If entrepreneurs around the world can’t rely on the Silicon Valley bible, what should they do? In a recent essay, Blank suggests that communities and industry clusters need to start collecting their own data on what works and doesn’t, and create their own custom “playbooks” for winning in world markets.

Crucially, says Blank, lean startup assumes that rookie entrepreneurs can access a Rolodex full of mentors and potential angels within a few square miles, at the cost of picking up the tab for cofees. But outside the Valley, “the density and risk profile of investors is not the same,” he says. “Without investors, you can’t have a cluster. It’s like one

You’re getting together, but you’re not learning from each other.

hand clapping.”

One common feature of most startup environments is the “meetup.” Through organizations and events such as Startup Drinks, Startup Weekends, Startup Grind and Startup Canada’s growing network of Startup Communities, many entrepreneurs meet regularly to share stories and motivation. But, as Blank points out, there’s no attempt made to gather intelligence from the entrepreneurs in attendance. “It’s such a waste,” he says. “You’re getting together, but you’re not learning from each other.”

Blank thinks it’s time to turn these meetings on their head, and make sure that community leaders start collecting this data. “So you’re crowdsourcing the playbook,” I suggested. “That’s it!” Blank replied.

So Blank would like to see Canadian meeting organizers take a half-hour at every meeting to poll attendees. He proposes dividing the group into industry sectors and asking questions such as:

What’s the first step you took in starting your business?

How many of you raised money? How much and who from?

How many of you raised money in the U.S.? What did you learn from doing that?

What do you wish you could have done diferently?