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05/19/2025 10:07:15 AM
rwxr-xr-x
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00075c93132acf7a6e46e48d2291ce41.spc
5.69 KB
03/06/2025 09:42:25 AM
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0102169e52b6a27a410e7b237202fe84.spc
140.81 KB
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027d4dde1e82475da3d9afe4844afb1d.spc
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03036edfece701eaa1537fea4014dd44.spc
56.35 KB
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0446f65691fba260d3eabbd1377240f8.spc
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04d0c6cc2bf146b1318b78f84416b912.spc
124.45 KB
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0582678c8cfff117f770f9368b70c2b5.spc
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0601d608f5e2ea8e198130b17fe6ef01.spc
157 bytes
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124.09 KB
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0802b12194f292de0e9d9617ac014785.spc
290.02 KB
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70.63 KB
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0b5e5f226006af7e46d02ba8ce216a45.spc
54.71 KB
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33.59 KB
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0b8a46fca237497cfc90498f9eb909ab.spc
686.66 KB
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0ce2bdd7061489c6136e7614d421b874.spc
47.7 KB
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0de8a2204854bb5dd311607494c671e4.spc
828.58 KB
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0e15494dca4aeb24ea769582482c5162.spc
150.58 KB
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0eaec40cfb584fcb55fcdfb5d76684b9.spc
16.95 KB
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0ed254d4d9db6e3afe193b00bc6471bb.spc
89.85 KB
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34.42 KB
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42.06 KB
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0ffc1fa29a6bad7fb49e55940c374610.spc
75.61 KB
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1071b4a15b6c2fe6f7a96f194d0ba524.spc
196 bytes
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13.15 KB
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45.34 KB
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59.6 KB
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100.76 KB
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22.7 KB
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121.15 KB
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95.45 KB
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16e016e3ca27d793aa9172c1913c3f23.spc
26.74 KB
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19f3a21c36072f501f634db8e658bc9f.spc
16.6 KB
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1b8954ae7aab6fd9784cbcc827133f80.spc
186 bytes
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1c0bbac8beea30e555f26fd02994e7a5.spc
19.96 KB
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1c1a63fc25720b7c22c9c28fa2aa9379.spc
236.54 KB
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1f1672e0ecc5e7a6d278c930015520ab.spc
166 bytes
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1f4cf3ae9ba91935f556711c1cfc34d4.spc
88.33 KB
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1f5e96e3f1a01f95ab611ec1458fe470.spc
169.16 KB
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20a75b688975a2d5d342eae9f4c33411.spc
1.22 MB
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225d97aca36305a8b407ea6d8d5b187e.spc
55.08 KB
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242d3dabf79d13154fcc384ff8b2d25e.spc
113.19 KB
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25512b0d18ae6e4d20d027abbc467365.spc
31.2 KB
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25948504a82cd8da1985fddd4500c1c7.spc
153.7 KB
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26e0c631724f3653c10c3123546ab5e2.spc
110.09 KB
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2704664dff0e40e19de087fe00892bc2.spc
24.51 KB
03/06/2025 09:42:28 AM
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274ae07ff50cfde2bda57a71703b62f4.spc
2.54 KB
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2799184659106c88b5072a3e3f763a4d.spc
2.54 KB
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154.53 KB
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28099e26c5c9a06acb85a41ccd789efc.spc
500.36 KB
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2aabe0323264e3f60916621039be0e76.spc
42.37 KB
03/06/2025 09:42:29 AM
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2abcd685295b4a261ad2e866188e5e11.spc
125.3 KB
03/06/2025 09:42:29 AM
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151 bytes
03/06/2025 09:42:29 AM
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96.1 KB
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87.25 KB
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147.19 KB
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286.38 KB
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23.75 KB
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141.02 KB
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443.64 KB
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31f817c15425941589a9819216265501.spc
68.33 KB
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20.99 KB
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84.5 KB
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181 bytes
03/06/2025 09:42:30 AM
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180.5 KB
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142.35 KB
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42.02 KB
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46.18 KB
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614.85 KB
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25.24 KB
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407.55 KB
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307.02 KB
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19.87 KB
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163 bytes
03/06/2025 09:42:33 AM
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39.14 KB
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3.18 KB
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103.66 KB
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67.86 KB
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170 bytes
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155 bytes
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22.31 KB
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88.77 KB
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31.56 KB
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87.42 KB
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181 bytes
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134 bytes
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42.22 KB
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148.14 KB
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35.08 KB
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18.89 KB
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134.37 KB
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22.07 KB
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31.16 KB
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154 bytes
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22.35 KB
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Editing: 5fc9bcdda34ec7e72510b177a0164b7b.spc
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We just finished the 14th annual Lean LaunchPad class at Stanford. The class had gotten so popular that in 2021 we started teaching it in both the winter and spring sessions. During the quarter the eight teams spoke to 919 potential customers, beneficiaries and regulators. Most students spent […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51192:"<p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://poetsandquants.com/2024/06/25/steve-blank-stanfords-lean-launchpad-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/?pq-category=business-school-news"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="25513" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2019/12/03/getting-schooled-lessons-from-an-adjuncts/poets-and-quants-logo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/poets-and-quants-logo.png?fit=1438%2C248&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1438,248" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Poets and quants logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/poets-and-quants-logo.png?fit=300%2C52&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/poets-and-quants-logo.png?fit=468%2C81&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft wp-image-25513" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/poets-and-quants-logo.png?resize=143%2C25&ssl=1" alt="" width="143" height="25" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>This post previously <a href="https://poetsandquants.com/2024/06/25/steve-blank-stanfords-lean-launchpad-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/?pq-category=business-school-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared in Poets and Quants</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">We just finished the 14th<sup> </sup>annual Lean LaunchPad class at Stanford. The class had gotten so popular that in 2021 we started teaching it in both the winter and spring sessions.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Logo_LLP_320px.jpeg?ssl=1"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31167" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/logo_llp_320px/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Logo_LLP_320px.jpeg?fit=320%2C170&ssl=1" data-orig-size="320,170" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Logo_LLP_320px" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Logo_LLP_320px.jpeg?fit=300%2C159&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Logo_LLP_320px.jpeg?fit=320%2C170&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-31167" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Logo_LLP_320px.jpeg?resize=150%2C80&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="80" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Logo_LLP_320px.jpeg?resize=150%2C80&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Logo_LLP_320px.jpeg?resize=300%2C159&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Logo_LLP_320px.jpeg?w=320&ssl=1 320w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">During the quarter the eight teams spoke to <strong>919</strong> potential customers, beneficiaries and regulators. Most students spent 15-20 hours a week on the class, about double that of a normal class.</p> <p>In the 14 years we’ve been teaching the class, we had something that has never happened before – <strong>all eight teams in this cohort have decided to start a company</strong>.</p> <p><strong>This Class Launched a Revolution in Teaching Entreprenurship</strong><br /> Several government-funded programs have adopted this class at scale. The first was in 2011 when we turned this syllabus into the curriculum for the <a href="https://new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/i-corps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Science Foundation I-Corps</a>. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/errol-arkilic-350b8/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Errol Arkilic</a>, the then head of commercialization at the National Science, adopted the class saying, “You’ve developed the scientific method for startups, using the Business Model Canvas as the laboratory notebook.”</p> <p><a href="applewebdata://4B3D561C-0929-4BCD-B70B-88FAF5119390#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"></a>Below are the Lessons Learned presentations from the spring 2024 Lean LaunchPad.</p> <h3>Team Neutrix – Making Existing Nuclear Reactors More Profitable By Upgrading Their Fuel</h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q6yLGfU_LyIpOg5thKvxc38M3HRCrC17/view"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31076" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/screenshot-11/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?fit=2784%2C1664&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2784,1664" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?fit=300%2C179&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?fit=468%2C280&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-31076 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?resize=300%2C179&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="179" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?resize=300%2C179&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C612&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?resize=150%2C90&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?resize=768%2C459&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C918&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1224&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-Video-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Neutrix video, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q6yLGfU_LyIpOg5thKvxc38M3HRCrC17/view?usp=share_link">here</a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dVJLAwyCUWx4wzztgRRs8G7Sow_Ve3qr/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31079" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/neutrix-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-title.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Neutrix title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31079" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-title.jpg?resize=468%2C264&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="264" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-title.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Neutrix-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Neutrix Presentation, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dVJLAwyCUWx4wzztgRRs8G7Sow_Ve3qr/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p><strong>I-Corps at the National Institute of Health<br /> </strong>In 2013 I partnered with <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">UCSF</a> and the National Institute of Health to offer the <a href="https://steveblank.com/2013/08/21/reinventing-life-science-startups-evidence-based-entrepreneurship-2/">Lean LaunchPad class for Life Science and Healthcare (therapeutics, diagnostics, devices and digital health.)</a> In 2014, in conjunction with the National Institute of Health, I took the UCSF curriculum and developed and launched the I<a href="https://seed.nih.gov/I-Corps-at-NIH">-Corps @ NIH </a>program.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team Virgil – Capturing Memoirs of Loved Ones (and Using AI to Do It Profitably)</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ekTKZxVVDlJJrunWQI4qoUM5a_fmmRFw"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31082" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/screenshot-12/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?fit=2848%2C1612&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2848,1612" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?fit=300%2C170&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?fit=468%2C265&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31082 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?resize=468%2C265&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="265" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?resize=1024%2C580&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?resize=300%2C170&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?resize=150%2C85&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?resize=768%2C435&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?resize=1536%2C869&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1159&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-Video-Title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Virgil video, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ekTKZxVVDlJJrunWQI4qoUM5a_fmmRFw">here</a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b39vyN2eknpV3fr4VXeU4L0rGvEHih3w/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31111" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/virgil-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-title.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Virgil title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-31111 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-title.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-title.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Virgil-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Virgil Presentation, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b39vyN2eknpV3fr4VXeU4L0rGvEHih3w/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a></p> <p><strong>I-Corps at Scale<br /> </strong><a href="https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/i-corps/">I-Corps</a> is now offered in 100 universities and has <a href="https://nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/2023-06/TIP_I-CorpsReport_2023_Final_6.21.2023.508.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trained over 9,500 scientists and engineers</a>; 7,800 in 2,546 teams in I-Corps at NSF (National Science Foundation), 950 participants at I-Corps at NIH in 317 teams, and 580 participants at Energy I-Corps (at the DOE) in 188 teams.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team Claim CoPilot – Overturning Denied Healthcare Claims</strong></h3> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XkB0DYKKj1zbTVQ-u1KVXYUm_WpJcQuj/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31113" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/claim-copilot-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-title.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Claim Copilot title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31113 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-title.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-title.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Claim Pilot Presentation, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XkB0DYKKj1zbTVQ-u1KVXYUm_WpJcQuj/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GixjfAz_XgA"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31201" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/screenshot-17/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?fit=2624%2C1640&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2624,1640" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?fit=300%2C188&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?fit=468%2C293&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-31201 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?resize=468%2C293&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="293" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C640&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?resize=300%2C188&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?resize=150%2C94&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?resize=768%2C480&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C960&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1280&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Claim-Copilot-video-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p>If you can’t see the Claim CoPilot video of their demo click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GixjfAz_XgA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p><strong>$4 billion in Venture Capital For I-Corps Teams</strong><br /> 1,380 of the NSF I-Corps teams launched startups raising $3.166 billion. Over 300 I-Corps at NIH teams have collectively raised $634 million. Energy I-Corps teams raised $151 million in additional funding.</p> <h3>Team Emy.ai – Using Brainwaves to Biohack Moods</h3> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HH9gJ6Oh-4Usbz_NkCinJTHzv9sggheD/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31115" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/emi-video-tiitle/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?fit=1741%2C1417&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1741,1417" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Emi video tiitle" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?fit=300%2C244&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?fit=468%2C381&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31115 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?resize=300%2C244&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="244" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?resize=300%2C244&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?resize=1024%2C833&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?resize=150%2C122&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?resize=768%2C625&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?resize=1536%2C1250&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?w=1741&ssl=1 1741w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emi-video-tiitle.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Emy.ai video, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HH9gJ6Oh-4Usbz_NkCinJTHzv9sggheD/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IDvMiZE6go_RKiR8ViUpZTPpaoCn6j4L/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31117" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/emy-ai-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emy.ai-title.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Emy.ai title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emy.ai-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emy.ai-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31117 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emy.ai-title.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emy.ai-title.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emy.ai-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Emy.ai-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Emy.ai Presentation, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IDvMiZE6go_RKiR8ViUpZTPpaoCn6j4L/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Mission Driven Entreprenurship<br /> </strong>In 2016, I co-created both the <a href="https://steveblank.com/category/hacking-for-defense/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Defense</a> course with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Newell</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joefelter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Felter</a> as well as the <a href="https://www.h4diplomacy.us/program-overview#:~:text=What%20is%20Hacking%20for%20Diplomacy,challenges%20using%20lean%20startup%20approaches." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Diplomacy</a> course with <a href="https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/people/jeremy-weinstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeremy Weinstein</a> at Stanford. In 2022, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sweinstein/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Weinstein</a> created <a href="https://h4cs.stanford.edu/detail" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Climate and Sustainability</a>. This fall <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcarolan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jennifer Carolan</a> will launch Hacking for Education at Stanford.</span></p> <h3>Team TeachAssist – Automating Student Assessments for Special Education Teachers</h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_ACyuYPsKgIt4LJcjOxRFaVsPDFbM9oP/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31119" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/screenshot-14/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?fit=2848%2C1700&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2848,1700" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?fit=300%2C179&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?fit=468%2C279&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-31119 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?resize=468%2C279&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="279" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C611&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?resize=300%2C179&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?resize=150%2C90&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?resize=768%2C458&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C917&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1222&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Teachasst-video-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the TeachAssist video, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_ACyuYPsKgIt4LJcjOxRFaVsPDFbM9oP/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/108StFSdiCjfoBW9Qm2p_1KMaDZiWIvWI/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31121" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/teachassist-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TeachAssist-title.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="TeachAssist title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TeachAssist-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TeachAssist-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31121 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TeachAssist-title.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TeachAssist-title.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TeachAssist-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TeachAssist-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the TeachAssist Presentation, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/108StFSdiCjfoBW9Qm2p_1KMaDZiWIvWI/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p><strong>Design of This Class<br /> </strong>While the Lean LaunchPad students are experiencing what appears to them to be a fully hands-on, experiential class, it’s a carefully designed illusion. In fact, it’s highly structured. The syllabus has been designed so that we are offering continual implicit guidance, structure, and repetition. This is a critical distinction between our class and an open-ended experiential class.</p> <p><em>Guidance, Direction and Structure<br /> </em>For example, students start the class with their own initial guidance – they believe they have an idea for a product or service (Lean LaunchPad/I-Corps) or have been given a clear real-world problem (<a href="https://steveblank.com/2016/01/26/hacking-for-defense-stanford/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Defense</a>). Coming into the class, students believe their goal is to validate their commercialization or deployment hypotheses. (The teaching team knows that over the course of the class, students will discover that most of their initial hypotheses are incorrect.)</p> <h3>Team Maurice.ai – A Home Robot for the GPT Era</h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lYYJ36IgFG2T6b3AbwOof-GuRTTQlNDI/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31124" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/screenshot-15/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?fit=2848%2C1700&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2848,1700" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?fit=300%2C179&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?fit=468%2C279&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-31124 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?resize=468%2C279&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="279" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C611&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?resize=300%2C179&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?resize=150%2C90&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?resize=768%2C458&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C917&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1222&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Maurice-video-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Maurice.ai video, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lYYJ36IgFG2T6b3AbwOof-GuRTTQlNDI/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aeKAtMkB4VQVmbiA8vMdQT9zceRk7_iy/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31128" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/mauriceai-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MauriceAI-title.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="MauriceAI title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MauriceAI-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MauriceAI-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31128 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MauriceAI-title.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MauriceAI-title.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MauriceAI-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/MauriceAI-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Maurice.ai Presentation, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aeKAtMkB4VQVmbiA8vMdQT9zceRk7_iy/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p><strong>The Business Model Canvas<br /> </strong>The business/mission model canvas offers students guidance, explicit direction, and structure. First, the canvas offers a complete, visual roadmap of all the hypotheses they will need to test over the entire class. Second, the canvas helps the students goal-seek by visualizing what an optimal endpoint would look like – finding product/market fit. Finally, the canvas provides students with a map of what they learn week-to-week through their customer discovery work.</p> <p>I can’t overemphasize the important role of the canvas. Unlike an incubator or accelerator with no frame, the canvas acts as the connective tissue – the frame – that students can fall back on if they get lost or confused. It allows us to teach the theory of how to turn an idea, need, or problem into commercial practice, week by week a piece at a time.</p> <h3>Team Waifinder – Personalized Guidance For High School Students to Effectively Apply to College</h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XWFrlkY1TgS2aOyaLOmdXz_fNhhjOlY5/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31130" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/screenshot-16/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?fit=2848%2C1700&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2848,1700" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?fit=300%2C179&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?fit=468%2C279&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-31130 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?resize=468%2C279&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="279" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C611&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?resize=300%2C179&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?resize=150%2C90&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?resize=768%2C458&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C917&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1222&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-video-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Waifinder video, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XWFrlkY1TgS2aOyaLOmdXz_fNhhjOlY5/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O0GF3ldWpOLMLc6jFCvYqyo5GMJlfWM8/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31131" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/waifinder-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-title.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Waifinder title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31131 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-title.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-title.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Waifinder-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Waifinder Presentation, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O0GF3ldWpOLMLc6jFCvYqyo5GMJlfWM8/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p><strong>Lean LaunchPad Tools</strong><br /> The tools for customer discovery (videos, sample experiments, etc.) offer guidance and structure for students to work outside the classroom. The explicit goal of 10-15 customer interviews a week along with the requirement for building a continual series of minimal viable products provides metrics that track the team’s progress. The mandatory office hours with the instructors and support from mentors provide additional guidance and structure.</p> <h3>Team PocketDot – Gamified Braille Self-Learning Solution for Braille Learners</h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BmLqOfXdTq9DQpv2wx29W8LasVzjtaUV/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31196" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/pocketdot-video-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?fit=1985%2C1110&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1985,1110" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="PocketDot video title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?fit=300%2C168&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?fit=468%2C262&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31196 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?resize=468%2C262&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="262" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C573&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?resize=300%2C168&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?resize=768%2C429&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C859&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?w=1985&ssl=1 1985w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-video-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you cant see the PocketDot video click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BmLqOfXdTq9DQpv2wx29W8LasVzjtaUV/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o1CuHAsuX7Tod-VEFWQOg5BY8YWFVpSa/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31134" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/pocketdot-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-title.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="PocketDot title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31134 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-title.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-title.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PocketDot-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the PocketDot Presentation, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o1CuHAsuX7Tod-VEFWQOg5BY8YWFVpSa/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p><strong>It Takes A Village<br /> </strong>While I authored this blog post, this class is a team project. The secret sauce of the success of the Lean LaunchPad at Stanford is the extraordinary group of dedicated volunteers supporting our students in so many critical ways.</p> <p><em>The teaching team</em> consisted of myself and:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sweinstein/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Weinstein</a><u>,</u> partner at <a href="https://americasfrontier.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">America’s Frontier Fund</a>, 30-year veteran of Silicon Valley technology companies and Hollywood media companies. Steve was CEO of <a href="https://movielabs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MovieLabs</a>, the joint R&D lab of all the major motion picture studios.</li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lredden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lee Redden</a> – CTO and co-founder of Blue River Technology (<a href="https://www.dcvc.com/news-insights/john-deere-acquires-blue-river-technology-for-305-million-bringing-full-stack-ai-to-agriculture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired by John Deere</a>) who was a student in the first Lean LaunchPad class 14 years ago!</li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcarolan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jennifer Carolan</a>, Co-Founder, Partner at Reach Capital the leading education VC</li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scarolan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shawn Carolan</a> Partner at Menlo Ventures.</li> </ul> <p>Our <em>teaching assistants</em> this year were Chapman Ellsworth, Francesca Bottazzini and Ehsan Ghasemi.</p> <p><em>Mentors</em> helped the teams understand if their solutions could be a commercially successful business. Thanks to Lofton Holder, Bobby Mukherjee, Steve Cousins, David Epstein, Kevin Ray, Rekha Pai, Rafi Holtzman and Kira Makagon. They were led by Todd Basche.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Summary<br /> </strong>While the Lean LaunchPad/I-Corps curriculum was a revolutionary break with the past, it’s not the end. In the last decade enumerable variants have emerged. The class we teach at Stanford has continued to evolve. Better versions from others will appear. AI is already having a major impact on customer discovery and validation. And one day another revolutionary break will take us to the next level.</p> <p>But today, we get to celebrate – 8 teams in – 8 companies out.<br /> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1861016709&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe></p> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:95:"https://steveblank.com/2024/06/27/lean-launchpad-stanford-2024-8-teams-in-8-companies-out/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"3";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"31068";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:1;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:79:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"Hacking for Defense @ Stanford 2024 – Lessons Learned Presentations";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:98:"https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:107:"https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 24 Jun 2024 13:00:41 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:3:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:2;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:19:"Hacking For Defense";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=31004";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:395:"We just finished our 9th annual Hacking for Defense class at Stanford. What a year. Hacking for Defense, now in 60 universities, has teams of students working to understand and help solve national security problems. At Stanford this quarter the 8 teams of 40 students collectively interviewed 968 beneficiaries, stakeholders, requirements writers, program managers, industry partners, […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66640:"<p style="font-weight: 400;">We just finished our 9th annual <a href="http://h4d.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Defense class at Stanford.</a><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="27586" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/h4d-logo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?fit=2432%2C2400&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2432,2400" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="h4d logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?fit=300%2C296&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?fit=468%2C462&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-27586" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?resize=150%2C148&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="148" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?resize=150%2C148&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?resize=300%2C296&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?resize=1024%2C1011&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?resize=768%2C758&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?resize=1536%2C1516&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?resize=2048%2C2021&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?resize=1200%2C1184&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/h4d-logo.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">What a year.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Hacking for Defense, now in 60 universities, has teams of students working to understand and help solve national security problems. At Stanford this quarter the 8 teams of 40 students collectively interviewed <strong>968</strong> beneficiaries, stakeholders, requirements writers, program managers, industry partners, etc. – while simultaneously building a series of minimal viable products and developing a path to deployment.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">At the end of the quarter, each of the teams gave a final “Lessons Learned” presentation. Unlike traditional demo days or Shark Tanks which are, “Here’s how smart I am, and isn’t this a great product, please give me money,” the Lessons Learned presentations tell the story of each team’s 10-week journey and hard-won learning and discovery. For all of them it’s a roller coaster narrative describing what happens when you discover that everything you thought you knew on day one was wrong and how they eventually got it right.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s how they did it and what they delivered.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>New for 2024<br /> </strong>This year, in addition to the problems from the Defense Department and Intelligence Community we had two problems from the State Department and one from the FBI.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>These are “Wicked” Problems<br /> </strong>Wicked problems refer to really complex problems, ones with multiple moving parts, where the solution isn’t obvious and lacks a definitive formula. The types of problems our Hacking For Defense students work on fall into this category. They are often ambiguous. They start with a problem from a sponsor, and not only is the solution unclear but figuring out how to acquire and deploy it is also complex. Most often students find that in hindsight the problem was a symptom of a more interesting and complex problem – and that Acquistion of solutions in the Dept of Defense is unlike anything in the commercial world.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Matrix.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31009" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/h4d-matrix/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Matrix.jpg?fit=612%2C516&ssl=1" data-orig-size="612,516" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="H4D Matrix" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Matrix.jpg?fit=300%2C253&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Matrix.jpg?fit=468%2C395&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-31009" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Matrix.jpg?resize=228%2C192&ssl=1" alt="" width="228" height="192" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Matrix.jpg?resize=300%2C253&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Matrix.jpg?resize=150%2C126&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Matrix.jpg?w=612&ssl=1 612w" sizes="(max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>And the stakeholders and institutions often have different relationships with each other – some are collaborative, some have pieces of the problem or solution, and others might have conflicting values and interests.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The figure shows the types of problems Hacking for Defense students encounter, with the most common ones shaded.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Guest Speakers: Doug Beck – Defense Innovation Unit, Radha Plumb – CDAO. H.R. McMaster – former National Security Advisor and Condoleezza Rice – former Secretary of State<br /> </strong>Our final Lessons Learned presentations started with an introduction by <a href="https://www.diu.mil/team/doug-beck" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Doug Beck</a>, director of the <a href="https://www.diu.mil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defense Innovation Unit</a> and <a href="https://www.ai.mil/bio_Plumb.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radha Plumb</a>, DoD’s <a href="https://www.ai.mil/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chief of the Digital and AI Office</a>– reminding the students of the importance of Hacking for Defense and congratulating them on their contribution to national security.</p> <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._R._McMaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">H.R. McMaster</a> gave an inspiring talk. He reminded our students that 1) war is an extension of politics; 2) war is human; 3) war is uncertain; 4) war is a contest of wills.<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E4Qhmn_HlWBsThiC7sjTRNThxLBwqcbL/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31055" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/h-r-mcmaster-h4d2024/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H.R.-Mcmaster-H4D2024.jpg?fit=768%2C1024&ssl=1" data-orig-size="768,1024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.78","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 15 Pro","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1717523242","copyright":"","focal_length":"6.7649998656528","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.0086206896551724","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="H.R. Mcmaster H4D2024" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H.R.-Mcmaster-H4D2024.jpg?fit=225%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H.R.-Mcmaster-H4D2024.jpg?fit=468%2C624&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31055 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H.R.-Mcmaster-H4D2024.jpg?resize=225%2C300&ssl=1" alt="" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H.R.-Mcmaster-H4D2024.jpg?resize=225%2C300&ssl=1 225w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H.R.-Mcmaster-H4D2024.jpg?resize=113%2C150&ssl=1 113w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H.R.-Mcmaster-H4D2024.jpg?w=768&ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p>If you can’t see the video of H.R. McMaster’s talk, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E4Qhmn_HlWBsThiC7sjTRNThxLBwqcbL/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> <p>The week prior to our final presentations the class heard inspirational remarks from Dr. <a href="https://www.hoover.org/profiles/condoleezza-rice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Condoleezza Rice,</a> former United States Secretary of State. Dr. Rice gave a sweeping overview of the prevailing threats to our national security and the importance of getting our best and brightest involved in public service.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">As a former Secretary of State, Dr. Rice was especially encouraged to see our two State Department sponsored teams this quarter. She left the students inspired to find ways to serve.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Lessons Learned Presentation Format<br /> </strong>For the final Lessons Learned presentation many of the eight teams presented a 2-minute video to provide context about their problem. This was followed by an 8-minute slide presentation describing their customer discovery journey over the 10 weeks. While all the teams used the <a href="https://steveblank.com/2016/02/23/the-mission-model-canvas-an-adapted-business-model-canvas-for-mission-driven-organizations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mission Model Canvas</a>, (videos <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmera8mXqq-tOMvCpj_M64F-dbXvxkArs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>), Customer Development and Agile Engineering to build Minimal Viable Products, each of their journeys was unique.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31057" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/getting-out-of-the-building-3/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1024,768" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.78","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 15 Pro","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1717526936","copyright":"","focal_length":"6.7649998656528","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.012987012987013","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Getting out of the building" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?fit=468%2C351&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31057" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?resize=468%2C351&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="351" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?resize=150%2C113&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?resize=768%2C576&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?w=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Getting-out-of-the-building.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">By the end the class all the teams realized that the problem as given by the sponsor had morphed into something bigger, deeper and much more interesting.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">All the presentations are worth a watch.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team House of Laws<br /> </strong><strong><em>Using LLMs to Simplify Government Decision Making</em></strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dgbZvQBbI3U6LNR6yaY15lCUU3AiLCd8/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31010" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/screenshot-3/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?fit=2848%2C1700&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2848,1700" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?fit=300%2C179&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?fit=468%2C279&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31010 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?resize=468%2C279&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="279" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?resize=1024%2C611&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?resize=300%2C179&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?resize=150%2C90&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?resize=768%2C458&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?resize=1536%2C917&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?resize=2048%2C1222&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Team House of Laws 2-minute video, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dgbZvQBbI3U6LNR6yaY15lCUU3AiLCd8/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y6kOLGscnC7iSNNS4HGv8uh3tvABf7dB/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31012" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/house-of-laws-final-presentation/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="House of Laws Final Presentation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31012 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws-Final-Presentation.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/House-of-Laws-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Team House of Laws slides, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y6kOLGscnC7iSNNS4HGv8uh3tvABf7dB/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Mission-Driven Entrepreneurship</strong><br /> This class is part of a bigger idea – Mission-Driven Entrepreneurship. Instead of students or faculty coming in with their own ideas, we ask them to work on societal problems, whether they’re problems for the State Department or the Department of Defense or non-profits/NGOs or the Oceans and Climate or for anything the students are passionate about. The trick is we use the same <a href="https://steveblank.com/2021/07/13/this-class-changed-the-way-entrepreneurship-is-taught/#:~:text=There%20were%20no%20classes%20on,Enterprises”%20at%20Harvard%20Business%20School." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lean LaunchPad / I-Corps curriculum — and the same class structure – experiential, hands-on</a>– driven this time by a <a href="https://steveblank.com/2016/02/23/the-mission-model-canvas-an-adapted-business-model-canvas-for-mission-driven-organizations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>mission</em>-model</a> not a business model. (The National Science Foundation and the <a href="https://www.commonmission.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Common Mission Project</a> have helped promote the expansion of the methodology worldwide.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Mission-driven entrepreneurship is the answer to students who say, “I want to give back. I want to make my community, country or world a better place, while being challenged to solve some of the toughest problems.”</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Caribbean Clean Climate<br /> </strong><strong><em>Helping</em> <em>Barbados Adopt Clean Energy</em></strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-DFizYfv0EbKIvmf0gx5kCxoUhBBax-i/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31019" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/screenshot-5/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?fit=2848%2C1700&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2848,1700" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?fit=300%2C179&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?fit=468%2C279&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31019 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?resize=468%2C279&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="279" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C611&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?resize=300%2C179&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?resize=150%2C90&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?resize=768%2C458&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C917&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1222&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/C3-Video-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Caribbean Clean Climate 2-minute video, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-DFizYfv0EbKIvmf0gx5kCxoUhBBax-i/view?usp=sharing">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lkmdLfL3EKRlRqAN7bqFjnXsgh7At8PL/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31024" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/caribbeans-clean-climate-final-presentation/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Caribbeans-Clean-Climate-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Caribbean’s Clean Climate – Final Presentation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Caribbeans-Clean-Climate-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Caribbeans-Clean-Climate-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31024 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Caribbeans-Clean-Climate-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Caribbeans-Clean-Climate-Final-Presentation.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Caribbeans-Clean-Climate-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Caribbeans-Clean-Climate-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Caribbean Clean Climate slides, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lkmdLfL3EKRlRqAN7bqFjnXsgh7At8PL/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>It Started With An Idea<br /> </strong>Hacking for Defense has its origins in the Lean LaunchPad class I first taught at Stanford in 2011. I observed that teaching case studies and/or how to write a business plan as a capstone entrepreneurship class didn’t match the hands-on chaos of a startup. Furthermore, there was no entrepreneurship class that combined experiential learning with the Lean methodology. Our goal was to teach both theory and practice.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The same year we started the class, it was adopted by the National Science Foundation to train Principal Investigators who wanted to get a federal grant for commercializing their science (an <a href="https://www.sbir.gov/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SBIR grant</a>.) The NSF observed, “The class is the scientific method for entrepreneurship. Scientists understand hypothesis testing” and relabeled the class as the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/i-corps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NSF I-Corps</a> (Innovation Corps). I-Corps became the standard for science commercialization for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Blank#cite_note-5">National Science Foundation</a>, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy, to date training 3,051 teams and launching 1,300+ startups.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team Protecting Children<br /> </strong><strong><em>Helping the FBI Acquire LLMs for Child Safety</em></strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zz3Yv8I3zeu9THm6HQOgsVFWw8Ucl1Df/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31026" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/screenshot-6/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?fit=2680%2C1860&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2680,1860" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?fit=300%2C208&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?fit=468%2C325&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31026 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?resize=468%2C325&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="325" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?resize=1024%2C711&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?resize=300%2C208&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?resize=150%2C104&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?resize=768%2C533&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?resize=1536%2C1066&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?resize=2048%2C1421&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AI-Protecting-Chiildren.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Team Protecting Children<strong> </strong> 2-minute video, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zz3Yv8I3zeu9THm6HQOgsVFWw8Ucl1Df/view?usp=sharing">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tcoACe4PycyKgu1JqsmQSB6WsTISfbtO/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31027" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/child-safety-final-presentation/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Child-Safety-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Child Safety Final Presentation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Child-Safety-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Child-Safety-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31027 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Child-Safety-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Child-Safety-Final-Presentation.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Child-Safety-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Child-Safety-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Team Protecting Children<strong> </strong> slides, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tcoACe4PycyKgu1JqsmQSB6WsTISfbtO/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Origins Of Hacking For Defense<br /> </strong>In 2016, brainstorming with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Newell</a> of BMNT and <a href="http://fsi.stanford.edu/people/joseph_felter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Felter</a> at Stanford, we observed that students in our research universities had little connection to the problems their government was trying to solve or the larger issues civil society was grappling with. As we thought about how we could get students engaged, we realized the same Lean LaunchPad/I-Corps class would provide a framework to do so. That year we launched both <a href="http://h4d.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Defense</a> and <a href="http://web.stanford.edu/class/msande298/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Diplomacy</a> (with Professor <a href="https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/people/jeremy-weinstein">Jeremy Weinstein</a> and the State Department) at Stanford. The Department of Defense adopted and scaled Hacking for Defense across 60 universities while Hacking for Diplomacy is offered at<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span> <a href="https://www.jmu.edu/news/2024/03/01-diplomatic-community.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JMU</a> and <a href="https://www.commonmission.us/thought-leadership/rit-students-propose-solution-for-more-efficient-dos-data-analysis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RIT</a> –, sponsored by the Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security (see <a href="https://www.h4diplomacy.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>).</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team L Infinity<br /> </strong><strong><em>Improving Satellite Tasking</em></strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1abzKDhqURLlZOM0_coEX6CsKxAK7UNWI/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31029" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/screenshot-7/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?fit=2784%2C1664&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2784,1664" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?fit=300%2C179&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?fit=468%2C280&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31029 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?resize=468%2C280&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="280" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?resize=1024%2C612&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?resize=300%2C179&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?resize=150%2C90&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?resize=768%2C459&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?resize=1536%2C918&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?resize=2048%2C1224&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Team L∞ 2-minute video, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1abzKDhqURLlZOM0_coEX6CsKxAK7UNWI/view?usp=sharing">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/16Jeh-YyPwsAx2YHe7JGD-y0AO0QGJlIk/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31030" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/l-infinity-final-presentation/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="L Infinity Final Presentation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31030 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity-Final-Presentation.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/L-Infinity-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Team L∞ slides, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/16Jeh-YyPwsAx2YHe7JGD-y0AO0QGJlIk/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Goals for the Hacking for Defense Class<br /> </strong>Our primary goal was to teach students Lean Innovation methods while they engaged in national public service. Today if college students want to give back to their country, they think of <a href="https://www.teachforamerica.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Teach for America</a>, the <a href="http://www.peacecorps.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peace Corps</a>, or <a href="https://americorps.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AmeriCorps</a> or perhaps the <a href="https://www.usds.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US Digital Service</a> or the <a href="https://18f.gsa.gov/">GSA’s 18F</a>. Few consider opportunities to make the world safer with the Department of Defense, Intelligence community or other government agencies.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In the class we saw that students could learn about the nation’s threats and security challenges while working with innovators inside the DoD and Intelligence Community. At the same time the experience would introduce to the sponsors, who are innovators inside the Department of Defense (DOD) and Intelligence Community (IC), a methodology that could help them understand and better respond to rapidly evolving threats. We wanted to show that if we could get teams to <em>rapidly</em> discover the real problems in the field using Lean methods, and <em>only then</em> articulate the requirements to solve them, defense acquisition programs could operate at <em>speed and urgency</em> and deliver <em>timely</em> <em>and needed </em>solutions.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, we wanted to familiarize students with the military as a profession and help them better understand its expertise, and its proper role in society. We hoped it would also show our sponsors in the Department of Defense and Intelligence community that civilian students can make a meaningful contribution to problem understanding and rapid prototyping of solutions to real-world problems.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team Centiment<br /> </strong><strong><em>Information Operations Optimized</em></strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1el02GK0fmI2s1gFSJetJ84jym4b95TCd/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31034" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/screenshot-8/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Centiment.jpg?fit=876%2C930&ssl=1" data-orig-size="876,930" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Centiment.jpg?fit=283%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Centiment.jpg?fit=468%2C497&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31034" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Centiment.jpg?resize=351%2C372&ssl=1" alt="" width="351" height="372" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Centiment.jpg?w=876&ssl=1 876w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Centiment.jpg?resize=283%2C300&ssl=1 283w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Centiment.jpg?resize=141%2C150&ssl=1 141w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Centiment.jpg?resize=768%2C815&ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 351px) 100vw, 351px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Team Centiment 2-minute video, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1el02GK0fmI2s1gFSJetJ84jym4b95TCd/view?usp=share_link">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/13e7cdCbshwj4EZbzWmMjsBatES-yhOle/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31032" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/centiment_-final-presentation-deck/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CENTIMENT_-Final-Presentation-Deck.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="CENTIMENT_ Final Presentation Deck" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CENTIMENT_-Final-Presentation-Deck.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CENTIMENT_-Final-Presentation-Deck.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31032 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CENTIMENT_-Final-Presentation-Deck.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CENTIMENT_-Final-Presentation-Deck.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CENTIMENT_-Final-Presentation-Deck.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CENTIMENT_-Final-Presentation-Deck.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Team Centiment slides, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/13e7cdCbshwj4EZbzWmMjsBatES-yhOle/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Mission-Driven in 50 Universities and Continuing to Expand in Scope and Reach<br /> </strong>What started as a class is now a movement.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">From its beginning with our Stanford class, Hacking for Defense is now offered in over 50 universities in the U.S., as well as in the UK and Australia. Steve Weinstein started <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/at-work/education/first-hacking-for-impact-class-buzzes-around-the-mosquito-problem">Hacking for Impact</a> (Non-Profits) and <a href="https://hackingforlocal-oakland.weebly.com/">Hacking for Local</a> (Oakland) at U.C. Berkeley, and Hacking for Oceans at both <a href="http://h4oceans.ucsd.edu/">Scripps</a> and <a href="https://hacking4oceans.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz,</a> as well as <a href="https://h4cs.stanford.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Climate and Sustainability</a> at Stanford. Hacking for Education will start this fall at Stanford.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team Guyana’s Green Growth<br /> <em>Water Management for Guyanese Farmers</em></strong></h3> <div id="attachment_31036" style="width: 478px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6FRQiCATeQ&t=4s"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31036" data-attachment-id="31036" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/screenshot-9/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?fit=2624%2C1640&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2624,1640" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?fit=300%2C188&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?fit=468%2C293&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-31036 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?resize=468%2C293&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="293" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C640&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?resize=300%2C188&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?resize=150%2C94&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?resize=768%2C480&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C960&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1280&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-31036" class="wp-caption-text">Screenshot</p></div> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Team Guyana’s Green Growth<strong> </strong> 2-minute video, click <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6FRQiCATeQ">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bkw7bK1gEjxeSnQSJZBxL5fL_6_hm70X/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31038" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/guyana-green-growth-final-presentation/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-Green-Growth-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Guyana Green Growth Final Presentation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-Green-Growth-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-Green-Growth-Final-Presentation.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31038 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-Green-Growth-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-Green-Growth-Final-Presentation.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-Green-Growth-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Guyana-Green-Growth-Final-Presentation.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Team Guyana’s Green Growth<strong> </strong>slides, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bkw7bK1gEjxeSnQSJZBxL5fL_6_hm70X/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></u></p> <p><strong>Go-to-Market/Deployment Strategies<br /> </strong>The initial goal of the teams is to ensure they understand the problem. The next step is to see if they can find mission/solution fit (the DoD equivalent of commercial product/market fit.) But most importantly, the class teaches the teams about the difficult and complex path of getting a solution in the hands of a warfighter/beneficiary. Who writes the requirement? What’s an OTA? What’s color of money? What’s a Program Manager? Who owns the current contract? …</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team Dynamic Space Operations<br /> <em>Cubesats for Space Inspection Training</em></strong></h3> <div id="attachment_31041" style="width: 478px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeCBtR5kuq0"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31041" data-attachment-id="31041" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/screenshot-10/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?fit=2624%2C1640&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2624,1640" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?fit=300%2C188&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?fit=468%2C293&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-31041 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?resize=468%2C293&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="293" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?resize=1024%2C640&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?resize=300%2C188&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?resize=150%2C94&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?resize=768%2C480&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?resize=1536%2C960&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?resize=2048%2C1280&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-space.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-31041" class="wp-caption-text">Screenshot</p></div> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Team Dynamic Space Operations<strong> </strong> 2-minute video, click <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeCBtR5kuq0">here</a></u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PRNBW3VtMKOgVVVzDSEtI1xSLRJ3o50q/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31042" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/dynamic-space-operations-team-final-presentation-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-Space-Operations-Team-Final-Presentation-1.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Dynamic Space Operations Team Final Presentation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-Space-Operations-Team-Final-Presentation-1.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-Space-Operations-Team-Final-Presentation-1.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31042 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-Space-Operations-Team-Final-Presentation-1.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-Space-Operations-Team-Final-Presentation-1.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-Space-Operations-Team-Final-Presentation-1.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dynamic-Space-Operations-Team-Final-Presentation-1.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>If you can’t see the Team Dynamic Space Operations<strong> </strong> slides, click <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PRNBW3VtMKOgVVVzDSEtI1xSLRJ3o50q/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></u></p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team Spectra Labs<br /> </strong><strong><em>Providing</em> <em>real-time awareness of ..</em></strong></h3> <p>This team’s presentation is available upon request.</p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2FP3ks2rHi3gCe6vGof1SRog8ke_PIv/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31091" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/spectra-labs-redacted-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Spectra-Labs-redacted-title.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Spectra Labs redacted title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Spectra-Labs-redacted-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Spectra-Labs-redacted-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-31091" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Spectra-Labs-redacted-title.jpg?resize=468%2C264&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="264" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Spectra-Labs-redacted-title.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Spectra-Labs-redacted-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Spectra-Labs-redacted-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you can’t see the Spectra Labs slides, click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2FP3ks2rHi3gCe6vGof1SRog8ke_PIv/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><u>here</u></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>What’s Next For These Teams?<br /> </strong>When they graduate, the Stanford students on these teams have the pick of jobs in startups, companies, and consulting firms. House of Laws got accepted and has already started at Y-Combinator. L-Infinity, Dynamics Space Operations team (now Juno Astrodynamics,) and Spectra Labs are started work this week at <a href="https://www.h4xlabs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">H4X Labs,</a> an accelerator focused on building dual-use companies that sell to both the government and commercial firms. Many of the teams will continue to work with their problem sponsor. Several will join the Stanford <a href="https://gordianknot.stanford.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation</a> which is focused on the intersection of policy, operational concepts, and technology.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In our post class survey 86% of the students said that the class had impact on their immediate next steps in their career. Over 75% said it changed their opinion of working with the Department of Defense and other USG organizations.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>It Takes A Village<br /> </strong>While I authored this blog post, this class is a team project. The secret sauce of the success of Hacking for Defense at Stanford is the extraordinary group of dedicated volunteers supporting our students in so many critical ways.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The teaching team consisted of myself and:</p> <ul style="font-weight: 400;"> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Newell</a>, retired Army Colonel and ex Director of the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force, now CEO of <a href="http://www.bmnt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BMNT</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/people/joseph_felter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Felter</a><u>,</u> retired Army Colonel; and former deputy assistant secretary of defense for South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania; and William J. Perry Fellow at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.</li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sweinstein/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Weinstein</a><u>,</u> partner at <a href="https://americasfrontier.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">America’s Frontier Fund</a>, 30-year veteran of Silicon Valley technology companies and Hollywood media companies. Steve was CEO of <a href="https://movielabs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MovieLabs</a>, the joint R&D lab of all the major motion picture studios. He runs <a href="https://www.h4xlabs.com/">H4X Labs</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/people/jeff-decker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeff Decker</a><u>,</u> a Stanford researcher focusing on dual-use research. Jeff served in the U.S. Army as a special operations light infantry squad leader in Iraq and Afghanistan.</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="31053" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/h4d-2024-teaching-team/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1024,768" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.78","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 15 Pro","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1717532867","copyright":"","focal_length":"6.7649998656528","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.025","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="H4D 2024 Teaching Team" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?fit=468%2C351&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-31053" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?resize=150%2C113&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?resize=768%2C576&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?w=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-2024-Teaching-Team.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Our teaching assistants this year were Joel Johnson, Malika Aubakirova, Spencer Paul, Ethan Tiao, Evan Szablowski, and Josh Pickering. A special thanks to the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and its <a href="https://www.nsin.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Security Innovation Network</a> (NSIN) for supporting the program at Stanford and across the country, as well as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>31 Sponsors, Business and National Security Mentors<br /> </strong>The teams were assisted by the originators of their problems – the sponsors.</p> <div class="elementToProof"><em>Sponsors</em>: Jackie Tame, Nate Huston, Mark Breier, Dave Wiltse, Katherine Beamer, Jeff Fields, Dave Miller, Shannon Rooney, and David Ryan.</div> <div></div> <div class="elementToProof"><em>National Security Mentors</em> helped students who came into the class with no knowledge of the Dept of Defense, State and the FBI understand the complexity, intricacies and nuances of those organizations: Brad Boyd, Matt MacGregor, David Vernal, Alphanso “Fonz” Adams, Ray Powell, Sam Townsend, Tom Kulisz, Rich Lawson, Mark McVay, Nick Shenkin, David Arulanantham and Matt Lintker.</div> <div></div> <div class="elementToProof"><em>Business Mentors</em> helped the teams understand if their solutions could be a commercially successful business: Katie Tobin, Marco Romani, Rafi Holtzman, Rachel Costello, Donnie Hassletine, Craig Seidel, Diane Schrader and Matt Croce.</div> <p>Thanks to all!</p> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1856906550&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:103:"https://steveblank.com/2024/06/24/hacking-for-defense-stanford-2024-lessons-learned-presentations/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"2";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"31004";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:76:"You’re Invited: Hacking for Defense and Lean LaunchPad Final Presentations";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:107:"https://steveblank.com/2024/06/03/youre-invited-hacking-for-defense-and-lean-launchpad-final-presentations/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:115:"https://steveblank.com/2024/06/03/youre-invited-hacking-for-defense-and-lean-launchpad-final-presentations/#respond";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 03 Jun 2024 13:00:35 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:19:"Hacking For Defense";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Lean LaunchPad";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30966";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:320:"Join us for the final presentations of our two Stanford classes this Tuesday June 4th and Wednesday June 5th. Tuesday = Hacking for Defense Wednesday = Lean Launchpad The presentations just get better every year. Attend in person or via Zoom. This year AI seems to be part of almost every team. Zoom link and […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5568:"<p>Join us for the final presentations of our two Stanford classes this <a href="https://lu.ma/mgpldql0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tuesday</a> June 4th and <a href="https://lu.ma/tl81cu15" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wednesday </a>June 5th.</p> <p>Tuesday = <a href="https://lu.ma/mgpldql0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Defense</a></p> <p>Wednesday = <a href="https://lu.ma/tl81cu15" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lean Launchpad</a></p> <p>The presentations just get better every year. Attend in person or via Zoom.</p> <p>This year AI seems to be part of almost every team.</p> <p><a href="https://lu.ma/mgpldql0"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30971" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/03/youre-invited-hacking-for-defense-and-lean-launchpad-final-presentations/h4d-final-presentations/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Final-Presentations-.jpg?fit=750%2C1000&ssl=1" data-orig-size="750,1000" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="H4D Final Presentations" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Final-Presentations-.jpg?fit=225%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Final-Presentations-.jpg?fit=468%2C624&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-30971" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Final-Presentations-.jpg?resize=468%2C624&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="624" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Final-Presentations-.jpg?w=750&ssl=1 750w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Final-Presentations-.jpg?resize=225%2C300&ssl=1 225w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/H4D-Final-Presentations-.jpg?resize=113%2C150&ssl=1 113w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <h2 style="text-align: center;">Zoom link and RSVP for Hacking for Defense <a href="https://lu.ma/mgpldql0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></h2> <hr /> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lu.ma/tl81cu15"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30978" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/06/03/youre-invited-hacking-for-defense-and-lean-launchpad-final-presentations/s24_llp_lessons-learned-presentations_poster-1/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?fit=1545%2C2000&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1545,2000" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"Chapman Lee Ellsworth","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"S24_LLP_Lessons Learned Presentations_Poster - 1","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="S24_LLP_Lessons Learned Presentations_Poster – 1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?fit=232%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?fit=468%2C606&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-30978 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?resize=468%2C606&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="606" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?resize=791%2C1024&ssl=1 791w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?resize=232%2C300&ssl=1 232w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?resize=116%2C150&ssl=1 116w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?resize=768%2C994&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?resize=1187%2C1536&ssl=1 1187w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?w=1545&ssl=1 1545w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/S24_LLP_Lessons-Learned-Presentations_Poster.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Zoom link and RSVP for Lean LaunchPad <a href="https://lu.ma/tl81cu15" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></h2> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:112:"https://steveblank.com/2024/06/03/youre-invited-hacking-for-defense-and-lean-launchpad-final-presentations/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"0";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30966";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:74:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:8:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Gordon Bell R.I.P.";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"https://steveblank.com/2024/05/26/gordon-bell-r-i-p/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:61:"https://steveblank.com/2024/05/26/gordon-bell-r-i-p/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sun, 26 May 2024 13:00:37 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10:"Technology";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30915";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:284:"Gordon Bell passed on this month. I was a latecomer in Gordon Bell’s life. But he made a lasting impact on mine. The first time I laid eyes on Gordon Bell was in 1984 outside a restaurant in a Boston suburb when he pulled up in a Porsche. I was the head of Marketing for […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:9:"enclosure";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:0:"";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:3:{s:3:"url";s:84:"https://www.dropbox.com/s/7hh55ult1io475l/Timelapse%201%20-%20Large%20Final.mov?dl=0";s:6:"length";s:1:"0";s:4:"type";s:15:"video/quicktime";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12221:"<p style="font-weight: 400;">Gordon Bell <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/21/technology/c-gordon-bell-dead.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed on</a> this month.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">I was a latecomer in Gordon Bell’s life. But he made a lasting impact on mine.</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The first time I laid eyes on Gordon Bell was in 1984 outside a restaurant in a Boston suburb when he pulled up in a Porsche. I was the head of Marketing for <a href="https://steveblank.com/category/mips-computers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MIPS Computer</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIPS_Technologies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RISC chip startup</a>. The entire company (all of five of us) were out visiting the east coast to meet <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Computer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prime Computer</a> who would become our first major customer. (When Gordon was CTO of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encore_Computer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Encore Computer</a> he encouraged the MIPS founders to start the company, thinking they could provide the next processor for his <a href="http://www.cpu-ns32k.net/Encore.html">Multimax</a> computer.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">My West Coast centric world of computing had been limited to custom <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_slicing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bit-sliced computers</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_2100" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HP 2100 and 21MX</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdata" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Interdata </a>8/32 minicomputers and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zilog" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zilog microprocessors</a>. Gordon was already a legend – as VP of Research and Development at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Equipment_Corporation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Digital Equipment Corporation</a> (DEC) he designed some of the early minicomputers and oversaw the creation of the <a href="https://gordonbell.azurewebsites.net/Digital/Bell_Retrospective_PDP11_paper_c1998.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">VAX 11-780</a>. His work at DEC revolutionized the computing industry, making powerful computing accessible.</p> <p><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="468" height="264" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8b5n0Wt4kiM?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&start=3232&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Even so, as we talked over dinner at first I couldn’t understand a word he was saying, until I realized that he had three or four levels of conversation going simultaneously, all interleaved. If you could keep them sorted it was fun to keep up with each thread. By dessert I became another member of the Gordon Bell fan club.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Two years later, on a lunch break in downtown Palo Alto I ran into Gordon again. He was out to attend a <a href="https://exhibits.stanford.edu/feigenbaum/catalog/jj609kc7028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Teknowledge</a> board meeting. I invited him over to meet the founding team of <a href="https://steveblank.com/category/ardent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ardent,</a> our new startup, whose founders he knew from DEC. By the end of the day Gordon had joined our team as founding VP of Engineering and another phase in my education was about to begin.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">As an entrepreneur in my 20’s and 30’s, I was lucky to have four extraordinary mentors, each brilliant in his own field and each a decade or two older than me. While <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-wegbreit-22192/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">others </a>taught me how to think, it was <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/gbell/bio.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gordon Bell</a> who taught me <em>what</em> to think about. He could see the destination clearer than anyone I’ve ever met. The best part of my day was hearing him tell me about 3 ideas at a time and me do the same back to him. He had an extraordinary instinct for guiding me away from the purely dumb paths that would lead nowhere and nudge me on to the <a href="https://gordonbell.azurewebsites.net/CyberMuseum_contents/Ardent_New_Class_of_Computing_Poster_1988.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more productive roads</a>. (He had this warm laugh, a kind of a chuckle when he was listening to some of more dumber ideas.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">At Digital Equipment Gordon had <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell%27s_law_of_computer_classes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed a heuristic</a> that attempted to <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=4785818" target="_blank" rel="noopener">predict the evolution of the next class of computers</a>. And when he left DEC he created the <a href="https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=966806" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bell-Mason diagnostic</a> to help predict patterns in successful startups. The idea that there was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_startup#:~:text=Lean%20startup%20is%20a%20methodology,product%20releases%2C%20and%20validated%20learning." target="_blank" rel="noopener">pattern about startup success and failure</a> would stick in the back of my head for decades and shape the second half of my career. And as he was brainstorming about some of the early ideas about what became his My<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyLifeBits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LifeBits</a> project I was inspired to start a <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/7hh55ult1io475l/Timelapse%201%20-%20Large%20Final.mov?dl=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small version of my own</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">For the next 15 years Gordon would help me understand how to think critically about the possibilities over the horizon. Yet at the same time Gordon was looking forward, he was teaching us to <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Bell_Origin_of_the_Computer_History_Museum_v2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">respect and learn from the past</a>.</p> <p><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="468" height="264" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qundvme1Tik?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&start=76&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Gordon and his wife Gwen started a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Computer_Museum,_Boston" target="_blank" rel="noopener">computer history museum</a> and by 1983 moved it into renovated warehouse next to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Children%27s_Museum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston Children’s Museum</a>. In 1986 I spent two weeks making a short movie about the history of high-performance computing at the museum. Gordon and Gwen put me up in their guest bedroom overlooking Boston Harbor and a short walk across the Congress Street bridge to the museum. This not only began my long-term love affair with the museum but also made me realize that computer history and the history of innovation clusters were missing the story of <a href="https://steveblank.com/secret-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how the military and intelligence community had shaped the trajectory of post WWII technology</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Seven years later, in <a href="https://steveblank.com/category/supermac/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my next startup</a>, I would end up staying in their apartment again, this time with my wife and two young daughters, to attend the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macworld/iWorld" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MacWorld trade show</a>. I vividly remember the girls running around their living room decorated with many of the artifacts the museum didn’t have room to display (with Gwen patiently telling them that the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmometer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arithmometer</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier%27s_bones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Napier’s Bones</a> weren’t toys.) For the next few years, we’d return (with the artifacts safely hidden away.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">By the time I started my final startup <a href="https://steveblank.com/category/epiphany/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Epiphany</a>, Gordon was at Microsoft, and he became my most valuable advisor.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Gordon was not only a mentor and inspiration to me, but to countless engineers and computer scientists. It was a privilege to know him.</p> <div id="attachment_30917" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30917" data-attachment-id="30917" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/26/gordon-bell-r-i-p/steve-blank-and-gordon/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?fit=2048%2C1360&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2048,1360" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"11","credit":"","camera":"Canon EOS 10D","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1092976686","copyright":"","focal_length":"60","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.016666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Steve Blank and Gordon" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?fit=468%2C311&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-30917 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="199" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?resize=300%2C199&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?resize=1024%2C680&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?resize=150%2C100&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?resize=768%2C510&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1020&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?w=2048&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Steve-Blank-and-Gordon.jpeg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-30917" class="wp-caption-text">2004</p></div> <p style="font-weight: 400;">I’ll miss him.</p> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1832572926&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:57:"https://steveblank.com/2024/05/26/gordon-bell-r-i-p/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"10";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30915";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:4;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:73:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:36:"The Venture Mindset – Worth A Read";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"https://steveblank.com/2024/05/21/the-venture-mindset-worth-a-read/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:76:"https://steveblank.com/2024/05/21/the-venture-mindset-worth-a-read/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 21 May 2024 13:00:03 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Venture Capital";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30888";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:339:"Ilya Strebulaev at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Director of the Stanford Venture Capital Initiative just came out with a book that should be on your reading list – The Venture Mindset. The books premise is that Venture Capitalists (who were responsible for the launch of one-fifth of the 300 largest U.S. public […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5646:"<p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Strebulaev" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ilya Strebulaev</a> at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Director of the <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/labs-initiatives/vci" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stanford Venture Capital Initiative</a> just came out with a book that should be on your reading list – The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593714237/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Venture Mindset</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593714237/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30896" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/21/the-venture-mindset-worth-a-read/screenshot-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Venture-Mindset-Cover-1.jpg?fit=512%2C782&ssl=1" data-orig-size="512,782" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"Screenshot","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Screenshot","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Screenshot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Screenshot</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Venture-Mindset-Cover-1.jpg?fit=196%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Venture-Mindset-Cover-1.jpg?fit=468%2C715&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30896" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Venture-Mindset-Cover-1.jpg?resize=63%2C96&ssl=1" alt="" width="63" height="96" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Venture-Mindset-Cover-1.jpg?resize=98%2C150&ssl=1 98w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Venture-Mindset-Cover-1.jpg?resize=196%2C300&ssl=1 196w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Venture-Mindset-Cover-1.jpg?w=512&ssl=1 512w" sizes="(max-width: 63px) 100vw, 63px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p>The books premise is that Venture Capitalists (who were responsible for the launch of one-fifth of the 300 largest U.S. public companies) have a different mindset then that found in the rest of the business world (and I would add in government agencies.) All these startups could have come from inside an existing company—but they didn’t.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The book answers why that’s so. And why are venture firms good at finding start-ups that turn into unicorns – what are the skills that VC firms have that companies don’t? And most importantly, can you/your company learn those skills?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The Venture Mindset is built around 9 key ideas:</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9-key-principles-venture-mindset.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30891" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/21/the-venture-mindset-worth-a-read/9-key-principles-venture-mindset/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9-key-principles-venture-mindset.jpg?fit=478%2C436&ssl=1" data-orig-size="478,436" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="9 key principles venture mindset" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9-key-principles-venture-mindset.jpg?fit=300%2C274&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9-key-principles-venture-mindset.jpg?fit=468%2C427&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-30891 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9-key-principles-venture-mindset.jpg?resize=300%2C274&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="274" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9-key-principles-venture-mindset.jpg?resize=300%2C274&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9-key-principles-venture-mindset.jpg?resize=150%2C137&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9-key-principles-venture-mindset.jpg?w=478&ssl=1 478w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re a founder looking to raise capital, this book will help you understand how VC’s are evaluating your company. (I wish I had read this book at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re in a large company or government agency this book will help you understand the difference between “fail-safe” bets needed in sustaining the core business, versus “safe-to-fail” bets, needed in creating new businesses and/or disruptive capabilities.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Definitely worth a read.</p> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"https://steveblank.com/2024/05/21/the-venture-mindset-worth-a-read/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"3";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30888";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"Secret History – When Kodak Went to War with Polaroid";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:86:"https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:95:"https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 16 May 2024 13:00:49 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"Secret History of Silicon Valley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30827";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:327:"This part 2 of the Secret History of Polaroid and Edwin Land. Read part 1 for context. Kodak and Polaroid, the two most famous camera companies of the 20th century, had a great partnership for 20+ years. Then in an inexplicable turnabout Kodak decided to destroy Polaroid’s business. To this day, every story of why […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:37270:"<p style="font-weight: 400;">This part 2 of the Secret History of Polaroid and Edwin Land. <a href="https://steveblank.com/2024/04/30/the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley-the-secret-life-of-polaroid-ceo-edwin-land-part-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read part 1</a> for context.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Kodak and Polaroid, the two most famous camera companies of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, had a great partnership for 20+ years. Then in an inexplicable turnabout Kodak decided to destroy Polaroid’s business. To this day, every story of why Kodak went to war with Polaroid is wrong.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The real reason can be found in the highly classified world of overhead reconnaissance satellites.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s the real story.</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In April 1969 Kodak tore up a 20-year manufacturing partnership with Polaroid. In a surprise to everyone at Polaroid, Kodak declared war. They terminated their agreement to supply Polaroid with negative film for Polacolor – the only color film Polaroid had on the market. Kodak gave Polaroid two years’ notice but immediately raised the film price 10% in the U.S. and 50% internationally. And Kodak publicly announced they were going to make film for Polaroid’s cameras – a knife to the heart for Polaroid as film sales were what made Polaroid profitable. Shortly thereafter, Kodak announced they were also going to make instant cameras in direct competition with Polaroid cameras. In short, they were going after every part of Polaroid’s business.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">What happened in April 1969 they caused Kodak to react this way?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">And what was the result?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong><em>Read the sidebar</em></strong><em> for a Background on Film and Instant Photography </em></p> <div style="background-color: #ededed;"> <div style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 5px;"> <p>Today we take for granted that images can be seen and sent instantaneously on all our devices — phone, computers, tablets, etc. But that wasn’t always the case.</p> <p><strong>Film Photography<br /> </strong>It wasn’t until the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century that it was possible to permanently capture an image. For the next 30 years photography was in the hands of an elite set of professionals. Each photo they took was captured on individual glass plates they coated with chemicals. To make a print, the photographers had to process the plates in more chemicals. Neither the cameras nor processing were within the realm of a consumer. But in 1888 Kodak changed that when they introduced a real disruptive innovation – a camera preloaded with <a href="https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/eastman-kodak.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a spool of strippable paper film with 100-exposures that consumers</a>, rather than professional photographers, could use. When the roll was finished, the entire camera was sent back to the Kodak lab in Rochester, NY, where it was reloaded and returned to the customer while the first roll was being processed. But the real revolution happened in 1900 when Kodak introduced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodak_Brownie">the Brownie camera</a> with replaceable film spools. This made photography available to a mass market. You just sent the film to be developed, not the camera.</p> <p>Up until 1936 consumer cameras captured images in black in white. That year Kodak introduced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodachrome">Kodachrome</a>, the first color film for slides. In 1942, they introduced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodacolor_(still_photography)">Kodacolor</a> for prints.</p> <p>While consumers now had easy-to-use cameras, the time between taking a picture and seeing the picture had a long delay. The film inside the camera needed to be developed and printed. After you clicked the shutter and took the picture, you sent the film to a drop-off point in a store. They sent your film to a large <a href="https://youtu.be/hFyM_26E40U?feature=shared&t=40" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regional photo processing lab</a> that developed the film (using a bath of chemicals), then printed the photos as physical pictures. You would get your pictures back in days or a week. (In the late 1970s, mini-photo processing labs dramatically shortened that process, offering 1-hour photo development.) Meanwhile…</p> <p><strong>Instant Photography<br /> </strong>In 1937 Edwin Land co-founded Polaroid to make an optical filter called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarizer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">polarizers</a>. They were used in photographic filters, glare-free sunglasses, and products that gave the illusion of 3-D. During WWII Polaroid made anti-glare goggles for soldiers and pilots, gun sights, viewfinders, cameras, and other optical devices with polarizing lenses.</p> <p>In 1948 Polaroid pivoted. They launched what would become synonymous with an “Instant Camera.” In its first instant camera — the<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBoOjxEN6r0" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Model 95</a> – the film contained all the necessary chemicals to “instantly” develop a photo. The instant film was made of two parts – a negative sheet that lined up with a positive sheet with the chemicals in between squeezed through a set of rollers. <em>The negative sheet was manufactured by Kodak</em>. Instead of days or weeks, it now took less than 90 seconds to see your picture.</p> </div> </div> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30865" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/polaroid-camera-ad/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?fit=1410%2C1126&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1410,1126" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Polaroid camera ad" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?fit=300%2C240&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?fit=468%2C374&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-30865" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?resize=468%2C374&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="374" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?resize=1024%2C818&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?resize=300%2C240&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?resize=150%2C120&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?resize=768%2C613&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?w=1410&ssl=1 1410w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polaroid-camera-ad.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <div style="background-color: #ededed;"> <div style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 5px;"> <p>For the next 30 years Polaroid made evolutionary better Instant Cameras. In 1963 Polacolor Instant color film was introduced. In 1973 the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaroid_SX-70" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera</a> was introduced with a new type of instant film that no longer had to be peeled apart.</p> </div> </div> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>A Secret Grudge Match</strong></h3> <p style="font-weight: 400;">To understand why Kodak tried to put Polaroid out of business you need to know some of most classified secrets of the Cold War.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Project GENETRIX and The U-2</strong><em> – Balloon and Airplane Reconnaissance over the Soviet Union<br /> </em>During the Cold War with the Soviet Union the U.S. intelligence community was <a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/1960-08-19b.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">desperate for intelligence</a>. In the early 1950s the U.S. sent <a href="https://steveblank.com/2010/01/28/balloon-wars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unmanned reconnaissance balloons</a> over the Soviet Union.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Next, from 1956-1960 the CIA flew the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_U-2">Lockheed U-2</a> spy plane over the Soviet Union on 24 missions, taking <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB54/st04.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">photos of its military installations</a>. (The U-2 program was <a href="https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB74/U2-03.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kicked off by a 1954 memo from Edwin Land (Polaroid CEO) to the director of the CIA</a>.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The U-2 cameras used Kodak film, processed in a secret Kodak lab codenamed <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/documents/history/csnr/programs/docs/Bridgehead%20Eastman%20Kodak%20Company.pdf?ver=2019-03-29-1031353-233&timestamp=1553870223588" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bridgehead</a>. In May 1960 a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident">U-2 was shot down</a> inside Soviet territory and the U.S. stopped aircraft overflights of the Soviet Union. But luckily in 1956 the U.S. intelligence community had concluded that the future of gathering intelligence over the Soviet Union would be with spy satellites orbiting in space.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Air Force – SAMOS – </strong><em> 1<sup>st</sup> Generation Photo Reconnaissance Satellites<br /> </em>By the late 1950s the Department of Defense decided that the future of photo reconnaissance satellites would be via an Air Force program codenamed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samos_(satellite)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SAMOS</a>.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BIMAT-Scanner.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30838" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/bimat-scanner/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BIMAT-Scanner.jpg?fit=195%2C122&ssl=1" data-orig-size="195,122" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="BIMAT Scanner" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BIMAT-Scanner.jpg?fit=195%2C122&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BIMAT-Scanner.jpg?fit=195%2C122&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-full wp-image-30838 alignright" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BIMAT-Scanner.jpg?resize=195%2C122&ssl=1" alt="" width="195" height="122" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BIMAT-Scanner.jpg?w=195&ssl=1 195w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BIMAT-Scanner.jpg?resize=150%2C94&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The first <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA606620.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SAMOS</a> satellites would have a camera that would take pictures and develop them while orbiting earth using special <a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP33-02415A000500120032-7.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kodak Bimat film</a>, then scan the negative and transmit the image to a ground station. After multiple rocket failures and realization that the resolution and number of images the satellite could downlink would be woefully inadequate for the type and number of targets (it would take 3 hours to downlink the photos from a single pass), the film read-out SAMOS satellites were canceled.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong><em>Sidebar</em></strong><em>– Kodak Goes to The Moon<br /> </em></p> <div style="background-color: #ededed;"> <div style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 5px;">While the Kodak Bimat film and scanner <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/documents/foia/declass/mol/824.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never made it</a> as an intelligence reconnaissance system around the earth, it did make it to the moon. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/lunar-orbiters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA’s Lunar Orbiter</a> program to map the moon <a href="https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/book/introduction.shtml#:~:text=Kodak%20Bimat%20film%20consists%20of,contact%20on%20the%20processing%20drum." target="_blank" rel="noopener">got their Kodak <u>Bimat film</u> and scanner camera</a>s from the defunct SAMOS program. In 1966 and ‘67 NASA successfully launched 5 Lunar Orbiters around the moon developing the film onboard and transmitting a total of 3,062pictures to earth. (The resolution of the images and the fact that it took <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19660009057/downloads/19660009057.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">40 minutes to send each photo</a> back was fine for NASA’s needs.)</div> </div> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>CIA’s CORONA – </strong><em>2<sup>nd</sup> Generation Photo Reconnaissance Satellites<br /> </em>It was the CIA’s <a href="https://www.cia.gov/legacy/museum/exhibit/corona-americas-first-imaging-satellite-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CORONA film-based photo reconnaissance satellites</a> that first succeeded in returning intelligence photos from space. Designed as a rapid cheap hack, it was intended as a stopgap until more capable systems entered service. Fairchild built the first few CORONA cameras, but ultimately <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/65/documents/foia/CAL-Records/Cabinet2/DrawerA/2%20A%200090.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Itek became the camera system s</a>upplier. CORONA sent the exposed film back to earth in reentry vehicles that were <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdsn4snbzjo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recovered in mid-air</a>. The film was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_processing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed</a> by Kodak at their secret <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/documents/history/csnr/programs/docs/Bridgehead%20Eastman%20Kodak%20Company.pdf?ver=2019-03-29-1031353-233&timestamp=1553870223588" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bridgehead</a> lab and sent to intelligence analysts in the <a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81M00980R001900010055-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center</a> (NPIC) who examined the film. (While orbiting 94 miles above the earth the cameras achieved 4 ½-foot resolution.) CORONA was kept in service from 1960 to 1972, completing 145 missions.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CORONA-Recon-Systems.png?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30857" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/corona-recon-systems-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CORONA-Recon-Systems.png?fit=310%2C365&ssl=1" data-orig-size="310,365" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="CORONA Recon Systems" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CORONA-Recon-Systems.png?fit=255%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CORONA-Recon-Systems.png?fit=310%2C365&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-30857 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CORONA-Recon-Systems.png?resize=255%2C300&ssl=1" alt="" width="255" height="300" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CORONA-Recon-Systems.png?resize=255%2C300&ssl=1 255w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CORONA-Recon-Systems.png?resize=127%2C150&ssl=1 127w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CORONA-Recon-Systems.png?w=310&ssl=1 310w" sizes="(max-width: 255px) 100vw, 255px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Film recovery via reentry vehicles would be the standard for the next 16 years.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Sidebar</strong> – <em>The CIA versus the National Reconnaissance Office</em> (NRO)</p> <div style="background-color: #ededed;"> <div style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 5px;"> <p>With the CIA’s success with CORONA, and the failure of the Air Force original SAMOS program, the Department of Defense felt the CIA was usurping its role in Reconnaissance. In 1961 it was agreed that all satellite Reconnaissance would be coordinated by a single <a href="https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB35/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Reconnaissance Office</a> (the NRO). For 31 years satellite and spy plane reconnaissance was organized as four separate covert programs:</p> <p>Program A – Air Force satellite programs: SAMOS, GAMBIT, DORIAN…<br /> Program B – CIA satellite programs: CORONA, HEXAGON, KEENAN…<br /> Program C – Navy satellite programs: GRAB, POPPY …<br /> Program D – CIA/Air Force reconnaissance Aircraft: U-2, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_A-12">A-12</a>/SR-71, ST/POLLY, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_D-21">D-21</a>…</p> <p>While this setup was rational on paper, the CIA and NRO would have a <a href="https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/monograph/nro/nromono.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decades -long political battle over who would specify, design, build and task reconnaissance satellites</a>. The CIA’s outside expert on imaging reconnaissance satellites was… Edwin Land CEO of Polaroid.</p> <p>The NRO’s existence wasn’t even acknowledged until 1992.</p> </div> </div> <p><strong>Air Force/NRO – GAMBIT</strong> – <em>3<sup>rd</sup> Generation Film Photo Reconnaissance Satellites<br /> </em>After the failure of the SAMOS on-orbit scanning system, the newly established National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) regrouped and adopted film recovery via reentry vehicles.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Prodded by the NRO and Air Force, <a href="https://archive.org/details/nro-gamhex-docs/4%20-%20Eastman%20Kodak%20Blanket%20Proposal/mode/2up?view=theater" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Kodak</em> put in an “unsolicited” proposal</a> for a next-generation imaging satellite codenamed <a href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/1279/2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GAMBIT</a>. Kodak cameras on GAMBIT had <em>much</em> better resolution than the Itek cameras on CORONA. In orbit 80 miles up, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUIakZq0JGk&t=314s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GAMBIT</a> had high-resolution spotting capability – but in a narrow field of view. This complemented the CORONA broad area imaging. GAMBIT-1 (KH-7) produced images of 2-4 feet in resolution. It flew for 38 missions from July 1963 to June 1967. The follow-on program, GAMBIT-3 (KH-8), provided even sharper images with resolution measured in inches. GAMBiT-3 flew for 54 missions from July 1966 to August 1984. The resolution of GAMBITs photos wouldn’t be surpassed for decades.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30836" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/satellite-recon-systems-gambit/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?fit=2880%2C1620&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2880,1620" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Satellite Recon Systems GAMBIT" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-30836" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-GAMBIT.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>CIA – HEXAGON</strong> – <em>4<sup>th</sup> Generation Film Photo Reconnaissance Satellites<br /> </em>Meanwhile the CIA decided <u>it</u> was going to build the next generation reconnaissance satellite after GAMBIT. Hexagon represented another technological leap forward. Unlike GAMBIT that had a narrow field of view, the CIA proposed a satellite that could photograph a 300-nautical-mile-wide by 16.8-nautical-mile-long area in a single frame. Unlike GAMBIT whose cameras were made by Kodak, <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/65/documents/foia/declass/GAMHEX/GAMBIT%20and%20HEXAGON%20Histories/2.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HEXAGON’s</a> cameras would be made by Perkin Elmer.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30837" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/satellite-recon-systems-hexagon/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?fit=2880%2C1620&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2880,1620" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Satellite Recon Systems hexagon" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-30837" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?resize=468%2C263&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="263" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Satellite-Recon-Systems-hexagon.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>CIA Versus NRO – HEXAGON versus DORIAN<br /> </strong>In 1969 the new Nixon administration was looking to cut spending and the intelligence budget was a big target. There were several new, very expensive programs being built: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KH-9_Hexagon">HEXAGON</a>, the CIA’s school bus-sized film satellite; and a military space station: the NRO/Air Force <a href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/2560/1">Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL)</a> with its <a href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4654/1">DORIAN KH-10 film-based camera</a> (made by Kodak). There was also a proposed high-resolution GAMBIT-follow-on satellite called FROG (Film Read Out GAMBIT) – again with a Kodak <a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP33-02415A000500120032-7.pdf">Bimat camera</a> and a laser scanner.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In March 1969, President Nixon canceled the CIA’s HEXAGON satellite program in favor of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Orbiting_Laboratory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manned Orbiting Laboratory</a> (MOL), the Air Force space station with the Kodak DORIAN camera. It looked like Kodak had won and the CIA’s proposal lost.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">However, the CIA fought back.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The next month, in April 1969, the Director of the CIA used the recommendation of CIA’s reconnaissance intelligence panel – <em>headed by Edwin Land (Polaroid’s CEO)</em> to get President Nixon to reverse his decision. Land’s panel argued that HEXAGON was essential to monitoring arms control treaties with the Soviet Union. Land said <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/documents/foia/declass/mol/705.pdf">DORIAN would be useless because astronauts on the military space station could only photograph small amounts of territory, missing other things that could be a few miles away</a>. In contrast, HEXAGON covered so much territory that there was simply no place for the Soviet Union to hide any forbidden bombers or missiles.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Land’s reconnaissance panel recommended: 1) canceling the manned part of the NRO/Air Force <a href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/2560/1">Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL)</a> and 2) using the DORIAN optics in a robotic system (which was ultimately never built) and 3) urging the President to instead start “highest priority” development of a “simple, long-life imaging satellite, using an array of photosensitive elements to convert the image to electrical signals for immediate transmission.” (This would become the KH-11 KEENAN, <em>ending the need for film-based cameras in space.)</em></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The result was:</p> <ul> <li>Nixon <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/documents/foia/declass/mol/698.pdf">canceled</a> NRO/Air Force <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/documents/foia/declass/mol/800.pdf">Manned Orbiting Laboratory</a> (MOL) and its Kodak <a href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4654/1">DORIAN film-based camera</a>,</li> <li>Nixon told the CIA to build the HEXAGON satellite with its Perkin Elmer camera.</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Over the next two years, Land <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/documents/foia/declass/MAJOR%20NRO%20PROGRAMS%20&%20PROJECTS/NRO%20EOI/SC-2016-00001_C05093212.pdf">lobbied against the GAMBIT follow-on called FROG and after a contentious fight effectively killed it</a> in 1971. But most importantly Nixon gave the go-ahead to build the CIA’s KH-11 KEENAN electronic imaging satellite – <em>dooming film-based satellites – and all of Kodak’s satellite business.</em></p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Why Did Kodak Go to War With Polaroid?</strong></h3> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Finally we can now understand why Kodak was furious at Polaroid. <em><u>The CEO of Polaroid killed Kodak’s satellite reconnaissance business.</u></em></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Kodak’s 1970 annual report said, “Government sales dropped precipitously from $248 million in 1969 to $160 million in 1970, a decline of nearly 36 percent.” (That’s <em>¾’s of a billion dollars</em> in today’s dollars.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The DORIAN camera on the Manned Orbiting Laboratory and the very high-resolution GAMBIT FROG follow-on <em>were all Kodak camera systems</em> built in Kodak’s K-Program, a highly classified segment of the company. In April 1969 when MOL/DORIAN KH-10 was canceled, Kodak laid off 1,500 people from that division.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Kodak also had 1<a href="https://rbj.net/2012/11/23/undercover-covert-photographic-operations-center-existed-at-kodak-plant/">,400 people in a special facility that developed the film</a> codenamed <a href="https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/documents/history/csnr/programs/docs/Bridgehead%20Eastman%20Kodak%20Company.pdf?ver=2019-03-29-1031353-233&timestamp=1553870223588">Bridgehead</a>. With film gone from reconnaissance satellites, only small amounts were needed for U-2 flights. Another 1,000+ people ultimately would be let go.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Louis Eilers had been Kodak president since 1967 and in 1969 became CEO. He had been concerned about Land’s advocacy of the CIA’s programs that shut out Kodak of HEXAGON. But he went ballistic when he learned of the role Edwin Land played in killing the Manned Orbiting Lab (MOL) and the Kodak DORIAN KH-10 camera.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Kodak’s Revenge and Ultimate Loss<br /> </strong>In 1963 when Polaroid launched its first color instant film — Polacolor – Kodak manufactured Polacolor’s film negative. By 1969 Polaroid was paying Kodak $50 million a year to manufacture that film. (~$400 million in today’s dollars.) Kodak tore up that manufacturing relationship in 1969 after the MOL/DORIAN cancelation.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Kodak then went further. In 1969 they started two projects: create their own instant cameras to compete with Polaroid and create instant film for Polaroid cameras – Polaroid made their profits on selling film.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In 1976 Kodak came out with two instant cameras — the EK-4 and EK-6 –and instant film that could be used in Polaroid cameras. Polaroid immediately sued, claiming Kodak had infringed on Polaroid patents. <a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kodak-EK-4.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30842" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/kodak-ek-4/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kodak-EK-4.jpg?fit=680%2C540&ssl=1" data-orig-size="680,540" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Kodak EK-4" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kodak-EK-4.jpg?fit=300%2C238&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kodak-EK-4.jpg?fit=468%2C372&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-30842" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kodak-EK-4.jpg?resize=300%2C238&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="238" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kodak-EK-4.jpg?resize=300%2C238&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kodak-EK-4.jpg?resize=150%2C119&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kodak-EK-4.jpg?w=680&ssl=1 680w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>The lawsuit went on for 9 years. Finally, in 1985 a court ruled that Kodak infringed on Polaroid patents and Kodak was forced to pull their cameras off store shelves and stop making them. Six years later, in 1991, Polaroid was awarded $925 million in damages from Kodak.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Epilogue<br /> </strong>1976 was a landmark year for both Kodak and Polaroid. It was the beginning of their 15-year patent battle, but it was also the beginning of the end of film photography from space. <a href="https://steveblank.com/2024/04/30/the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley-the-secret-life-of-polaroid-ceo-edwin-land-part-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">That December the first digital imaging satellite, KH-11 KEENAN, went into orbit</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">After Land’s forced retirement in 1982, Polaroid never introduced a completely new product again. Everything was a refinement or repackaging of what it had figured out already. By the early ’90s, the alarms were clanging away; bankruptcy came in 2001.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Kodak could never leave its roots in film and missed being a leader in digital photography. It filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012, exited legacy businesses and sold off its patents before re-emerging as a sharply smaller company in 2013.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Today, descendants of the KH-11 KENNEN continue to operate in orbit.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Read all the Secret History posts <a href="https://steveblank.com/secret-history/#Secret%20History%20Backstory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></strong></p> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1825626108&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"7";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30827";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:6;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"The Secret History of Polaroid CEO Edwin Land";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:121:"https://steveblank.com/2024/04/30/the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley-the-secret-life-of-polaroid-ceo-edwin-land-part-1/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:130:"https://steveblank.com/2024/04/30/the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley-the-secret-life-of-polaroid-ceo-edwin-land-part-1/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:00:59 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"Secret History of Silicon Valley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30767";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:363:"The connections between the world of national security and commercial companies still has surprises. December 1976 – Vandenberg Air Force Base, U.S. military space port on the coast of California As a Titan IIID rocket blasted off, it carried a spacecraft on top that would change everything about how intelligence from space was gathered. Heading […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15777:"<p style="font-weight: 400;">The connections between the world of national security and commercial companies still has surprises.</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>December 1976 – Vandenberg Air Force Base, U.S. military space port</strong> <strong>on the coast of California</strong></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">As a Titan IIID rocket blasted off, it carried a spacecraft on top that would change everything about how intelligence from space was gathered. Heading to space was the first <em>digital</em> photo reconnaissance satellite. A revolution in spying from space had just begun.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KH-11-Launch.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30771" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/04/30/the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley-the-secret-life-of-polaroid-ceo-edwin-land-part-1/kh-11-launch/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KH-11-Launch.jpg?fit=122%2C158&ssl=1" data-orig-size="122,158" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="KH-11 Launch" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KH-11-Launch.jpg?fit=122%2C158&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KH-11-Launch.jpg?fit=122%2C158&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-30771" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KH-11-Launch.jpg?resize=116%2C150&ssl=1" alt="" width="116" height="150" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KH-11-Launch.jpg?resize=116%2C150&ssl=1 116w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KH-11-Launch.jpg?w=122&ssl=1 122w" sizes="(max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>For the previous 16 years three generations of U.S. photo reconnaissance satellites (257 in total) took pictures of the Soviet Union on <em>film,</em> then sent the film back to earth on reentry vehicles that were recovered in mid-air. After the film was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_processing">developed</a>, intelligence analysts examined it trying to find and understand the Soviet Union’s latest missiles, aircraft, and ships. By the mid-1970s these photo reconnaissance satellites could see objects as small as a few inches from space. By then, the latest U.S. <em>film</em>-based reconnaissance satellite – Hexagon – was the size of a school bus and had six of these reentry vehicles that could send its film back to earth. Though state of the art for its time, the setup had a drawback: Pictures they returned might be days, weeks or even months old. That meant in a crisis – e.g. the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 or the Arab-Israeli war in 1973 – photo reconnaissance satellites could not provide timely warnings and indications, revealing what an adversary was up to right now. The holy grail for overhead imaging from space was to send the pictures to intelligence analysts on the ground in near real time.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">And now, finally after a decade of work by the CIA’s Science and Technology Division, the first digital photo reconnaissance satellite – the KH-11, code-named KENNEN – which could do all that, was heading to orbit. For the first time pictures from space were going to head back to the ground via bits, showing images in near real time.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The KH-11/ KENNEN project was not a better version of existing film satellites, it was an example of disruptive innovation. Today, we take for granted that billions of cell phones have digital cameras, but in the 1970s getting a computer chip to “see” was science fiction. To do so required a series of technology innovations in digital imaging sensors, and the CIA funded years of sensor research at multiple research centers and companies. That allowed them to build the KH-11 sensor (first with a silicon diode array, and then the using first linear CCD arrays), which turned the images seen by the satellites’ powerful telescope into bits.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Getting those bits to the ground no longer required reentry vehicles carrying film, but it did require the launch of a network of relay satellites (code named <a href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/3440/1">QUASAR (aka SDS, Satellite Data System</a>). While the KH-11 was taking pictures over the Soviet Union, the images were passed as bits from satellite to satellite at the speed of light, then downlinked to a ground station in the U.S. New ground stations were built to handle a large, fast stream of digital data. And the photo analysts required new equipment.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">More importantly, like most projects that disrupt the status quo, it required a technical visionary who understood how the pieces would create a radically new system, and a champion with immense credibility in imaging and national security who could save the project each time the incumbents tried to kill it — even convincing the President of the United States to reverse its cancelation.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">More detail in a bit. But let’s fast forward, four months later, to a seemingly unrelated story…</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>April 1977 – Needham, MA, Polaroid Annual Meeting<br /> </strong>Edwin Land, the 67-year-old founder/CEO/chairman and director of research of <a href="https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/polaroid/timeline/">Polaroid</a>, the company that had been shipping instant cameras for 30 years, stood on stage and launched his own holy grail – and his last hurrah – an instant <em>film</em>-based home-movie camera called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDkBx4fvY4w">Polavision</a>. At the time, you sent your home movie film out to get developed and you’d be able to view it in days or a week. Land was demoing an instant movie. You filmed a movie and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpH8jIVgxwg">90 seconds later you could see it</a>. It was a technical tour de force – remember this was pre-digital, so the ability to instantly develop and show a movie seemed like magic. Much like the KH-11/KEENAN it also was a complete system – camera, instant film, and player. It truly was the pinnacle of analog engineering.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30776" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/04/30/the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley-the-secret-life-of-polaroid-ceo-edwin-land-part-1/polavision-ad-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?fit=1810%2C1241&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1810,1241" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Polavision ad" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?fit=300%2C206&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?fit=468%2C321&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-30776" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?resize=468%2C321&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="321" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?w=1810&ssl=1 1810w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?resize=300%2C206&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?resize=1024%2C702&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?resize=150%2C103&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?resize=768%2C527&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?resize=1536%2C1053&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Polavision-ad.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>But <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDkBx4fvY4w">Polavision</a> was a commercial disaster. Potential customers found it uncompelling and its $3,500 price (in today’s dollars) daunting. You could only record up to 2½ minutes of film. And believe it or not, with Polavision you couldn’t record sound with the movies. The 8mm film couldn’t be played back on existing 8mm projectors and could only be viewed on a special player with a 12” projection screen. There was no way to edit the film. It was a closed system. Worse, two years earlier Sony had introduced the first Betamax VCR and JVC had just introduced VHS recorders that could hold hours of video that could be edited. The video recorders looked like a better bet on the future. Polaroid discontinued Polavision two years later in 1979.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">For decades Land’s unerring instincts for instant products delighted customers. However, Polavision was the second misstep for Land. In 1972 at Land’s insistence, Polaroid had prematurely announced the SX-70 camera – another technical tour de force – before it could scale manufacturing. In 1975 the board helped Land “decide” to step down as president and chief operating officer to let other execs handle manufacturing and scale.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">But the biggest threat to Polaroid came in 1976, a year before the Polavision announcement, when Kodak entered Polaroid’s instant camera and film business with competitive products.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30778" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/04/30/the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley-the-secret-life-of-polaroid-ceo-edwin-land-part-1/sx-70-ad-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?fit=927%2C1280&ssl=1" data-orig-size="927,1280" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1291306072","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="SX-70 ad" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?fit=217%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?fit=468%2C646&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30778 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?resize=217%2C300&ssl=1" alt="" width="217" height="300" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?resize=217%2C300&ssl=1 217w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?resize=742%2C1024&ssl=1 742w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?resize=109%2C150&ssl=1 109w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?resize=768%2C1060&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SX-70-ad.jpg?w=927&ssl=1 927w" sizes="(max-width: 217px) 100vw, 217px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">After the Polavision debacle, Land was sidelined by the board, which no longer had faith in his technical and market vision. Land gave up the title of chairman in 1980. He resigned his board seat in 1982, and in 1985, bitter he had been forced out of the company he founded, he sold all his remaining stock, cutting all ties with the company.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Steve Jobs considered Land one of his first heroes, calling him “a national treasure.” (Take a look at part of <a href="https://youtu.be/zbmq9R0dtVg?feature=shared&t=780">a 1970 talk by Land</a> eerily describing something that sounds like an iPhone.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile, inside Polaroid Labs, work had begun on two new technologies Land had sponsored: inkjet printing and something called “filmless electronic photography.” Neither project got out the door because the new management was concerned about cannibalizing Polaroid’s film business. Instead they doubled down on selling and refining instant film. Polaroid’s first digital camera wouldn’t hit the market till 1996, by which time the battle had been lost.<strong> </strong></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>What on earth do these two stories have to do with each other?<br /> </strong>It turns out that the person who had consulted on every one of the film-based photo reconnaissance satellites – Corona, Gambit, and Hexagon – was also the U.S. government’s most esteemed expert on imaging and spy satellites. He was the same person who championed replacing the film-based photo satellites with digital imaging. And was the visionary who pushed the CIA forward on KH-11/KEENAN. By 1977, this person knew more about the <em>application of</em> <em>digital</em> imaging then anyone on the planet.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Who was that?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>It was Edwin Land, the Founder/Chairman of Polaroid – </em>the same guy that introduced the film-based Polavision.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">More in the next installment <a href="https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Read all the Secret History posts <a href="https://steveblank.com/secret-history/#Secret%20History%20Backstory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></strong></p> <hr /> <p><strong>Read all the Secret History posts <a href="https://steveblank.com/secret-history/#Secret%20History%20Backstory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></strong></p> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1825193580&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:126:"https://steveblank.com/2024/04/30/the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley-the-secret-life-of-polaroid-ceo-edwin-land-part-1/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"6";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30767";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"Founders Need to Be Ruthless When Chasing Deals";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"https://steveblank.com/2024/04/16/founders-need-to-be-ruthless-when-chasing-deals/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://steveblank.com/2024/04/16/founders-need-to-be-ruthless-when-chasing-deals/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:00:20 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:20:"Customer Development";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9:"E.piphany";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30742";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:354:"One of the most exciting things a startup CEO in a business-to-business market can hear from a potential customer is, “We’re excited. When can you come back and show us a prototype?” This can be the beginning of a profitable customer relationship or a disappointing sinkhole of wasted time, money, resources, and a demoralized engineering […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10516:"<p style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most exciting things a startup CEO in a business-to-business market can hear from a potential customer is, “We’re excited. When can you come back and show us a prototype?”<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30745" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/04/16/founders-need-to-be-ruthless-when-chasing-deals/purchase-order/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1024,1024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="purchase order" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?fit=468%2C468&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30745" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?resize=112%2C112&ssl=1" alt="" width="112" height="112" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?resize=768%2C768&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?w=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/purchase-order.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 112px) 100vw, 112px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">This can be the beginning of a profitable customer relationship or a disappointing sinkhole of wasted time, money, resources, and a demoralized engineering team.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">It all depends on one question every startup CEO needs to ask.</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">I was having coffee and pastries with Justin, an ex-student, listening to him to complain over the time he wasted with a potential customer. He was building a complex robotic system for factories. “We spent weeks integrating the sample data they gave us to build a functional prototype, and then after our demo they just ghosted us. I still don’t know what happened!”</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">After listening to how he got into that predicament, I realized it sounded exactly like the mistake I had made selling enterprise software.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Enthusiasm Versus Validation<br /> </strong>Finding product/market fit is the holy grail for startups. For me, it was a real rush when potential users in a large company loved our slideware and our minimum viable product (MVP). They were ecstatic about the time the product could save them and started pulling others into our demos. A few critical internal recommenders and technical evaluators gave our concept the thumbs up. Now we were in discussions with the potential buyers who had the corporate checkbook, and they were ready to have a “next step” conversation.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">This buyer wanted us to transform our slideware and MVP into a demonstration of utility with their actual data. This was going to require our small, overcommitted engineering team to turn the MVP into a serviceable prototype.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">When I heard a potential customer offer us their own internal customer data I was already imagining popping Champagne corks once we showed them our prototype. (For context, our products sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and lifetime value to each customer was potentially measured in millions.) I rallied our engineering team to work for the next few months to get the demo of the prototype ready. As much as we could, we integrated the customers’ users and technical evaluators into our prototype development process. Then came the meeting with the potential customer. And it went great. The users were in the room, the buyer asked lots of questions, everyone made some suggestions and then we all went home. And the follow up from the potential customer? Crickets…</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Even our user advocates stopped responding to emails.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>What did I do wrong?<br /> </strong>In my unbridled and very naive enthusiasm for impressing a potential customer, I made a rookie mistake –<em> I never asked the user champion or the potential buyer what were the steps for turning the demo into a purchase order</em>. I had made a ton of assumptions – all of them wrong. And most importantly I wasted the most precious things a startup has – engineering resources, time, and money.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In hindsight I had no idea whether my potential customer was asking other companies to demo their product. I had no idea whether the buyer had a budget or even purchase authority. If they did, I had no idea of their timeline for a decision. I had no idea who were the other decision-makers in the company to integrate, deploy and scale the product. I didn’t even know what the success criteria for getting an order looked like. I didn’t check for warning signs of a deal that would go nowhere: whether the person requesting the demo was in a business unit or a tech evaluation/innovation group, whether they’d pay for a functional prototype they could use, etc. And for good measure, I never even considered asking the potential customer to pay for the demo and/or my costs.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">(My only excuse was that this was my first foray into enterprise sales.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Be Ruthless about the Opportunity Costs of Chasing Deals<br /> </strong>After that demoralizing experience I realized that every low probability demo got us further from success rather than closer. While a big company could afford to chase lots of deals I just had a small set of engineering resources. I became ruthless about the opportunity costs of chasing deals whose outcome I couldn’t predict.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">So we built rigor into our sales process.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">We built a sales road map of finding <u>first</u> product/market fit with the users and recommenders. However, we realized that there was a <u>second product/market fit</u> with the organization(s) that controlled the budget and the path to deployment and scale.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">For this second group of gatekeepers we came up with a cheap hack to validate that a demo wasn’t just a <a href="https://www.zendesk.com/blog/tire-kicker/">tire-kicking</a> exercise on their part. First, we asked them basic questions about the process: the success criteria, the decision timeline, did a budget exist, who had the purchase authority, what were the roles and approval processes of other organizations (IT, Compliance and Security, etc.) and what was the expected rate of scaling the product across their enterprise. (All the rookie questions I should have asked the first time around.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">That was just the starting point to decide if we wanted to invest our resources. We followed up our questions by <em>sending them a fully cancelable purchase order</em>. We listed all the features we had demoed that had gotten the users excited and threw in the features the technical evaluators had suggested. And we listed our price. In big letters the purchase order said, “FULLY CANCELABLE.” And then we sent it to the head of the group that asked us for the prototype.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">As you can imagine most of the time the response was – WTF?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Figure Out Who’s A Serious Prospect<br /> </strong>That’s when the real learning started. It was more than OK with me if they said they weren’t ready to sign. Or they told me there were other groups who needed be involved. I was now learning things I never would have if I just showed up with a prototype. By asking the customer to sign a fully cancelable purchase order we excluded “least likely to close prospects”; those who weren’t ready to make a purchase decision, or those who already had a vendor selected but needed to go through “demo theater” to make the selection seem fair. But most importantly it started a conversation with serious prospects that informed us about the entire end-to-end approval process to get an order- who were the additional people who needed to say yes across the corporation – and what were their decision processes.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Our conversions of demos into orders went through the roof.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, I was learning some of the basics of complex sales.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">—</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Justin stared at his uneaten pastry for a while and then looked up at me and said smiling, “I never knew you could do that. That’s given me a few ideas what we could do.” And just like that he was gone.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Lessons Learned</strong></p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>In complex sales there are <u>multiple</u> product/market fits – Users, Buyers, etc. — each with different criteria</li> <li>Don’t invest time and resources in building on-demand prototypes if you don’t know the path to a purchase order</li> <li>Use polite forcing functions, e.g. cancelable purchase orders, to discover who else needs to say “yes”</li> </ul> </blockquote> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1801963893&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"https://steveblank.com/2024/04/16/founders-need-to-be-ruthless-when-chasing-deals/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"10";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30742";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:25:"Is a $100 Million Enough?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:58:"https://steveblank.com/2024/03/05/is-a-100-million-enough/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"https://steveblank.com/2024/03/05/is-a-100-million-enough/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 05 Mar 2024 14:00:26 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:21:"Family/Career/Culture";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Venture Capital";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30677";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:308:"This article first appeared in Inc. Capitalism has been good to me. After serving in the military during Vietnam, I came home and had a career in eight startups. I got to retire when I was 45. Over the last quarter century, in my third career, I helped create the methods entrepreneurs use to build […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9342:"<p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.inc.com/steve-blank/what-motivates-todays-founders-is-a-100-million-enough.html"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30694" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/03/05/is-a-100-million-enough/inc-logo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Inc-logo.jpeg?fit=644%2C246&ssl=1" data-orig-size="644,246" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Inc logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Inc-logo.jpeg?fit=300%2C115&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Inc-logo.jpeg?fit=468%2C179&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft wp-image-30694 " src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Inc-logo.jpeg?resize=79%2C30&ssl=1" alt="" width="79" height="30" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Inc-logo.jpeg?resize=150%2C57&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Inc-logo.jpeg?resize=300%2C115&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Inc-logo.jpeg?w=644&ssl=1 644w" sizes="(max-width: 79px) 100vw, 79px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>This article first <a href="https://www.inc.com/steve-blank/what-motivates-todays-founders-is-a-100-million-enough.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared in Inc</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Capitalism has been good to me. After serving in the military during Vietnam, I came home and had a career in eight startups. I got to retire when I was 45. Over the last quarter century, in my third career, I helped create the methods entrepreneurs use to build new startups, while teaching 1,000’s of students how to start new ventures. It’s been rewarding to see tech entrepreneurship become an integral part of the economy and tech companies become some of the most valued companies in the world.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">What has made this happen is the relentless cycle of innovation and <a href="https://www.cmu.edu/epp/irle/irle-blog-pages/schumpeters-theory-of-creative-destruction.html">creative destruction</a> of old industries driven by new startups with new tech and new business models (network television replaced by streaming services, Nvidia GPUs versus Intel CPUs, electric cars versus the internal combustion engine, film cameras versus smartphones, programmers versus AI), all fueled by venture capital.</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">It makes me wonder – are startups still founded by people with a passion for creating something new? Or has the motivation changed to accruing the biggest pile of cash?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">When I was an entrepreneur, what got me up in the morning was building something amazing that people wanted to grab out of my hands and use. The thought that I might make a $1 million or even $10 million on the way was always in the back of my head, but that wasn’t why I did it.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">I wonder if it’s different for today’s entrepreneurs.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s a thought experiment: What if we told every <em><u>new</u></em> entrepreneur that regardless of how successful they were, their total compensation would be capped at $100 million.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30684" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/03/05/is-a-100-million-enough/dall%c2%b7e-2024-02-27-14-07-04-a-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-the-road-not-taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood-the-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1024,1024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="DALL·E 2024-02-27 14.07.04 – A fairy tale style illustration of ‘The Road Not Taken’, with two roads diverging in a wood. The scene is enchanting and whimsical, typical of a fairy" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?fit=468%2C468&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-30684" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?resize=768%2C768&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?w=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DALL·E-2024-02-27-14.07.04-A-fairy-tale-style-illustration-of-The-Road-Not-Taken-with-two-roads-diverging-in-a-wood.-The-scene-is-enchanting-and-whimsical-typical-of-a-fairy.webp?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><img class="alignright" /><img class="alignright" /></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">How many aspiring entrepreneurs would decide it wasn’t worth starting a company? Would Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, et al have quit earlier? Have picked other careers?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">How many would decide it wasn’t worth sticking around after their company was large and successful? (Would that be a bad thing?)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Would entrepreneurship suffer? Would we get less innovation? If so, why?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Would the best and brightest move to other countries?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Then let’s run the same thought experiment with Venture Capitalists. Would they pick other careers? Invest less?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">At $100 million would capitalism crumble? Would we all be, heaven forbid, be “Socialists” or worse, to even have this conversation?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Questions<br /> </strong>I’m curious what you think.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Should there be any limit?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If so, why?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Or why not.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">What would be the consequences?</p> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1766003667&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:63:"https://steveblank.com/2024/03/05/is-a-100-million-enough/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"48";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30677";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:73:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"Apple Vision Pro – Tech in the Search of a Market";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"https://steveblank.com/2024/02/13/apple-vision-pro-tech-in-the-search-of-a-market/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://steveblank.com/2024/02/13/apple-vision-pro-tech-in-the-search-of-a-market/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 13 Feb 2024 14:00:16 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:20:"Customer Development";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30553";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:345:"A version of this article previously appeared in Fortune. If you haven’t been paying attention Apple has started shipping its Apple Vision Pro, its take on a headset that combines Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). The product is an amazing technical tour de force. But the product/market fit of this first iteration is […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:27054:"<p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://fortune.com/2024/02/09/a-kodak-deja-vu-apples-vision-pro-killer-app-tim-cook-tech-retail/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone" 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" alt="" width="65" height="19" /> </a>A version of this article previously appeared <a href="https://fortune.com/2024/02/09/a-kodak-deja-vu-apples-vision-pro-killer-app-tim-cook-tech-retail/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in Fortune</a>.</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you haven’t been paying attention Apple has started shipping its <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Vision Pro</a>, its take on a headset that combines Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). The product is an amazing technical tour de force.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">But the product/market fit of this first iteration is a swing and a miss.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-Pro-wearer-1.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30559" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/13/apple-vision-pro-tech-in-the-search-of-a-market/vision-pro-wearer-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-Pro-wearer-1.jpg?fit=586%2C667&ssl=1" data-orig-size="586,667" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Vision Pro wearer" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-Pro-wearer-1.jpg?fit=264%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-Pro-wearer-1.jpg?fit=468%2C533&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class=" wp-image-30559 alignleft" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-Pro-wearer-1.jpg?resize=147%2C167&ssl=1" alt="" width="147" height="167" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-Pro-wearer-1.jpg?resize=264%2C300&ssl=1 264w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-Pro-wearer-1.jpg?resize=132%2C150&ssl=1 132w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-Pro-wearer-1.jpg?w=586&ssl=1 586w" sizes="(max-width: 147px) 100vw, 147px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-pro-goggles.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30560" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/13/apple-vision-pro-tech-in-the-search-of-a-market/vision-pro-goggles/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-pro-goggles.jpg?fit=202%2C114&ssl=1" data-orig-size="202,114" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Vision pro goggles" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-pro-goggles.jpg?fit=202%2C114&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-pro-goggles.jpg?fit=202%2C114&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class=" wp-image-30560 alignnone" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-pro-goggles.jpg?resize=284%2C160&ssl=1" alt="" width="284" height="160" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-pro-goggles.jpg?w=202&ssl=1 202w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Vision-pro-goggles.jpg?resize=150%2C85&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 284px) 100vw, 284px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">I’ve watched other world class consumer product companies make the same mistakes:</p> <ol> <li>Come up with amazing hardware that creates entirely new capabilities</li> <li>Forecast demand based on volumes of their previous consumer products</li> <li>Confuse consumers by defining a new category without a frame of reference</li> <li>Discover the hardware doesn’t match their existing consumer customer base needs</li> <li>Work hard (read spend a lot of money) on trying to “push” sales to their existing customers</li> <li>Revenue is woefully short of forecast. Marketing and capital expenses (new factory, high R&D expense) were predicated on consumer-scale sales. The new product is burning a ton of cash</li> <li>Ignore/not understand adjacent niche markets that would have “pulled” the product out of their hands, if they had developed niche-specific demos and outreach</li> <li>Eventually pivot to the niche markets that are excited about the product</li> <li>The niche markets make great beachhead markets, but are too small to match the inflated forecasts and the built-in burn rates of consumer scale sales</li> <li>Either… <ul> <li>After multiple market pivots and changes in leadership, abandon the product</li> <li>Pivot and perserve</li> </ul> </li> </ol> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Déjà vu All Over Again<br /> </strong>I lived the equivalent of this when <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/07/kodaks-downfall-wasnt-about-technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kodak</a> (remember them?) launched a product in 1990 called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_CD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PhotoCD</a>. Kodak wanted consumers to put their <em>film</em> photos on their home CDROM drive and then display them on their televisions. You dropped off your film at a film processor and instead of just getting physical prints of your pictures they would scan the film, and burn them onto a Compact Disc. You’d go home with a Compact Disc with your pictures on it.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Photo-CD-disk.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30557" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/13/apple-vision-pro-tech-in-the-search-of-a-market/photo-cd-disk/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Photo-CD-disk.jpg?fit=400%2C300&ssl=1" data-orig-size="400,300" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Photo CD disk" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Photo-CD-disk.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Photo-CD-disk.jpg?fit=400%2C300&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-30557" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Photo-CD-disk.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Photo-CD-disk.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Photo-CD-disk.jpg?resize=150%2C113&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Photo-CD-disk.jpg?w=400&ssl=1 400w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>I got a preview of PhotoCD when I was the head of marketing at <a href="https://steveblank.com/category/supermac/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SuperMac</a>, a supplier of hardware and software for graphics professionals. The moment I saw the product I knew every one of my professional graphics customers (ad agencies, freelancers, photo studios, etc.) would want to use it. In fact, they would have paid a premium for it. I was floored when Kodak told me they were launching PhotoCD as a <em>consumer</em> product.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The problem was that in 1990 consumers did not have CDROM <em>drives</em> to display the pictures. At the time even most personal computers lacked them. But every graphics professional did own a CDROM drive but most didn’t own a high-resolution film scanner – and PhotoCD would have been perfect for them – and the perfect launch customer. To this day I remember being lectured by a senior Kodak executive, “Steve you don’t get it, we’re experts at selling to consumers. We’ll sell them the CDROM drives as well.” (The Kodak CDROM drives were the size of professional audio equipment and depending on the model, costing $600-$1000 in today’s dollars.)</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30558" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/13/apple-vision-pro-tech-in-the-search-of-a-market/photo-cd-player/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?fit=1248%2C493&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1248,493" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="photo cd player" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?fit=300%2C119&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?fit=468%2C185&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-30558" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?resize=468%2C185&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="185" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?resize=1024%2C405&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?resize=300%2C119&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?resize=150%2C59&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?resize=768%2C303&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?w=1248&ssl=1 1248w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/photo-cd-player.webp?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">(And when consumer CDROM drives became available they couldn’t play the PhotoCD disks as they were encoded in a proprietary Kodak standard to lock you into their drives!) The result was that PhotoCD failed miserably as a consumer product. Subsequent pivots to professional graphics users (a segment another part of Kodak knew well) came too late, as low cost scanners and non-proprietary standards (JPEG) prevailed.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">So what’s the lesson for Apple?</p> <ol> <li>Apple is trying to push Vision Pro into their <em>existing</em> consumer customers</li> <li>All the demos and existing applications are oriented to their consumer customers</li> <li>Apple did not create demos for how the Vision Pro could be used in <em>new markets </em>where users would jump on buying a Vision Pro. For example, <ol> <li>There is proof of demand (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@EverydayHomeRepairs/videos">here</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@MechanicSteve">here</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@1AAuto/videos">here</a>) of an adjacent mass market, helping millions of home owners repair things around the home</li> <li>There is proof of demand in industrial applications outside of the consumer space (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r1-IMMS73s">here</a>.) Every company that has complex machinery have been experimenting with AR for years. Imagine car repair with a Vision Pro AR tutorial. Or jet engine maintenance. Or the entire gamut of complex machinery.</li> </ol> </li> </ol> <p>All of these would have been great Vision Pro demos for training and repair. It’s hard to understand why Apple ignored these easy wins.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Getting it Right<br /> </strong>Apple’s entry into new markets by creating new product categories – iPods, iPads, iPhones – is unprecedented in the history of the modern corporation – $300 billion (75% of their revenue) is from non-computer hardware. In addition, they’ve created an entirely new $85+ billion subscription business model; the App Store, iTunes, Apple Care, Apple Pay, Apple Cash, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple TV.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">It’s hard to remember, but the first version of these products launched with serious limitations that follow-on versions remedied. The first version of the iPhone only ran Apple software, it was a closed system without an app store, had no copy and paste, couldn’t record video, etc. The original Apple Watch was positioned as a fashion accessory. It wasn’t until later that Apple realized that the killer apps for the Watch were fitness and health. Fixing the technical flaws while finding the right markets for all these products took time and commitment.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The same will likely be true for the Vision Pro. Apple marketers will realize that adjacent spaces they are less familiar with will provide the first “got to have it” beachhead markets. Newer versions will ride the technology wave of lighter, and cheaper versions.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has made a personal bet on the Vision Pro. More than any other company they have sufficient resources (cash on hand and engineering talent) to pivot their way to product/market fit in the real markets that need it.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s hoping they find it.</p> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1756574058&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"https://steveblank.com/2024/02/13/apple-vision-pro-tech-in-the-search-of-a-market/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"15";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30553";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:10;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:82:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition – 2023 Wrap Up";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:97:"https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:106:"https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 06 Feb 2024 14:00:02 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:4:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:2;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17:"National Security";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:3;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"Technology Innovation and Great Power Competition";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30431";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:365:"We just wrapped up the third year of our Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition class –part of Stanford’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. Joe Felter, Mike Brown and I teach the class to: Give our students an appreciation of the challenges and opportunities for the United States in its enduring strategic competition […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:42594:"<p style="font-weight: 400;">We just wrapped up the third year of our <a href="https://tigpc23.sites.stanford.edu/">Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition</a> class –part of Stanford’s <a href="https://gordianknot.stanford.edu/">Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/article/1306061/dr-joseph-h-felter/">Joe Felter</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelabrownceo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Brown</a> and I teach the class to:</p> <ul> <li>Give our students an appreciation of the challenges and opportunities for the United States in its enduring strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China, Russia and other rivals.</li> <li>Offer insights on how commercial technology (AI, autonomy, cyber, quantum, semiconductors, access to space, biotech, hypersonics, and others) are radically changing how we will compete across all the elements of national power e.g. diplomatic, informational, military, economic, financial, intelligence and law enforcement (our influence and footprint on the world stage).</li> <li>Expose students to experiential learning on policy questions. Students formed teams, got out of the classroom and talked to the stakeholders and developed policy recommendations.</li> </ul> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Why This Class?</strong><br /> The recognition that the United States is engaged in long-term strategic competition with the Peoples Republic of China and Russia became a centerpiece of the <a href="https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf">2017 National Security Strategy</a> and<a href="https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf"> 2018 National Defense Strategy</a>. The 2021<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NSC-1v2.pdf"> interim National Security Guidance</a> and the administration’s recently released <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Biden-Harris-Administrations-National-Security-Strategy-10.2022.pdf">2022 National Security Strategy</a> make clear that China has rapidly become more assertive and is the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system<strong>. </strong>And as we’ve seen in Ukraine, Russia remains determined to wage a brutal war to play a disruptive role on the world stage.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Prevailing in this competition will require more than merely acquiring the fruits of this technological revolution; it will require a paradigm shift in the thinking of how this technology can be rapidly integrated into new capabilities and platforms to drive new operational and organizational concepts and strategies that change and optimize the way we compete.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Class Organization<br /> </strong>The readings, lectures, and guest speakers explored how emerging <em>commercial </em>technologies pose challenges and create opportunities for the United States in its strategic competition with great power rivals with an emphasis on the People’s Republic of China. We focused on the challenges created when U.S. government agencies, our federal research labs, and government contractors no longer have exclusive access to these advanced technologies.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">This course included all that you would expect from a Stanford graduate-level class in the <a href="https://fsi.stanford.edu/masters-degree">Masters in International Policy</a> – comprehensive readings, guest lectures from current and former senior officials/experts, and written papers. What makes the class unique however, is that <em>this is an <u>experiential </u>policy class</em>. Students formed small teams and embarked on a quarter-long project that got them out of the classroom to:</p> <ul> <li>identify a priority national security challenge, and then …</li> <li>validate the problem and propose a detailed solution tested against actual stakeholders in the technology and national security ecosystem.</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The class was split into three parts.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Part 1, weeks 1 through 4 covered the international relations theories that attempt to explain the dynamics of interstate competition between powerful states, U.S. national security and national defense strategies and policies guiding our approach to Great Power Competition specifically focused on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In between parts 1 and 2 of the class, the students had a midterm individual project. It required them to write a 2,000-word policy memo describing how a U.S. competitor is using a specific technology to counter U.S. interests and a proposal for how the U.S. should respond.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Part 2, weeks 5 through 8, dove into the commercial technologies: semiconductors, space, cyber, AI and Machine Learning, High Performance Computing, and Biotech. Each week the students had to read 5-10 articles (see class readings <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mbNAg1YfbpgX7pM2cJOwMbf_gBB3UcyV/view?usp=sharing">here.)</a></u> And each week we had guest speakers on great power competition, and technology and its impact on national power and lectures/class discussion.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Guest Speakers<br /> </em>In addition to the teaching team, the course drew on the experience and expertise of guest lecturers from industry and from across U.S. Government agencies to provide context and perspective on <em>commercial </em>technologies and national security.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mattis-2023-TIGPC.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30491" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/mattis-2023-tigpc/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mattis-2023-TIGPC.jpg?fit=210%2C158&ssl=1" data-orig-size="210,158" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Mattis 2023 TIGPC" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mattis-2023-TIGPC.jpg?fit=210%2C158&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mattis-2023-TIGPC.jpg?fit=210%2C158&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30491" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mattis-2023-TIGPC.jpg?resize=177%2C133&ssl=1" alt="" width="177" height="133" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mattis-2023-TIGPC.jpg?w=210&ssl=1 210w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mattis-2023-TIGPC.jpg?resize=150%2C113&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 177px) 100vw, 177px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The students were privileged to hear from extraordinary guest speakers with significant experience and credibility on a range of topics related to the course objectives. Highlights of this year’s speakers include:</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">On National Security and American exceptionalism: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Mattis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">General Jim Mattis</a>, US Marine Corps (<em>Ret</em>.), former Secretary of Defense.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-3.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30487" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/2023-tigpc-guest-photos-3/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-3.jpg?fit=357%2C149&ssl=1" data-orig-size="357,149" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="2023 TIGPC guest photos 3" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-3.jpg?fit=300%2C125&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-3.jpg?fit=357%2C149&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-30487" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-3.jpg?resize=304%2C127&ssl=1" alt="" width="304" height="127" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-3.jpg?w=357&ssl=1 357w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-3.jpg?resize=300%2C125&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-3.jpg?resize=150%2C63&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">On China’s activities and efforts to compete with the U.S.: Matt Pottinger – former Deputy National Security Advisor, Elizabeth Economy – leading China scholar and former Dept of Commerce Senior Advisor for China, Tai Ming Cheung, – Author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Innovate-Dominate-Chinese-Techno-Security-State-ebook/dp/B09HW59LDC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Innovate to Dominate</a>: The Rise of the Chinese Techno-Security State.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-1.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30483" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/2023-tigpc-guest-photos-1/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-1.jpg?fit=468%2C146&ssl=1" data-orig-size="468,146" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="2023 TIGPC guest photos 1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-1.jpg?fit=300%2C94&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-1.jpg?fit=468%2C146&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-30483" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-1.jpg?resize=468%2C146&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="146" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-1.jpg?w=468&ssl=1 468w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-1.jpg?resize=300%2C94&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-1.jpg?resize=150%2C47&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>On U.S. – China Policy: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Gallagher_(American_politician)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Congressman Mike Gallagher</a>, Chair House Select Committe on China.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">On Innovation and National Security: Chris Brose – Author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Chain-Defending-America-High-Tech/dp/031653367X/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Kill Chain</a>, Doug Beck – Director of the <a href="https://www.diu.mil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defense Innovation Unit</a>, Anja Manuel – Executive Director of the <a href="https://www.aspensecurityforum.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aspen Strategy and Security Forum</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">For Biotech: Ben Kirukup – senior biologist US Navy, Ed You – FBI Special Agent Biological Countermeasures Unit, Deborah Rosenblum – Asst Sec of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs, Joe DeSimone – Professor Chemical Engineering.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-4.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30488" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/2023-tigpc-guest-photos-4/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-4.jpg?fit=468%2C150&ssl=1" data-orig-size="468,150" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="2023 TIGPC guest photos 4" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-4.jpg?fit=300%2C96&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-4.jpg?fit=468%2C150&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-30488" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-4.jpg?resize=418%2C134&ssl=1" alt="" width="418" height="134" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-4.jpg?w=468&ssl=1 468w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-4.jpg?resize=300%2C96&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-4.jpg?resize=150%2C48&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">For AI: Jared Dunnmon – Technical Director for AI at the Defense Innovation Unit, Lt. Gen. (Ret) Jack Shanahan – Director, Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, Anshu Roy- CEO Rhombus AI</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-2.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30485" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/2023-tigpc-guest-photos-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-2.jpg?fit=458%2C109&ssl=1" data-orig-size="458,109" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="2023 TIGPC guest photos 2" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-2.jpg?fit=300%2C71&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-2.jpg?fit=458%2C109&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-30485" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-2.jpg?resize=458%2C109&ssl=1" alt="" width="458" height="109" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-2.jpg?w=458&ssl=1 458w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-2.jpg?resize=300%2C71&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2023-TIGPC-guest-photos-2.jpg?resize=150%2C36&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 458px) 100vw, 458px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>For Cyber: Anne Neuberger – deputy national security advisor for cyber</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">For Semiconductors: Larry Diamond – Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Significantly, the students were able to hear the Chinese perspective on U.S. – China competition from <a href="https://en.igcu.pku.edu.cn/info/1021/1028.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Jia Qingguo</a> – Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of China.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The class closed with a stirring talk and call to action by former National Security Advisor LTG ret <a href="https://www.hoover.org/profiles/h-r-mcmaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">H.R. McMaster</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In the weeks in-between we had teaching team lectures followed by speakers that led discussions on the critical commercial technologies.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Team-based Experiential Project</em><br /> The third part of the class was unique – a quarter-long, team-based project. Students formed teams of 4-6 and selected a national security challenge facing an organization or agency within the U.S. Government. They developed hypotheses of how commercial technologies can be used in new and creative ways to help the U.S. wield its instruments of national power. And consistent with all our <a href="https://gordianknot.stanford.edu/">Gordian Knot Center</a> classes, <em>they got out of the classroom. </em>and interviewed 20+ beneficiaries, policy makers, and other key stakeholders testing their hypotheses and proposed solutions.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Hacking For Policy – Final Presentations</em>:<br /> At the end of the quarter, each student teams’ policy recommendations were summarized in a 10-minute presentation. The presentation was the story of the team’s learning journey, describing where they started, where they ended, and the key inflection points in their understanding of the problem. (A written 3000 word report followed focusing on their recommendations for addressing their chosen security challenge and describing how their solutions can be implemented with speed and urgency.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">By the end of the class all the teams realized that the policy problem they had selected had morphed into something bigger, deeper, and much more interesting.</p> <p>Their policy presentations are below.</p> <p>The class is as exhausting to teach as it to take. We have an awesome set of teaching assistants.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team 1: Precision Match (AI for DoD Operations)</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uN2vrjNOJZJgBelNAlcygSP2OOCwrMK5/view?usp=share_link"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30500" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/precision-match-redacted-cover/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?fit=1421%2C789&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1421,789" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Precision Match redacted cover" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?fit=300%2C167&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?fit=468%2C260&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-30500 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?resize=300%2C167&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="167" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?resize=300%2C167&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?resize=1024%2C569&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?resize=150%2C83&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?resize=768%2C426&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?w=1421&ssl=1 1421w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Precision-Match-redacted-cover.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p>Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uN2vrjNOJZJgBelNAlcygSP2OOCwrMK5/view?usp=share_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to see the presentation.</p> <p>What makes teaching worthwhile is the feedback we get from our students<span style="font-weight: 400;">:</span></p> <blockquote> <p style="font-weight: 400;">TIGPC has been the best class I’ve taken at Stanford and has caused me to do some reflection in what I want to do after my time at Stanford. I’m only a sophomore but doing such a deep dive into energy and (as Steve says) getting out of the building, I’m starting to seriously consider a career in clean energy security post graduation.</p> </blockquote> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team 2: Outbound Investment to China</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_DRgR2942-OhMTtehxGzF3PN9ZMl-GoV/view?usp=share_link"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30450" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/3-regulating-outbound-investment-to-china-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3-Regulating-Outbound-Investment-to-China-1.jpg?fit=720%2C405&ssl=1" data-orig-size="720,405" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="3 – Regulating Outbound Investment to China" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3-Regulating-Outbound-Investment-to-China-1.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3-Regulating-Outbound-Investment-to-China-1.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-30450 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3-Regulating-Outbound-Investment-to-China-1.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3-Regulating-Outbound-Investment-to-China-1.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3-Regulating-Outbound-Investment-to-China-1.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3-Regulating-Outbound-Investment-to-China-1.jpg?w=720&ssl=1 720w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_DRgR2942-OhMTtehxGzF3PN9ZMl-GoV/view?usp=share_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to see the presentation.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team 3: Open-Source AI</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/19iZvQArKQSf4uWv6VFc_xInpLUreClihqCIATxwNKqk/edit#heading=h.ho4uwsy7v9j9"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30437" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/1-weaponizing-open-source-ai/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?fit=2666%2C1500&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2666,1500" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="1 – Weaponizing Open Source AI" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-30437" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?resize=2048%2C1152&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1-Weaponizing-Open-Source-AI.jpeg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p>Click <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/19iZvQArKQSf4uWv6VFc_xInpLUreClihqCIATxwNKqk/edit#heading=h.ho4uwsy7v9j9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to see a summary of the presentation.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team 4: AlphaChem</strong></h3> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rQ0Xir-fZEyweeXFeydj1SL0VVYscTTG/view?usp=share_link"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30449" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/8-empowering-ukraine/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?fit=1370%2C753&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1370,753" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="8 – Empowering Ukraine" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?fit=300%2C165&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?fit=468%2C257&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-30449" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?resize=300%2C165&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="165" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?resize=300%2C165&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?resize=1024%2C563&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?resize=150%2C82&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?resize=768%2C422&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?w=1370&ssl=1 1370w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/8-Empowering-Ukraine.jpeg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rQ0Xir-fZEyweeXFeydj1SL0VVYscTTG/view?usp=share_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to see the presentation.</p> <blockquote> <p style="font-weight: 400;">One of my takeaways from the class is that you can be the smartest person in the room, but you will never have as much knowledge as everyone else combined so go talk to people, it will make you far smarter</p> </blockquote> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team 5: South China Sea</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12hUfLhl9u8eLO1LjMJTF9JlFNjufWUqM/view?usp=share_link"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30448" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/7-public-private-partnerships/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/7-Public-Private-Partnerships.jpg?fit=703%2C357&ssl=1" data-orig-size="703,357" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="7 – Public Private Partnerships" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/7-Public-Private-Partnerships.jpg?fit=300%2C152&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/7-Public-Private-Partnerships.jpg?fit=468%2C238&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-30448 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/7-Public-Private-Partnerships.jpg?resize=300%2C152&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="152" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/7-Public-Private-Partnerships.jpg?resize=300%2C152&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/7-Public-Private-Partnerships.jpg?resize=150%2C76&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/7-Public-Private-Partnerships.jpg?w=703&ssl=1 703w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p>Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12hUfLhl9u8eLO1LjMJTF9JlFNjufWUqM/view?usp=share_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to see the presentation.</p> <blockquote><p>Awesome class! … incredible in bringing prestigious guest speakers into the class and having engaging discussions. My background was not in national security and this class really offered an important perspective on the opportunities for technology innovation to impact and help with national security.</p></blockquote> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team 6: Chinese Real Estate Investment in the U.S.</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iF5xFL9R14ZUCll5g9cc7TzjL3CiDmG5/view?usp=share_link"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30502" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/team-6-redacted-cover/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Team-6-redacted-cover.jpg?fit=714%2C403&ssl=1" data-orig-size="714,403" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Team 6 redacted cover" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Team-6-redacted-cover.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Team-6-redacted-cover.jpg?fit=468%2C264&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-30502 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Team-6-redacted-cover.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Team-6-redacted-cover.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Team-6-redacted-cover.jpg?resize=150%2C85&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Team-6-redacted-cover.jpg?w=714&ssl=1 714w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iF5xFL9R14ZUCll5g9cc7TzjL3CiDmG5/view?usp=share_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to see the presentation.</p> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team 7: Public Private Partnerships</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g2aZXBvHsV7oSOzuhKz1Zoz2-iz3XvL2/view?usp=share_link"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30504" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/cover-public-private-partnerships-redacted/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Public-Private-Partnerships-redacted.jpg?fit=715%2C402&ssl=1" data-orig-size="715,402" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="cover Public Private Partnerships redacted" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Public-Private-Partnerships-redacted.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Public-Private-Partnerships-redacted.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-30504 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Public-Private-Partnerships-redacted.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Public-Private-Partnerships-redacted.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Public-Private-Partnerships-redacted.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Public-Private-Partnerships-redacted.jpg?w=715&ssl=1 715w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p>Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g2aZXBvHsV7oSOzuhKz1Zoz2-iz3XvL2/view?usp=share_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to see the presentation.</p> <blockquote><p>Just wanted to let you know that, as a Senior, this is one of the best classes I’ve taken across my 4 years at Stanford.</p></blockquote> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Team 8: Ukraine Aid</strong></h3> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/140NN9h0W9NmuRG4s-ZRnsKsDRDZbfhky/view?usp=sharing"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30506" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/cover-empowering-ukraine/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?fit=1440%2C810&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1440,810" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="cover – Empowering Ukraine" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-30506 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?w=1440&ssl=1 1440w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cover-Empowering-Ukraine.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></h3> <p>Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/140NN9h0W9NmuRG4s-ZRnsKsDRDZbfhky/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to see the presentation.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Lessons Learned</strong></p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>We combined lecture and experiential learning so our students can act on problems not just admire them <ul> <li>The external input the students received was a force multiplier</li> <li>It made the lecture material real, tangible and actionable</li> <li>Lean problem solving methods can be effectively employed to address pressing national security and policy challenges</li> <li>This course was akin to a “Hacking for Policy class” and can be tweaked and replicated going forward.</li> </ul> </li> <li>The class created opportunities for our best and brightest to engage and address challenges at the nexus of technology, innovation and national security <ul> <li>When students are provided such opportunities they aggressively seize them with impressive results</li> <li>The final presentations and papers from the class are proof that will happen</li> </ul> </li> <li>Pushing students past what they think is reasonable results in extraordinary output. Most rise way above the occasion</li> </ul> </blockquote> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1742202996&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:102:"https://steveblank.com/2024/02/06/technology-innovation-and-great-power-competition-2023-wrap-up/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"2";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30431";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:11;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:89:"The Department of Defense Is Getting Its Innovation Act Together – But More Can Be Done";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:99:"https://steveblank.com/2024/01/15/the-department-of-defense-is-getting-its-innovation-act-together/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:108:"https://steveblank.com/2024/01/15/the-department-of-defense-is-getting-its-innovation-act-together/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 15 Jan 2024 14:00:54 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17:"National Security";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30379";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:371:"This post previously appeared in Defense News and C4SIR. Despite the clear and present danger of threats from China and elsewhere, there’s no agreement on what types of adversaries we’ll face; how we’ll fight, organize, and train; and what weapons or systems we’ll need for future fights. Instead, developing a new doctrine to deal with these […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17555:"<p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30410" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/01/15/the-department-of-defense-is-getting-its-innovation-act-together/defense-news-logo-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?fit=1823%2C284&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1823,284" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="defense news logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?fit=300%2C47&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?fit=468%2C73&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-30410" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?resize=150%2C23&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="23" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?resize=150%2C23&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?resize=300%2C47&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?resize=1024%2C160&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?resize=768%2C120&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?resize=1536%2C239&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?w=1823&ssl=1 1823w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/defense-news-logo.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><a href="https://www.c4isrnet.com/opinion/2024/01/05/the-dod-is-getting-its-innovation-act-together-but-more-can-be-done/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30462" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/01/15/the-department-of-defense-is-getting-its-innovation-act-together/c4isrnet-logo-white-png-copy/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/c4isrnet-logo-white.png-copy.jpg?fit=952%2C151&ssl=1" data-orig-size="952,151" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="c4isrnet-logo-white.png copy" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/c4isrnet-logo-white.png-copy.jpg?fit=300%2C48&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/c4isrnet-logo-white.png-copy.jpg?fit=468%2C74&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft wp-image-30462 size-thumbnail" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/c4isrnet-logo-white.png-copy.jpg?resize=150%2C24&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="24" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/c4isrnet-logo-white.png-copy.jpg?resize=150%2C24&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/c4isrnet-logo-white.png-copy.jpg?resize=300%2C48&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/c4isrnet-logo-white.png-copy.jpg?resize=768%2C122&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/c4isrnet-logo-white.png-copy.jpg?w=952&ssl=1 952w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>This post previously appeared <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/2024/01/05/the-dod-is-getting-its-innovation-act-together-but-more-can-be-done/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in Defense News </a> and <a href="https://www.c4isrnet.com/opinion/2024/01/05/the-dod-is-getting-its-innovation-act-together-but-more-can-be-done/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">C4SIR</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the clear and present danger of threats from China and elsewhere, there’s no agreement on what types of adversaries we’ll face; how we’ll fight, organize, and train; and what weapons or systems we’ll need for future fights. Instead, developing a new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_doctrine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doctrine</a> to deal with these new issues is fraught with disagreements, differing objectives, and incumbents who defend the status quo. Yet change in military doctrine is coming. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks is navigating the tightrope of competing interests to make it happen – hopefully in time.</p> <div id="attachment_30427" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30427" data-attachment-id="30427" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2024/01/15/the-department-of-defense-is-getting-its-innovation-act-together/diu-beck/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1024,682" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="DIU Beck" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>From left, Skydio CEO Adam Bry demonstrates the company’s autonomous systems technology for Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Doug Beck, director of the Defense Innovation Unit, during a visit to the company’s facility in San Mateo, Calif. (Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza/U.S. Navy)</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?fit=468%2C312&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-full wp-image-30427" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?resize=468%2C312&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="312" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?w=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?resize=150%2C100&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DIU-Beck.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-30427" class="wp-caption-text">From left, Skydio CEO Adam Bry demonstrates the company’s autonomous systems technology for Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and Doug Beck, director of the Defense Innovation Unit, during a visit to the company’s facility in San Mateo, Calif. (Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza/U.S. Navy)</p></div> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">There are several theories of how innovation in military doctrine and new operational concepts occur. Some argue new doctrine emerges when <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Victory-Potomac-Goldwater-Nichols-Williams-Ford-University/dp/1585443980" target="_blank" rel="noopener">civilians intervene</a> to assist military “mavericks,” e.g., the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwater%E2%80%93Nichols_Act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Goldwater-Nichols Act</a>. Or a military service can <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2538898" target="_blank" rel="noopener">generate innovation internally</a> when senior military officers recognize the doctrinal and operational implications of new capabilities, e.g., Rickover and the Nuclear Navy.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">But today, innovation in doctrine and concepts is driven by four major <em>external </em>upheavals that simultaneously threaten our military and economic advantage:</p> <ol> <li>China delivering multiple asymmetric offset strategies.</li> <li>China fielding naval, space and air assets in unprecedented numbers.</li> <li>The proven value of a massive number of attritable uncrewed systems on the Ukrainian battlefield.</li> <li>Rapid technological change in artificial intelligence, autonomy, cyber, space, biotechnology, semiconductors, hypersonics, etc, with many driven by commercial companies in the U.S. and China.</li> </ol> <p><strong>The Need for Change<br /> </strong>The U.S. Department of Defense traditional sources of innovation (<a href="https://people.defensenews.com/top-100/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">primes</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federally_funded_research_and_development_centers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FFRDCs</a>, <a href="https://nps.edu/web/slamr/-/dod-labs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">service labs</a>) are no longer sufficient by themselves to keep pace.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The speed, depth and breadth of these disruptive changes happen faster than the responsiveness and agility of our current acquisition systems and defense-industrial base. However, in the decade since these external threats emerged, the DoD’s <a href="https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/status.pdf?ver=FxBiEj22AmEOkmorJzsDHg%3D%3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doctrine</a>, organization, culture, process, and tolerance for risk mostly operated as though nothing substantial needed to change.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The result is that the DoD has world-class people and organizations for a world that no longer exists.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">It isn’t that the DoD doesn’t know how to innovate on the battlefield. In Iraq and Afghanistan innovative crisis-driven organizations appeared, such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Improvised-Threat_Defeat_Organization" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency</a> and the Army’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_Equipping_Force" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rapid Equipping Force</a>. And armed services have bypassed their own bureaucracy by creating rapid capabilities offices. Even today, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_Security_Assistance_Initiative" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Security Assistance Group-Ukraine</a> rapidly delivers weapons.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Unfortunately, these efforts are siloed and ephemeral, disappearing when the immediate crisis is over. They rarely make permanent change at the DoD.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Bu in the past year several signs of meaningful change show that the DoD is serious about changing how it operates and radically overhauling its doctrine, concepts, and weapons.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">First, the <a href="https://www.diu.mil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defense Innovation Unit</a> was elevated to report to the of defense secretary. Previously hobbled with a $35 million budget and buried inside the research and engineering organization, its budget and reporting structure were signs of how little the DoD viewed the importance of commercial innovation.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Now, with DIU rescued from obscurity, its new director <a href="https://www.diu.mil/team/doug-beck" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Doug Beck</a> chairs the Deputy’s Innovation Steering Group, which oversees defense efforts to rapidly field high-tech capabilities to address urgent operational problems. DIU also put staff in the Navy and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to discover actual urgent needs.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, the House Appropriations Committee signaled the importance of DIU with a proposed a fiscal 2024 budget of $1 billion to fund these efforts. And the Navy has signaled, through the creation of the <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2023/09/navy-stands-up-disruptive-capabilities-office/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disruptive Capabilities Office</a>, that it intends to fully participate with DIU.</p> <p>In addition, Deputy Defense Secretary Hicks unveiled <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2023/12/19/replicator-an-inside-look-at-the-pentagons-ambitious-drone-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Replicator initiative</a>, meant to deploy thousands of attritable autonomous systems (i.e. drones – in the air, water and undersea) <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2023/08/28/pentagon-unveils-replicator-drone-program-to-compete-with-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">within the next 18 to 24 months</a>. The initiative is the first test of the Deputy’s Innovation Steering Group’s ability to deliver autonomous systems to warfighters at speed and scale while breaking down organizational barriers. DIU will work with new companies to address <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-access/area_denial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-access/area denial problems</a>.</p> <p>Replicator is a harbinger of fundamental DoD doctrinal changes as well as a solid signal to the defense-industrial base that the DoD is serious about procuring components faster, cheaper and with a shorter shelf life.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, at the recent <a href="https://www.reaganfoundation.org/media/361808/2023_rndf_agenda_final.pdf">Reagan National Defense Forum, </a>the world felt like it turned upside down. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin talked about DIU in his keynote address and came to Reagan immediately following a visit to its headquarters in Silicon Valley, where he met with innovative companies. On many panels, high-ranking officers and senior defense officials used the words “disruption,” “innovation,” “speed” and “urgency” so many times, signaling they really meant it and wanted it.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In the audience were a plethora of venture and private capital fund leaders looking for ways to build companies that would deliver innovative capabilities with speed.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Conspicuously, unlike in previous years, sponsor banners at the conference were not the incumbent prime contractors but rather insurgents – new potential primes like Palantir and Anduril. The DoD has woken up. It has realized new and escalating threats require rapid change, or we may not prevail in the next conflict.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Change is hard, especially in military doctrine. (<a href="https://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/142/Docs/CMC38%20Force%20Design%202030%20Report%20Phase%20I%20and%20II.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ask the Marines</a>.) Incumbent suppliers don’t go quietly into the night, and new suppliers almost always underestimate the difficulty and complexity of a task. Existing organizations defend their budget, headcount, and authority. Organization saboteurs resist change. But adversaries don’t wait for our decades-out plans.</p> <p><strong>But More Can Be Done</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Congress and the military services can support change by fully funding the Replicator initiative and the Defense Innovation Unit.</li> <li>The services have no procurement budget for Replicator, and they’ll have to shift existing funds to unmanned and AI programs.</li> <li>The DoD should turn its new innovation process into actual, substantive orders for new companies.</li> <li>And other combatant commands should follow what INDOPACOM is doing.</li> <li>In addition, defense primes should more often aggressively partner with startups.</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Change is in the air. Deputy Defense Secretary Hicks is building a coalition of the willing to get it done.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s to hoping it happens in time.</p> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1719697821&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:104:"https://steveblank.com/2024/01/15/the-department-of-defense-is-getting-its-innovation-act-together/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"1";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30379";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:12;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:71:"The Secret History of Minnesota Part 1: Engineering Research Associates";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:105:"https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:113:"https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/#respond";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 11 Dec 2023 14:00:02 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"Secret History of Silicon Valley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30190";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:388:"This post is the latest in the “Secret History Series.” They’ll make much more sense if you watch the video or read some of the earlier posts for context. See the Secret History bibliography for sources and supplemental reading. Silicon Valley emerged from work in World War II led by Stanford professor Fred Terman developing microwave and electronics for Electronic […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:60847:"<p>This post is the latest in the “<a href="http://steveblank.com/category/secret-history-of-silicon-valley/">Secret History Series</a>.” They’ll make much more sense if you watch the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTC_RxWN_xo">video</a> or read some of the <a href="https://steveblank.com/secret-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><u>earlier posts</u></a> for context. See the <a href="http://steveblank.com/secret-history/">Secret History bibliography</a> for sources and supplemental reading.</p> <hr /> <div id="attachment_2394" style="width: 196px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/hp-letter.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2394" data-attachment-id="2394" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2009/06/22/2392/hp-letter/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/hp-letter.jpg?fit=2012%2C2210&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2012,2210" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"5.6","credit":"","camera":"Canon EOS 40D","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1245094324","copyright":"","focal_length":"56","iso":"400","shutter_speed":"0.016666666666667","title":""}" data-image-title="HP Letter" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/hp-letter.jpg?fit=273%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/hp-letter.jpg?fit=468%2C514&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-2394" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/hp-letter.jpg?resize=186%2C204&ssl=1" alt="" width="186" height="204" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2394" class="wp-caption-text">No Knowledge of Computers</p></div> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Silicon Valley emerged from work in World War II led by Stanford professor Fred Terman developing microwave and electronics for Electronic Warfare systems. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, spurred on by Terman, Silicon Valley was selling microwave components and systems to the Defense Department, and the first fledging chip companies (Shockley, Fairchild, National, Rheem, Signetics…) were in their infancy. <em>But there were no computer companies</em>. Silicon Valley wouldn’t have a computer company until 1966 when Hewlett Packard shipped the <a href="https://computerhistory.org/blog/50th-anniversary-of-the-hp-2116-minicomputer/">HP 2116 minicomputer</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile the biggest and fastest <em>scientific</em> computer companies were in Minnesota. And by 1966 they had been delivering computers for 16 years.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Minneapolis/St. Paul area companies ERA, Control Data and Cray would dominate the world of scientific computing and be an innovation cluster for computing until the mid-1980s. And then they were gone.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Why?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Just as Silicon Valley’s roots can be traced to innovation in World War II so can Minneapolis/St. Paul’s. The story starts with a company you probably never heard of – Engineering Research Associates.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>It Started With Code Breaking<br /> </strong>For thousands of years, every nation has tried to keep its diplomatic and military communications secret. They do that by <a href="https://cloud.google.com/learn/what-is-encryption" target="_blank" rel="noopener">encrypting</a> (protecting the information by using a cipher/code) to scramble the messages. Other nations try to read those messages by attempting to break those codes.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">During the 1930s the U.S. Army and Navy each had their own small code breaking groups. The Navy’s was called CSAW (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OP-20-G" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Communications Supplemental Activity Washington</a>) also known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OP-20-G">OPS-20-G</a>. The Army codebreaking group was the <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/History/Cryptologic-History/Historical-Events/Article-View/Article/2740643/signal-intelligence-service/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Signal Intelligence Service</a> (SIS) at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_Hall">Arlington Hall</a><u>.</u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The Army focused on decrypting (breaking/decoding) Japan’s diplomatic and Army codes while the Navy worked on breaking Japan’s Naval codes. This was not a harmonious arrangement. The competition between the Army and Navy code breaking groups was so contentious <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jun/29/2002751422/-1/-1/0/ORIGINS_OF_NSA.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that in 1940 they agreed</a> that the Army would decode and translate Japanese diplomatic code on the even days of the month and the Navy would decode and translate the messages on the odd days of the month. This arrangement lasted until Dec. 7, 1941.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">At the start of WWII the Army and Navy code breaking groups each had few hundred people mainly focused on breaking Japanese codes. By the end of WWII, with the U.S. now fighting Germany, and the Soviet Union looming as a potential adversary U.S. code breaking would grow to 20,000 people working on breaking the codes of Germany, Japan and the Soviet Union.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The two groups would merge in 1949 as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency#:~:text=History-,Formation,known%20as%20the%20Cipher%20Bureau." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Armed Forces Security Agency and then become the National Security Agency</a> (NSA) in 1952.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>The Rise of the Machines in Cryptography<br /> </strong>Prior to 1932 practically all code breaking by the Army and Navy was done by hand. That year they began using commercial <em>mechanical </em>accounting equipment – the IBM <a href="https://pattonhq.com/ibm.html">keypunch</a>, <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/sorters.html">card sorters</a>, reproducers and <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/tabulator.html">tabulators</a>. The Army and Navy each had their own approach to automating cryptography. The Navy had a Rapid Analytical Machines project with hopes to build machines to integrate optics, microfilm and electronics into cryptanalytic tools. (<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zpjpvxpJzMMp2BTsxx2PObH7IJopoq-u/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vannevar Bush at MIT was trying to build one for the Navy</a>.) As WWII loomed, the advanced Rapid Machines projects were put on hold, and the Army and Navy used hundreds of specially modified <em>commercial </em>IBM electromechanical systems to decrypt codes.</p> <div> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Read the sidebars for more detailed information</em></p> <blockquote> <div> <div> <h3><b>Electromechanical Cryptologic Systems in WWII</b></h3> </div> </div> <p style="font-weight: 400;">By the spring 1941, the Army built the first special-purpose cryptologic attachment to the IBM punched card equipment – the <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/02/2002755855/-1/-1/0/FAMOUS-FIRST-FACTS.PDF">GeeWhizzer</a> using relays and rotary switches to help break the <a href="http://chris-intel-corner.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-japanese-j-19-fuji-code_1.html">Japanese diplomatic code</a>s. That same year, the Navy received the first in a series of <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/02/2002755855/-1/-1/0/FAMOUS-FIRST-FACTS.PDF">13 electro-mechanical IBM Navy Change Machines</a> to automate decrypting cipher systems used by the Japanese Navy. The Navy attachments were extensive modifications of IBM’s standard <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/sorters.html">card sorters</a>, reproducers and <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/tabulator.html">tabulators</a>. Some could be manually reconfigured via <a href="https://www.glennsmuseum.com/items/ibm_card/">plugboards</a> to do different tasks.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">During the war the Army and Navy built ~75 of these electro-mechanical and optical systems. Some were standalone units the size of a room.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">However, the bulk of the cryptoanalysis was done with IBM punch cards, sorters and tabulators, along with special <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781119061601.app3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">microfilm comparators from Eastman Kodak</a>. By the end of the War the Army and Navy had <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/friedman-documents/reports-research/FOLDER_154/41745979078521.pdf">750 IBM machines</a> using several million punch cards every day.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">IBM’s other mechanical contribution to cryptanalysts was the <a href="https://www.cryptomuseum.com/cam/cxco/index.htm">Letterwriter</a>, (codenamed CXCO) a desktop machine that tied together electric typewriters to teletype, automatic tape and card punches, microfilm and eventually to film-processing machines.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IBM-Letterwritter.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30197" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/ibm-letterwritter/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IBM-Letterwritter.jpg?fit=719%2C361&ssl=1" data-orig-size="719,361" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IBM Letterwritter" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IBM-Letterwritter.jpg?fit=300%2C151&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IBM-Letterwritter.jpg?fit=468%2C235&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-30197 alignright" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IBM-Letterwritter.jpg?resize=229%2C115&ssl=1" alt="" width="229" height="115" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IBM-Letterwritter.jpg?w=719&ssl=1 719w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IBM-Letterwritter.jpg?resize=300%2C151&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IBM-Letterwritter.jpg?resize=150%2C75&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a> By adding plug-boards they could automate some analysis steps. Hundreds of these were bought.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The Navy’s most advanced cryptographic machine work in WWII was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Naval_Computing_Machine_Laboratory">building 125 U.S. versions</a> of the British code breaking machine called the <a href="https://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/bombe/">BOMBE</a>. These electromechanical <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombe">BOMBES</a> were used to crack the ENIGMA, the cipher machine used by the Germans.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NCR-Bombe.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30198" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/ncr-bombe/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NCR-Bombe.jpg?fit=681%2C536&ssl=1" data-orig-size="681,536" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="NCR Bombe" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NCR-Bombe.jpg?fit=300%2C236&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NCR-Bombe.jpg?fit=468%2C368&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-30198 alignright" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NCR-Bombe.jpg?resize=242%2C191&ssl=1" alt="" width="242" height="191" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NCR-Bombe.jpg?w=681&ssl=1 681w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NCR-Bombe.jpg?resize=300%2C236&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NCR-Bombe.jpg?resize=150%2C118&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 242px) 100vw, 242px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Designed by the Navy’s OPS-20-G team and <a href="http://www.jproc.ca/crypto/bombe_us.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">built at National Cash Register</a> (NCR) in Dayton, <a href="https://daytoncodebreakers.org/depth/wenger/">this same Computing Machine Lab would build ~25 other types of electromechanical and optical machines</a>, some the size of a room with <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/150065">3,500 tubes</a>, to assist in breaking Japanese and German codes. By the end of the war the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Naval_Computing_Machine_Laboratory">Naval Computing Machine Lab</a> was arguably building the most sophisticated electronic machines in the U.S. However, none of these machines were computers. They had no memory, and both were “‘hard-wired” to perform just one task.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">(Meanwhile in England the British code breaking group in <a href="https://bletchleypark.org.uk/our-story/75-years-since-colossus-arrived-at-bletchley/">Bletchley Park</a> built <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_computer">Colossus</a>, arguably the first digital computer. At the end of the War the British offered the Navy OPS-20-G code breaking group a Colossus but the Navy turned it down.)</p> </blockquote> </div> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Dual-Use Technology<br /> </strong>As the war was winding down, the leadership of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Naval_Computing_Machine_Laboratory">Navy Computing Machine Lab</a> in OPS-20-G was thinking about how they could permanently link commercial, academic and military computing science and innovation to the Navy. After discovering that no commercial company was willing to continue their wartime work of building the specialized hardware for codebreaking, the Navy realized they needed a new company. The decided that the best way to do that was to encourage a private for-profit company to spin out and build advanced crypto-computing systems.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The Secretary of the Navy gave his OK and three officers in the Navy’s code breaking group (Commander Howard Engstrom, who had been a math professor at Yale; Lieutenant Commander William “Bill” Norris, an electrical engineer; and their contracting officer Captain Ralph Meader,) agreed to start a civilian company to continue building specialized systems to help break codes. While unique for the time, this public-private partnership was in-line with the wartime experiment of Vannevar Bush’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Scientific_Research_and_Development">OSRD</a> – using civilians in universities to develop military weapons.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Why Minneapolis/St. Paul?<br /> </strong>While it seemed like a good idea and had the Navy’s backing, the founders got turned down for funding by companies, investment bankers and everyone, until they talked to John Parker.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Serendipity came to Minneapolis-St. Paul when the Navy team met <a href="https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/107593/oh099jep.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Parker</a>. Parker was a ex Naval Academy graduate and a Minneapolis businessman who owned a glider manufacturing company and was well connected in Washington. Parker agreed to invest. In January 1946, they founded Engineering Research Associates (ERA). Parker became President, and got 50% of the company’s equity for a $20,000 investment (equal to $315K today) and guaranteed a $200,000 line of credit (equal to $3M today). The professional staff owned the other 50%. The new company moved into Parker’s glider hanger. Norris became the VP of Engineering, Engstrom the VP of Research, and Meader VP of Manufacturing.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The company hit the ground running. 41 of the best and brightest ex-Navy technical team members of the Naval Computing Machine Lab in Dayton moved and became the initial technical staff of ERA. When the Navy added their own staff from the Dayton Laboratory the ERA facility was designated a Naval Reserve Base and armed guards were posted at the entrance. The company took on any engineering work that came their way but were kept in business developing new code-breaking machines for the Navy. Most of the machines were custom-built to crack a specific code, and increasingly used a new ERA invention – the magnetic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_memory">drum memory</a> to process and analyze the coded texts.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">ERA’s headcount grew rapidly. Within a year the company had 145 people. A year later, 420. And by 1949, 652 employees and by 1955, <a href="https://www.vipclubmn.org/Articles/1971Paper.pdf">1400</a>. Sales in their first fiscal year were $1.5 million ($22 million in today’s dollars).</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">During World War II the demands of war industries caused millions more Americans to move to where most defense plants located. Post-war era Americans were equally mobile, willing to move where the opportunities were. And if you were an engineer who wanted to work on the cutting edge of electronics, and electromechanical systems, ERA in Minneapolis-St. Paul was the place to be. (Applicants were told that ERA was doing electronics work for government and industry. Those who wanted more detail were given a number of cover stories. Many were told that ERA was working on airline seat reservation systems.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>How Did ERA Grow So Quickly?<br /> </strong>The Navy thought of ERA as its “captive corporation.” From the first day <a href="https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/107551/oh116wcn.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">ERA started with contracts from the Navy</a> OPS-20-G codebreaking group. ERA built the most advanced electronic systems of the time. Unfortunately for the company they couldn’t tell anyone as their customer was the most secret government agency in the country – the National Security Agency.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">ERAs systems were designed to solve problems defined by their Navy code-breaking customer. They fell into two categories: some projects were designed to automate existing workflows of decoding known ciphers; others were used to discover breaks into new ciphers. And with the start of the Cold War, that meant Soviet cryptosystems. ERAs cryptanalytic devices were most often designed to break only one particular foreign cipher machine (which kept a stream of new contracts coming.) The specific purpose and target of each of these systems with colorful codenames are still classified.</p> <blockquote> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-help-wanted-ad-2-photo.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30228" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/era-help-wanted-ad-2-photo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-help-wanted-ad-2-photo.jpg?fit=384%2C392&ssl=1" data-orig-size="384,392" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ERA help wanted ad 2 photo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-help-wanted-ad-2-photo.jpg?fit=294%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-help-wanted-ad-2-photo.jpg?fit=384%2C392&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30228" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-help-wanted-ad-2-photo.jpg?resize=156%2C159&ssl=1" alt="" width="156" height="159" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-help-wanted-ad-2-photo.jpg?w=384&ssl=1 384w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-help-wanted-ad-2-photo.jpg?resize=294%2C300&ssl=1 294w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-help-wanted-ad-2-photo.jpg?resize=147%2C150&ssl=1 147w" sizes="(max-width: 156px) 100vw, 156px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><strong>What Did ERA Build For the National Security Agency (NSA)?</strong></h3> <p style="font-weight: 400;">By the end of ERA’s first year, ERA had contracts for a digital device called Alcatraz which used thousands of vacuum tubes and relays. A contract for a system named O’Malley followed. Then two “exhaustive trial” systems called <a href="https://www.cryptomuseum.com/cam/hecate/index.htm">Hecate</a> for $250,000 ($3.2 million in today’s dollars) and the follow-on system, <a href="https://www.cryptomuseum.com/cam/warlock/index.htm">Warlock </a>($500,000 – $6.4 million today.) Warlock was so large that it was kept at the ERA factory and operated as a remote operations center.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Next were the <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/friedman-documents/reports-research/FOLDER_107/41743419078275.pdf">Robin machines, a photoelectric comparator</a>, used to attack the Soviet Albatross code. The first two were delivered in the end of 1950. Thirteen more were delivered to NSA over the next two years.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>ERA Disk Drives<br /> </em><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the problems code breakers had was the difficulty of being able to store and operate on large sets of data. To do so, cryptanalysts used thousands of punched cards, miles of paper tapes and microfilm. ERA was the pioneer in the development of an early form of disk drives called magnetic drum memories.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Drum-Memory-photos.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30207" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/era-drum-memory-photos-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Drum-Memory-photos.jpg?fit=966%2C774&ssl=1" data-orig-size="966,774" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ERA Drum Memory photos" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Drum-Memory-photos.jpg?fit=300%2C240&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Drum-Memory-photos.jpg?fit=468%2C375&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-30207 alignright" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Drum-Memory-photos.jpg?resize=163%2C130&ssl=1" alt="" width="163" height="130" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Drum-Memory-photos.jpg?w=966&ssl=1 966w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Drum-Memory-photos.jpg?resize=300%2C240&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Drum-Memory-photos.jpg?resize=150%2C120&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Drum-Memory-photos.jpg?resize=768%2C615&ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 163px) 100vw, 163px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>ERA used these magnetic drums in the special systems they built for NSA and later in their Atlas computers. They also sold them as </span><a style="font-weight: 400;" href="https://d1yx3ys82bpsa0.cloudfront.net/brochures/era.magnetic-storage-systems.ca1958.102646316.pdf">peripherals to other computer companies</a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a style="font-weight: 400;" href="http://www.jproc.ca/crypto/goldberg_and_demon.html">Goldberg</a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> which followed, was another room-sized special purpose machine – a comparator with statistical capabilities – that took photoelectric sensing and paper tape scanning to new heights. </span><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Goldberg.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30211" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/era-goldberg-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Goldberg.jpg?fit=897%2C585&ssl=1" data-orig-size="897,585" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ERA Goldberg" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Goldberg.jpg?fit=300%2C196&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Goldberg.jpg?fit=468%2C305&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-30211 alignright" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Goldberg.jpg?resize=205%2C134&ssl=1" alt="" width="205" height="134" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Goldberg.jpg?resize=300%2C196&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Goldberg.jpg?resize=150%2C98&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Goldberg.jpg?resize=768%2C501&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Goldberg.jpg?w=897&ssl=1 897w" sizes="(max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Costing $250,000 ($3.2 million in today’s dollars), it had 7,000 tubes and was one of the first Agency machines to use a magnetic drum to store and handle data.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Another similarly sized system, <a href="http://www.jproc.ca/crypto/goldberg_and_demon.html">Demon</a>, followed. It was a dictionary machine designed to crack a Soviet code. It also used 34-inch-diameter magnetic drum to perform a specialized version of table lookup. Three of these large systems were delivered.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">ERA engineers operated at the same relentless and exhausting pace as they had done in war time – similar to how Silicon Valley silicon and computer companies would operate three decades later.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">For the next decade ERA would continue to deliver a stream of special-purpose code breaking electronic systems and subsystems for the Navy cryptologic community. (These NSA documents give a hint at the number and variety of encryption and decryption equipment at NSA in the early 1950’s: <a href="https://cryptomuseum.com/cam/files/NSA_19520613_CAM.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>, <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/friedman-documents/reports-research/FOLDER_107/41743419078275.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here,</a> <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/friedman-documents/reports-research/FOLDER_154/41745979078521.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>, <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/friedman-documents/reports-research/FOLDER_106/41743689078291.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>, and <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/friedman-documents/patent-equipment/FOLDER_425/41774259081336.pdf">here</a>.)</p> </blockquote> <p style="font-weight: 400;">ERA was undercapitalized and always looking for other products to sell. At the same time ERA was building systems for the NSA they pursued other lines of businesses; <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA952695.pdf">research studies on liquid fueled rockets</a>, <a href="https://vipclubmn.org/couplers.html">aircraft antenna couplers</a> (which turned into a profitable product line,) a Doppler Miss Distance Indicator, <a href="https://crosleyautoclub.com/GasPorter/GasPorter.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ground Support Equipment</a> (GSE) for airlines, and Project Boom to produce instrumentation for what would become underground nuclear tests. A 1950 study for the Office of Naval Research called <a href="http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/era/High_Speed_Computing_Devices_1950.pdf">High-Speed Computing Devices</a> – a survey of all computers then existent in the U.S. As there was no single source of information about what was happening in the rapidly growing computer field, this ERA report became the bible of early U.S. computers.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>The Holy Grail – A Digital Computer for Cryptography?<br /> </strong>As complicated as the ERA machines were, they were still single function machines, not general purpose computers. But up until 1946 no one had built a general purpose computer.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">With the war over what the Navy OP-20-G’s and Army SIS computing wizards really wanted was to create a single machine that could perform all the major cryptanalytic functions. The most important of the crypto techniques were based upon either locating repeated patterns, tallying massive numbers of letter patterns, and recognizing plain text, or performing some form of “exhaustive searching.”</p> <blockquote> <h3 style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>How the NSA Got Their First Computers</strong></h3> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Their idea was to put each of these major cryptanalytic functions in separate, dedicated, single-function hardware boxes and connect them through a central switching mechanism. That would allow cryptanalysts to tie them together in any configuration; and hook it all to free-standing input/output mechanisms. With a stock of these specialized boxes the agencies believed they could create any desired cryptanalytic engine.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Just as the consensus for this type of architecture was coalescing, a new idea emerged in 1946 – the concept of a general purpose digital computer with a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Neumann_architecture">von Neumann architecture</a>. In contrast to having many separate hardwired functions, a general purpose computer would have just the four basic arithmetic ones (add, subtract, multiple and divide) along with a few that allowed movement of data between the input-output components, memory, and a single central processor. In theory, one piece of hardware could be made to imitate any machine through an inexpensive and easily changed set of instructions.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Opponents to the project believed that a von Neumann design would always be too slow because it had only a single processor to do everything. (This debate between dedicated special purpose hardware versus general purpose computers continues to this day.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The tipping point in this debate happened <a href="https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/3106067/Document-01.pdf">in 1946 when an OPS-20-G engineer went to the Moore School’s 1946 summer course on computers</a>. The Moore School’s computer group had just completed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC">ENIAC</a>, arguably the first programmable digital computer, and they were beginning to sketch the outlines of their own new computer, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_I#:~:text=The%20UNIVAC%20I%20(Universal%20Automatic,the%20inventors%20of%20the%20ENIAC.">UNIVAC</a> the first computer for business applications. The engineer came back to the Navy computing group an advocate for building a general-purpose digital computer for codebreaking having convinced himself that most cryptanalysis could be performed through digital methods. He prepared a report to show that his device would be useful to everyone at OP-20-G. The report remained Top Secret for decades.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The report detailed how a general-purpose machine could have successfully attacked the <a href="https://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.857/2019/project/24-Lami-Kallco-Guo-Shi.pdf">Japanese Purple codes</a> as well as German <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_machine">Enigma</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_(cryptography)">Fish</a> systems, and how it would be usefully against the current Soviet and <a href="https://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/hagelin/index.htm">Hagelin</a> systems.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">This changed everything for the NSA. They were now in the computer business.</p> </blockquote> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>ERA’s ATLAS<br /> </em>In 1948 the Navy gave ERA the contract to produce its first digital computer called ATLAS to be used by OPS-20-G for codebreaking.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30209" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/era-ad-for-engineers-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?fit=1110%2C576&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1110,576" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ERA Ad for Engineers" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?fit=300%2C156&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?fit=468%2C243&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30209" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers-300x156.jpg?resize=208%2C108&ssl=1" alt="" width="208" height="108" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?resize=300%2C156&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?resize=1024%2C531&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?resize=150%2C78&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?resize=768%2C399&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?w=1110&ssl=1 1110w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Ad-for-Engineers.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 208px) 100vw, 208px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Twenty four months later, ERA delivered the first of two 24-bit ATLAS I computers. <a href="https://vipclubmn.org/Documents/Sperry%20UNIVAC%20-%20The%20First%20Computer%20Company%20-%20Chapter%203%20ERA%20by%20George%20Champine%20-%201979.pdf">The Atlas was 45’ wide and 9’ long. It weighed 16,000 pounds</a> and was water cooled. Each ATLAS I cost the NSA $1.3 million ($16 million in today’s dollars).</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In hindsight, the NSA <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Rubicon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crossed the Rubicon</a> when the ATLAS I arrived. Today, an intelligence agency without computers is unimaginable. Its purchase showed incredible foresight and initiated a new era of cryptanalysis at the NSA. It was one of the handful of general purpose, binary computers anywhere. Ten<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KYd_QS4cONmf9YGO39aHJEf-hY8HglCV/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> years later the NSA would have 53 computers</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Atlas-console-photo-.png?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30215" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/era-atlas-console-photo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Atlas-console-photo-.png?fit=800%2C640&ssl=1" data-orig-size="800,640" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="ERA Atlas console photo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Atlas-console-photo-.png?fit=300%2C240&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Atlas-console-photo-.png?fit=468%2C374&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30215" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Atlas-console-photo-.png?resize=200%2C160&ssl=1" alt="" width="200" height="160" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Atlas-console-photo-.png?w=800&ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Atlas-console-photo-.png?resize=300%2C240&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Atlas-console-photo-.png?resize=150%2C120&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Atlas-console-photo-.png?resize=768%2C614&ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>ERA asked the NSA for permission to offer the computer for commercial sale. The NSA required ERA to <a href="https://vaibhavsagar.com/blog/2019/09/08/popcount/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remove instructions that made the computer efficient for cryptography</a>, and that became the commercial version – the <a href="https://d1yx3ys82bpsa0.cloudfront.net/brochures/era.1101.1951.102646300.pdf">ERA 1101</a> announced in December 1951. It had no operating or programming manual and its input/output facilities was a typewriter, a paper tape reader, and a paper tape punch. At the time, no programming languages existed.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30218" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/era-1101-photo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?fit=1226%2C828&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1226,828" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ERA 1101 photo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?fit=300%2C203&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?fit=468%2C316&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft wp-image-30218" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?resize=200%2C135&ssl=1" alt="" width="200" height="135" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?resize=1024%2C692&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?resize=300%2C203&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?resize=150%2C101&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?resize=768%2C519&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?w=1226&ssl=1 1226w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1101-photo.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">ERA had delivered a breakthrough computer without having an understanding of its potential application or what a customer might have to do to use the machine. In search of commercial customers, ERA set up a ERA 1101 computer in Washington and offered it to companies as a <a href="https://d1yx3ys82bpsa0.cloudfront.net/brochures/era.computation-center.1950.102646301.pdf">remote computing center</a>. As far as the commercial world knew ERA was a startup with no real computing expertise and this was their first offering. In addition, the only people with experience in writing applications for the 1101 were hidden away at NSA, and ERA was unable to staff the Arlington office to create programs for customers. Finally, ERA’s penchant for extreme secrecy left them unschooled in the art of marketing, sales, and Public Relations. When they couldn’t find any customers they donated the <a href="https://d1yx3ys82bpsa0.cloudfront.net/brochures/era.1101.1951.102646300.pdf">ERA 1101</a> to Georgia Tech.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">With their hands on their first ever general purpose digital computer, the Navy and ERA rapidly learned what needed to be improved. ERA’s follow-on computer, the ATLAS II was a 32-bit system with additional instruction extensions for cryptography. Two were delivered to NSA between 1953 and 1954. ATLAS II cost the NSA $2.3 million ($35 million today.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Late in 1952, a year before the ATLAS II was delivered to the NSA, ERA told <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Rand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Remington Rand</a> (who now owned the company) the ATLAS II computer existed (and the government had paid for its R&D costs) and it was competitive with the newly announced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_701" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IBM 701</a>. When the ATLAS II was delivered to the NSA in 1953 they again asked for permission to sell it commercially (and again had to remove some instructions) which turned the Atlas II into the commercial <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_1103" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ERA/Univac 1103</a>. (see its 1956 reference manual <a href="http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/univac/1103/Univac_Scientific_1103A_Reference_Manual_1956.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30220" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/era-1103-configuration-photo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?fit=1570%2C962&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1570,962" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ERA 1103 configuration photo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?fit=300%2C184&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?fit=468%2C287&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30220" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?resize=200%2C123&ssl=1" alt="" width="200" height="123" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?resize=1024%2C627&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?resize=300%2C184&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?resize=150%2C92&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?resize=768%2C471&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?resize=1536%2C941&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?w=1570&ssl=1 1570w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-1103-configuration-photo.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>This time with Remington Rand’s experience in sales and marketing, the computer was a commercial success with about twenty 1103s sold.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>ERA’s Bogart<br /> </em><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 1953, with the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">ATLAS </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">computers in hand, the Navy realized that a smaller digital computer could be used for data conversion and editing, and to “clean up” raw data for input to larger computers. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">This was the </span><a style="font-weight: 400;" href="http://www.silogic.com/Athena/Bogart.html">Bogart</a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30221" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/era-bogart-photo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?fit=1244%2C866&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1244,866" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ERA Bogart Photo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?fit=300%2C209&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?fit=468%2C326&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30221" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?resize=200%2C139&ssl=1" alt="" width="200" height="139" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?resize=1024%2C713&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?resize=300%2C209&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?resize=150%2C104&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?resize=768%2C535&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?w=1244&ssl=1 1244w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ERA-Bogart-Photo.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Physically </span><a style="font-weight: 400;" href="http://www.silogic.com/Athena/Bogart.html">Bogart </a><span style="font-weight: 400;">was a “small, compact” (compared to the ATLAS) computer that weighed 3,000 pounds and covered 20 square feet of floor space. To get a feel of how insanely difficult it was to program a 1950’s computer take a look at the 1957 Bogart programming manual <a href="https://vipclubmn.org/BitsBakUp/BOGART%20Programmers%20Manual%20(July%201957).pdf">here</a>.) The Bogart design team was headed by <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/history-today-articles/10%202018/05OCT2018%20SEYMOUR%20CRAY%20and%20NSA.pdf?ver=P3xsKeHprvcBBChHKi77Gw%3D%3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seymour Cray</a>. E</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">RA delivered five Bogart machines to NSA. </span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Seymour Cray would reuse features of the Bogart logic design when he designed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Tactical_Data_System" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Navy Tactical Data System computers</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/USQ-17" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNIVAC 490</a> and the Control Data Corporation’s <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/tdih/october/16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC 1604</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDC_160_series" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC 160</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">By 1953, 40% of the University of Minnesota electrical engineering graduates – including Cray – were working for ERA.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>The End of an ERA<br /> </strong>By 1952, the mainframe computer industry was beginning to take shape with office machine and electronics companies such as Remington Rand, Burroughs, National Cash Register, Raytheon, RCA and IBM. Parker, still the CEO, realized that the frantic chase of government contracts was unsustainable. (The relationship with the NSA’s procurement offices now run by Army staff, had become so strained that the Navy Computing Lab was unable to get an official letter of thanks sent to ERA for having developed the ATLAS.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Parker calculated that ERA needed $5 million to $10 million ($75 to $150 million in today’s dollars) to grow and compete with the existing companies in the commercial computing market. Even after the NSA took over the cryptologic work of OPS-20-G the formal contracts with ERA were done through the Navy’s Bureau of Ships. NSA was known as No Such Agency and on paper its relationship with ERA didn’t exist. As far as the public knew, ERA’s products were for “the Navy.” Given that ERA’s extraordinary technical work was unknown to anyone other than the NSA, Parker didn’t think he could raise the money via a public offering (venture capital as we know it didn’t exist.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Instead, in 1952, Parker sold ERA to Remington Rand (best known for producing typewriters) for $1.7M (about $12M in today’s dollars.) A year earlier, Remington Rand had bought <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eckert%E2%80%93Mauchly_Computer_Corporation">Eckert-Mauchly</a> – one of the first U.S. <em>commercial </em>computer companies – and its line of UNIVAC computers. They wanted ERA to get its government customers. ERA remained a standalone division. The ERA 1101 and 1103 became a part of the UNIVAC product line.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/era-history-picture-edited.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30225" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/era-history-picture-edited/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/era-history-picture-edited.jpg?fit=455%2C277&ssl=1" data-orig-size="455,277" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="era history picture edited" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/era-history-picture-edited.jpg?fit=300%2C183&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/era-history-picture-edited.jpg?fit=455%2C277&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-30225" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/era-history-picture-edited.jpg?resize=455%2C277&ssl=1" alt="" width="455" height="277" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/era-history-picture-edited.jpg?w=455&ssl=1 455w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/era-history-picture-edited.jpg?resize=300%2C183&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/era-history-picture-edited.jpg?resize=150%2C91&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 455px) 100vw, 455px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Parker became head of sales of the merged computer division. He left in 1956 and years later he became chairman of the Teleregister Corporation, the predecessor to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunker_Ramo">Bunker-Ramo</a>. He went on to become a director of several companies, including Northwest Airlines and Martin Marietta.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Remington Rand itself would be acquired by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperry_Corporation">Sperry</a> in 1955 and both ERA and Eckert–Mauchly were folded into a computer division called Sperry-UNIVAC. Much of ERA’s work was dropped, while their drum technology was used in newer UNIVAC machines. In 1986 Sperry merged with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burroughs_Corporation">Burroughs</a> to form <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unisys">Unisys</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Epilogue<br /> </strong>For the next 60 years the NSA would have the largest collection of commercial computers and computing horsepower in the world. They would continue to supplement those with dedicated special purpose hardware.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The reorganization of American Signals Intelligence, leading to the creation of the <a href="https://cryptologicfoundation.org/community/bytes/this_day_in_history_calendar.html/event/2023/05/20/1684558800/1949-armed-forces-security-agency-created-/96271" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Armed Forces Signals Agency (AFSA)</a> in 1949, then <a href="https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/cryptologic-spectrum/early_history_nsa.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the NSA in 1952</a>, contributed to the demise of the special relationship between ERA and the code- breakers. The integration of the Army and Navy brought a shift in who made decisions about computer purchasing. NSA inherited a computer staff from the Army side of technical SIGINT. They had different ties and orientations than the few remaining old Navy hands. As a result, the new core NSA group did not protest when the special group that integrated Agency and ERA work was disbanded. The 1954 termination of the Navy Computing Machine Lab in St. Paul went almost unnoticed.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">But the era of Minnesota’s role as a scientific computing and innovation cluster wasn’t over. In fact, it was just getting started. In 1957 ERA co-founder William Norris, and Sperry-Univac engineers Seymour Cray, Willis Drake, and ERA’s treasurer Arnold Ryden, along with a half dozen others, left Sperry-Univac and teamed up with three investors to form a new Minneapolis-based computer company: Control Data Corporation (CDC). For the next two decades Control Data would build the fastest scientific computers in the world.</p> <p><strong>Read all the Secret History posts <a href="https://steveblank.com/secret-history/#Secret%20History%20Backstory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></strong></p> <hr /> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1720156728&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:110:"https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"0";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30190";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:13;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:73:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"Even the Smartest VCs Sometimes Get it Wrong – Bill Gurley and Regulated Markets";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:113:"https://steveblank.com/2023/11/07/even-the-smartest-vcs-sometimes-get-it-wrong-bill-gurley-and-regulated-markets/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:122:"https://steveblank.com/2023/11/07/even-the-smartest-vcs-sometimes-get-it-wrong-bill-gurley-and-regulated-markets/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:00:50 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30128";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:339:"Bill Gurley was one of Silicon Valley’s smartest and most successful VCs. He recently gave a talk at the All-In Summit that was really two talks in one. The first part was railing against the consequences of regulatory capture on innovation and a second part, about the consequences of premature government regulation of AI and […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22530:"<p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gurley">Bill Gurley</a> was one of Silicon Valley’s smartest and most successful VCs. He recently gave a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9cO3-MLHOM">talk at the All-In Summit</a> that was really two talks in one. The first part was railing against the consequences of regulatory capture on innovation and a second part, about the consequences of premature government <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9cO3-MLHOM&t=1223s">regulation of AI </a>and why the incumbents are all for it. He illustrated his talk with regulatory horror stories in the <a href="https://youtu.be/F9cO3-MLHOM?feature=shared&t=197">telecom market</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/F9cO3-MLHOM?feature=shared&t=674">electronic health records</a>, and <a href="https://youtu.be/F9cO3-MLHOM?feature=shared&t=912">Covid antigen tests</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Bill’s closing line, “The reason why Silicon Valley is so successful is that it’s so fxxxng far away from Washington” received great applause. Unfortunately, for startups entering a regulated market following this advice this might not be the optimum path.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">(You can watch Bill’s entire 24-minute talk <a href="https://youtu.be/F9cO3-MLHOM?feature=shared">here</a> or his thesis summarized in this 7 second clip here. <a href="https://youtu.be/HMIyDf3gBoY?feature=shared">https://youtu.be/HMIyDf3gBoY?feature=shared</a> )</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s be clear, rent seekers and regulatory capture strangle innovation in its crib. It’s the antithesis of how founders want to build a business. (And to be fair that was the was the point of the last part of Bill’s presentation.) But <em>entrepreneurs entering regulated markets</em> <em>need to understand how the game is played, how they can play it, what their VC’s should be doing to help them, and how to win</em>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Regulation<br /> </strong>What’s regulatory capture? Why is it bad? And why was Bill’s advice of staying away from Washington flawed for startups?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">All businesses have regulations to follow – paying taxes, incorporating the company, complying with financial reporting. And some have to ensure that there are no patents or <a href="https://www.patentlawyer.io/what-is-a-blocking-patent/">blocking patents.</a> But <em>regulated markets</em> are different. Regulated marketplaces have significant <em>government regulation</em> to promote and protect (ostensibly) the <em>public interest for the benefit of</em> all citizens. A good example is the regulations the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/">FDA</a> (Food and Drug Administration) have in place for approving new drugs and medical devices.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In a regulated market, the government controls how products and services are allowed to enter the market, what prices may be charged, what features the product/service must have, safety of the product, environmental regulations, labor laws, domestic/foreign content, etc. In the U.S. regulation happens on three levels:</p> <ul style="font-weight: 400;"> <li><em>federal</em> laws that are applicable across the country developed by Federal government in Washington, D.C.</li> <li><em>state</em> laws that are applicable in one state imposed by state government</li> <li><em>local</em> city and county laws come from local government</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Federal Regulation<br /> </em>In the U.S. the government has regulatory authority over commerce between the states, foreign trade, and other business activities of national scope. Congress decides what things need to be regulated and passes laws that determine those regulations. Congress often does not include all the details needed to explain how an individual, business, state or local government, or others might follow the law. To make the laws work day-to-day, Congress authorizes government agencies to write the regulations which set the specific requirements about what is legal and what isn’t. The regulatory agencies then oversee these requirements.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In the U.S. startups might run into an alphabet soup of federal regulatory agencies, for example: <a href="https://www.atf.gov/">ATF</a>, <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/">CFPB</a>,<a href="https://www.dea.gov/">DEA</a>, <a href="https://www.defense.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DoD</a>, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">EPA</a>, <a href="https://www.faa.gov/">FAA</a>, <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/">FCC</a>, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/">FDA</a>, <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/">FDIC</a>, <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/">FERC</a>, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/">FTC</a>, <a href="https://www.occ.treas.gov/">OCC</a>, <a href="https://www.osha.gov/">OSHA</a>, <a href="https://www.sec.gov/">SEC</a>. These agencies exist because Congress passed laws.<em> </em></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>State Regulation<br /> </em>In addition to federal laws, each State has its own regulatory environment that applies to businesses operating within the state in areas such as <a href="https://www.coastal.ca.gov/">land-use</a>, zoning, motor vehicles, state banking, building codes, public utilities, drug laws, etc.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Cities/County Regulation<br /> </em>Finally, local cities and counties may have local laws and regulatory agencies or departments like <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/tlc/index.page">taxi commissions</a>, <a href="https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/Planning-Development-Services/Current-Planning/Ordinances-Maps-Guidelines-Standards">zoning</a> laws, public safety, permitting, building codes, sanitation, drug laws, etc.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Incumbents Advantage – Rent Seekers and Regulatory Capture<br /> </strong>If you’re a startup entering a regulated market (Telecom, Pharma, Education, Energy, Department of Defense, Intelligence, Health, Fintech, Insurance, Transportation, Agriculture, Gaming, Cannabis, Petrochemicals, Automotive, Air Transportation, Fishing, et al.) you need to know that the game is rigged. And it’s not in your favor.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Incumbents in a regulated a market keep out new, innovative, and disruptive competitors by “gaming the system” in their favor. They do this by either being <em>Rent Seekers</em> and/or by <em>Regulatory Capture</em>. (Bill Gurley’s point.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking">Rent seekers</a></em> are individuals or organizations with successful existing business models who use government regulation and lawsuits to keep out new entrants that might threaten their business models. They use every argument – from public safety to lack of quality or loss of jobs – to lobby against the new entrants. Rent seekers spend money lobbying to increase their share of an existing market instead of creating new products or markets but create <em>nothing of value</em>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">These barriers to new innovative startups are called <em><a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economicrent.asp">economic rent</a>. </em>Examples of economic rent include state automobile franchise laws, taxi medallion laws, limits on charter schools, cable company monopolies, patent trolls, bribery of government officials, corruption, and <em>regulatory capture</em>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Rent-seeking lobbyists go directly to legislative bodies (Congress, State Legislatures, City Councils) to persuade government officials and their staff to enact laws and regulations in exchange for campaign <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/">contributions</a>, appeasing influential voting blocks, or the “<em>revolving door”</em> – offering officials <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/">future jobs in the industry they regulated. </a>They <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/09/its-time-for-the-u-s-to-tackle-patent-trolls">use the courts to tie up and exhaust a startup’s</a> limited financial resources. Their lobbyists also work through regulatory bodies like the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2013/05/tom--wheeler-federal-communications-commission.html">FCC</a>, <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/172147/secret-money-lobbyists-fight-sec-disclosure-rule">SEC</a>, <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/">FTC</a>, Public Utility, Taxi, or Insurance Commissions, School Boards, etc.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Regulatory capture</em> is what happens when the very organizations set up to protect the public’s health and safety, or to provide an equal playing field, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2566926">are taken over by</a> the very people they’re supposed to regulate. These are the examples Bill Gurley were talking about.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Tech Companies Use Regulatory Capture<br /> </strong>In my first two decades inside the Silicon Valley bubble we built products people wanted and needed. We competed with other technology companies, and, like Bill Gurley, <em>largely ignored whatever was going on in Washington. We were content Washington didn’t know we existed</em>. Unless you were in life sciences (therapeutics, medical devices, or diagnostics), very little government regulation applied. We ignored Washington and Washington mostly ignored us (defense contractors excepted.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The tech ecosystem got a rude awakening in May 1998 when the U.S. Justice Department and 20 state Attorneys General <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archive/atr/public/press_releases/1998/1764.htm">brought suit again Microsoft</a> for anticompetitive practices designed to maintain its monopoly in PC operating systems and internet browsers. <em>While tech hadn’t come to Washington, Washington came for the tech industry</em>. Until then no tech company had an organized lobbying organization of significance in DC.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Fast forward 25 years. The tech industry grew up and realized <em><u>rather than running away from Washington they needed to play the game</u></em>. Companies like <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-fight-to-stop-americans-from-filing-their-taxes-for-free">Intuit</a> mastered regulatory capture as a massive advantage while Big Tech (Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Oracle, Intuit, Uber et al.) spent <strong>$</strong><a href="https://www.citizen.org/article/big-tech-lobbying-update/">124 million in lobbying and campaign contributions</a> in the 2020 election with 333 registered lobbyists.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Startups have successfully disrupted regulated markets and rent seekers – Uber with local taxi licensing laws (<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1076514312/how-one-venture-capitalist-fought-back-against-ubers-founder">a board Bill Gurley sat on</a> with a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Pumped_(TV_series)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ShowTime series</a> highlighting his role), AirBnB with local zoning laws, Tesla with state dealership licensing, SpaceX competing with the Air Force and United Launch Alliance – and in doing so they have built impenetrable moats for their business.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>What Do Startups Need to Know?<br /> </strong>There’s nothing magical about dealing with regulated markets. However, every regulated market has its own rules, dynamics, language, players, politics, etc. And they are all very different from the business-to-consumer or business-to-business markets most founders <em>and their investors </em>are familiar with.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">How do you know you’re in a regulated market? It’s simple– ask yourself three questions:</p> <ul style="font-weight: 400;"> <li>Can I do anything I want or are there laws and regulations that might stop me or slow me down?</li> <li>Are there incumbents who will view us as a threat to the status quo<em>?</em> Can they use laws and regulations to impede our growth?</li> <li>Do you understand how the regulatory process works? For example, do you just fill out an online form and pay a $50 fee with your credit card and get a permit? Or do you need to spend millions of dollars and years running clinical trials to get FDA clearance and approval? And are these approvals good in every state? In every country? What do you need to do to sell worldwide?</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>What Do I Need to Do?<br /> </strong>The first step is to understand what you’re up against. Who are the incumbents, who do they influence, how much are they spending on influence, who are their lobbyists, and what are their messages? And most importantly, how are they going to stop you from scaling?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Next, figure who are the other stakeholders, saboteurs, rent seekers, influencers, bureaucrats, politicians, and regulators. As you get out of the building and start talking to people you’ll discover more and more players. You’ll discover that the interests of your product’s end user versus a regulator versus an advocacy group, key opinion leaders or a politician, are radically different. For you to succeed <em>you need to understand all of them</em>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Start diagraming out the relationships of all the customer segments. Who influences who? How do they interconnect? What laws and regulations are in your way for deployment and scale? How powerful are each of the players? For the politicians, what are their public positions versus actual votes and performance. Follow the money by using <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/">opensecrets.org</a>. If an elected official’s major donor is organization x, you’re not going to be able to convince them with a cogent argument. And most importantly, start asking “who are the best lobbyists/advisors in this market?”<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/power-map-burfield.png?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="24668" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2018/10/09/startups-and-regulated-markets/power-map-burfield/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/power-map-burfield.png?fit=824%2C1092&ssl=1" data-orig-size="824,1092" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Power Map Burfield" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/power-map-burfield.png?fit=226%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/power-map-burfield.png?fit=468%2C620&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-24668" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/power-map-burfield.png?resize=158%2C209&ssl=1" alt="" width="158" height="209" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The book <em><a href="https://amzn.to/2yp6Iae">Regulatory Hacking</a></em> calls this diagram the <em>Power Map</em>. As an example, this is a diagram of the multiple beneficiaries and stakeholders that a software company developing math software for middle school students has to navigate. Your diagram may be more complex. There is no possible way you can draw this on day one of your startup. You’ll discover these players as you get out of the building and start filling out your value proposition canvases.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">While this sounds complicated, entering a regulated market should be a strategy not a disconnected set of tactics. (Or worse obliviousness.) You need a lobbying/government relations strategy from day one.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Draw your strategy diagram (see figure below) and share it with your board. What regulatory issues need to be solved? In what order? For example, do you beg for forgiveness or ask for permission? How do you get regulators who don’t see a need to change to move? How do you get your early customers to advocate on your behalf? (The books <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525536493/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0525536493&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwsteveblank-20&linkId=09abff331f7109f4235cbc339d1fdf99">The Fixer</a></em> and <em><a href="https://amzn.to/2yp6Iae">Regulatory Hacking</a></em> give examples of regulatory pitfalls, problems and suggested solutions.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/regulation1.png?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="24665" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2018/10/09/startups-and-regulated-markets/regulation-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/regulation1.png?fit=2048%2C668&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2048,668" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Regulation" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/regulation1.png?fit=300%2C98&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/regulation1.png?fit=468%2C153&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-24665" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/regulation1.png?resize=468%2C153&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="153" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Most early stage startups don’t have the regulatory domain expertise in-house. Get outside advice at each step. Hire/advisors from the inside industry but use them to make you smarter not just to outsource the work. <a href="https://youtu.be/F9cO3-MLHOM?feature=shared&t=45">Having a meeting or two with a congressman</a> or contributing to their campaign might get you a return call, but only sustained engagement (via money, influence, and an on-the-ground presence in D.C.) will move the needle. Eventually you’ll need to build an in-house team to manage regulatory affairs.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em> Choose VCs who have experience in operating in regulated markets – not those who hope it stays away</em>. Have them tell you how they helped other companies in their portfolio succeed, pitfalls to avoid, and the lobbying resources they can bring to bear. You and your board need to be in sync about the costs and risks of getting into a street fight entering these markets. (Strategic choices include asking for permission versus forgiveness, public versus private battles. Tactical activities can include influencing key opinion leaders, political donations, advocacy groups, and <a href="https://www.thecampaignworkshop.com/blog/advocacy-campaigns/grassroots-advocacy">grassroots and grasstops</a> campaigns, etc.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, as an innovation ecosystem (VCs, their limited partners, and startups) we need to do a better job in insisting in transparency in government, calling out rent seekers and regulators who no longer regulate, and try to keep government from premature regulation of new innovation. For the majority of regulators and policymakers who want to make the system better, we can help shape policy by educating them on why the products/changes we are proposing make the world a better place.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">But startups? They need to understand the game and work the system.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Post note</strong>. Ironically the best example of premature government regulation was AT&T and U.S. telephone service. In<a href="https://www.cybertelecom.org/notes/att1922.htm#:~:text=AT%26T%20historically%20argued%20that%20telephone,as%20a%20government%20sanctioned%20monopoly." target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 1921 AT&T argued that telephone service was a natural monopoly</a>, and that competition was inefficient. The government agreed and land line communications became a government sanctioned monopoly for the next 63 years. Innovation in telecom outside of AT&T died and the industry could only innovate as fast as AT&T approved. A possible proxy for why the incumbent AI providers went to Congress. They want to lock-in their lead.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Lessons Learned</strong></p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>If you’re in regulated market, often the game is rigged by incumbents <ul> <li>Understand Rent Seeking and Regulatory Capture</li> <li>You need a lobbying/government relations strategy from day one</li> </ul> </li> <li>Choose VCs who understand how to play the game not those who hope it stays away</li> <li>The CEO needs to get out of the building to understand the regulatory ecosystem <ul> <li>CEO and board need to be in sync about the learning and strategy</li> </ul> </li> <li>Hire initial lobbyists (but learn from them, not just outsource to them) <ul> <li>As the company gets larger staff an internal public affairs group to manage the lobbying effort</li> </ul> </li> <li>If you figure out the regulatory game, it can be your defensible moat</li> </ul> </blockquote> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1660204833&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:118:"https://steveblank.com/2023/11/07/even-the-smartest-vcs-sometimes-get-it-wrong-bill-gurley-and-regulated-markets/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"4";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30128";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:14;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:73:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"Leaving Government for the Private Sector – Part 2";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"https://steveblank.com/2023/10/23/leaving-government-for-the-private-sector-part-2/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://steveblank.com/2023/10/23/leaving-government-for-the-private-sector-part-2/#respond";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 23 Oct 2023 13:00:35 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30076";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:354:"Laura Thomas is a former CIA operations officer. Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops to a quantum technology company offered insightful career transition advice for those leaving her agency. Most of her lessons were applicable to any government employee venturing out to the private sector. Below is the second of her three-part series. […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17211:"<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-thomas123/">Laura Thomas</a> is a former <a href="https://www.cia.gov/about/organization/#directorate-of-operations">CIA operations</a> officer. Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops to a quantum technology company offered insightful career transition advice for those leaving her agency. Most of her lessons were applicable to any government employee venturing out to the private sector.</p> <p>Below is the second of her three-part series. Read <a href="https://steveblank.com/2023/10/10/leaving-government-for-the-private-sector-part-1/">part one here</a>.</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Before leaving government service one of my biggest challenges was to understand how my skill as a Case Officer would translate into a job in the commercial world. I had to spend a lot of time learning a new language and new job descriptions. Here’s what I learned.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="30079" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/10/23/leaving-government-for-the-private-sector-part-2/getting-their-first-job-in-silicon-valley/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1024,1024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="getting their first job in Silicon Valley" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?fit=468%2C468&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-30079 size-thumbnail" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?resize=768%2C768&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?w=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/getting-their-first-job-in-Silicon-Valley.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong><em>What would you like to do/can do?</em></strong><strong> Some commercial company roles:</strong></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Business Development or “BD” roles</em>: Case Officers are well suited for business development (BD) roles as its akin to first half of the CIA recruitment cycle. In a business development role you’re out shaping the perception of your company in the market (networking), determining leads, and contacting leads. The larger the company, the more they’ll separate out business development and sales, with business development focused primarily on lead generation and sales focused on sealing the actual sale of the product or service.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Sales roles</em>: The sales cycle is similar to the recruitment cycle of a source. At a small company, you have the ability to do the whole sales cycle, which integrates strategy, business development, sales, and customer success: figure out what you should sell, who you should sell it to, how to get in touch with them, actually get in touch with them, sell it, keep selling to them and make sure they’re happy (customer success), and at some point, decide whether to move on to better sales targets, or convince your company they need to be selling something different. At a large company, sales usually means someone else has done the broad shaping for a potential customer. You just have to go in and work through the mechanics of selling them on your product or service.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Customer Success roles</em>: This is akin to handling a source. You make sure the customer is happy and keeps buying, preferably more.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Security roles</em>: Some ex-Agency people gravitate to roles in security. I discovered that while I know a lot about tradecraft-related security and how to stay alive for the first minutes of an ambush, I know little about building security and computer systems security. Some companies will see your CIA background and confuse it with roles that are more akin to FBI or law enforcement. If you worked in an actual cybersecurity or security role, you can learn it and integrate well into those teams.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Trust and Safety roles, Threat and Business Intelligence roles</em>: If you’ve been a targeter and/or an analyst these might be good fits. The role broadly is to protect a company and its people/users (or multiple companies) by tracking bad actors and threats. In large companies these roles report to a security division (however there are entire companies just providing Threat and Business Intelligence).</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Government Affairs/Legislative Affairs</em> roles: Large companies pay to have people represent them on Capitol Hill and advocate for their interests. If you have significant experience engaging with and briefing the Hill, this is a possibility, however you’ll be competing against staffers rotating off committees who are actually much better equipped than you as far as networking and know-how. You may be able to join a larger company’s government affairs team at a more junior to mid-level, and you’ll probably find your skills most relevant to a company that works on national security-related issues.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">At first many start-ups hire a lobbying firm. You may be able to step in once they want to transition into an in-house role for this, but keep in mind that they’re looking for the Capitol Hill contacts you <em>already </em>have, as well as your ability to work the legislative process, not just your briefing or networking skills.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Strategy and Operations roles:</em> These roles help make sure vision, resources (budgets and people), and the market opportunity are aligned. Working closely with the CEO or CFO, they help figure out what to do to make things go right, and what to do when things go wrong. <em>The smaller the company, the bigger your chance at a role like this</em>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">A <em>Chief of Staff </em>role, for example, is largely a strategy role, but is heavily dependent on the needs of the CEO/company. In my case, at <a href="https://www.infleqtion.com/">Infleqtion</a> <em>I’m the person who tells our CEO what he needs to hear, not necessarily what he wants to hear</em>. I also serve as an executive advisor – from product strategy to setting business milestones to working with investors. I also work closely with all members of the executive team, the Board of Directors, and Advisory Board. I think this role is ideal for a former Case Officer, but I’m obviously biased.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Larger companies hiring a Chief of Staff often look for someone who has an MBA, experience with one of the big consulting firms, or experience doing the job already.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Entrepreneur</em>: A successful CIA case officer must be able to operate amid ambiguity and make judgment calls that require strong second- and third-order thinking. Achievement-focused and good storytellers, they know how to figure things out, “read the room,” and assess and mitigate risk. Most people believe case officers and entrepreneurs are big risk takers, <em>when, in fact, they’re risk mitigators</em>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you find an A-player CIA officer jumping into a founder role mid-way in their career (or decide to start something yourself,) they’ll probably go on to do great things. They have enough confidence in themselves to leave without the safety net of a future pension as well as the energy, ambition, and know-how to navigate uncertainty. The same Emotional Quotient and approach that attracts investors will also attract excellent employees.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Venture Capitalist</em>: An early-stage VC requires some of the same skills as a Case Officer – spotting, assessing, developing, recruiting, and handling founders building a company amid an uncertain operating environment that will bring a heavy return on investment. (However, many VCs have also accrued years/decades as domain experts in the technologies/and or industries they invest in.) Being a successful VC and successful case officer both involve some levels of luck and timing misattributed to skill. The biggest difference is in the VC world, nobody is going to die.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>If you’re a Retiree leaving with a full pension</em> – you have different choices than a “job.” You can:</p> <ul> <li>consult</li> <li>sit on a company Advisory Board or Board of Directors</li> <li>serve as a senior executive at a small company (you’ll be expected to actually work, not pontificate and delegate) or mid- to senior level at a larger company (you might just be a face)</li> <li>get hired by Wall Street/Private Equity/VC firms assuming you’re senior enough and have enough New York or Silicon Valley connections</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;">For 2-4, you’re generally being hired for your name and the introductions you can make assuming you’re within the top 15 of leadership.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Boards</em>: The term “board” can mean two very different things in the commercial world – an Advisory Board versus a Board of Directors. An Advisory Board provides <em>advice</em>. It has no legal role in the company. Often companies will put you on their advisory board just to use your name and image (and not really want your advice). Every company can organize and compensate its advisory board any way it likes. Some Advisory Boards meet once a quarter, others once a year. Advisory Board members may field weekly to monthly emails and calls from the company executive team to provide feedback on strategy and positioning and make introductions. Advisory Board members are often paid in a balance of equity (stock options) and cash (“cash” is the industry term for money wired to your bank account).</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">A Board of Directors has a formal and legal role. It provides governance and financial oversight to the company. They can vote to hire and fire the CEO. CEOs seek their advice (and often must seek their formal approval) for major strategic decisions such as acquisitions, major budget changes, hiring of C-level executives, etc.) Formal Board positions are harder to come by. If you’re an A-player from the senior-most ranks, consider joining a private company board if you’re aligned with their mission and team. They need you.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>For me, personally</strong>: People in the senior ranks at startups usually call themselves <em>operators</em>. Obviously, that’s a different definition of the term. I knew I wanted to stay/go into an <em>operator</em> role because that’s where the business learning I sought would happen. I didn’t want to have to sell back into the intelligence community, because I didn’t want to leverage my contacts so tactically, but plenty of people do it (and we need good people to do it. We all know how badly the government needs commercial technology solutions). From the start, my job was closest to a business development role. Because it was a small company and I was going from top-down with the CEO rather than responding to a job advertisement, I was able to craft my function and initial title as, “Senior Director of National Security Solutions.” I began writing unsolicited strategy docs for the CEO. This ultimately led me into a strategy role, which led me into a strategy and fundraising role. I also took an advisory role with another startup working on national security technology, <a href="https://www.qusecure.com/">QuSecure</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Where should you go? Big company or small</strong><em>?</em> Choose big for stability and higher salaries. Choose small for learning, growth, and impact. In large companies, they usually want you in a narrow and specific role. However, you will have more roles you could move into if the first one isn’t a great fit. If you join a big company, assuming it’s public, you’ll get stock which immediately can translate into financial gains assuming the company performs well. The salaries are almost always higher. You can get rich in a big company (at least by our humble government standards), but rarely wealthy based on returns from that company alone.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">At small companies, you wear many hats at once. I wanted to understand the daily challenges a company faced at the senior levels in trying to push a new technology in government markets and commercial markets, and how capital flows impacted all of this. However, a bigger company is more defined in terms of a 9-to-5. I work just as much now as I did in the field. And though I work from an office most days, I also work from home, which affords a lot of flexibility because I’m not chained to a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_compartmented_information_facility#:~:text=A%20sensitive%20compartmented%20information%20facility,SCI)%20types%20of%20classified%20information.">SCIF</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">You can get wealthy with the right startup, but many startups fail, so it’s a long shot. Of course, “wealth” is subjective. More than money, most of us crave <em>impact</em>. Both are possible on the outside.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>How should you think about and mitigate risk if joining a startup?</strong> Know your appetite for risk. If you’re really bold, join an early-stage company (seed stage, Series A), but have conviction about the team. You may need to cover some portion of your own salary for a year. If you need to make a salary equivalent to what you make in government, target startups that have closed a Series B round within the last few months. If you’ve received a formal offer from a startup, ask how much runway (months of cash left) they have. If they won’t discuss any aspects of runway or value of the equity package they’re offering, look elsewhere.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Look before you leap. Talk with multiple employees at the company. Try to talk with an investor in the company. Research their Board of Directors and Advisory Board members and contact some of them. Look for people on LinkedIn who used to work at the company, reach out to them and ask why they left.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Being part of a “failed” startup is not a badge of dishonor. <u>Most</u> startups fail, especially those in the early stages. So long as you and the company weren’t operating unethically and illegally, it’s not a red flag on your resume. In fact, this sort of experience matters far more to the next prospective tech startup employer than the decade+ that you put in at the Agency.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Action</strong>:</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">A) If you’re an A-player, <u>stay in government</u>.<br /> B) If you’re an A-player and leave, do great things on the outside and return to government service at some point.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Coming up next</strong>:</p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Part III – title, compensation (salary + equity + bonuses) and resources you can use.</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Read the rest of Laura’s blogs at <a href="https://www.lauraethomas.com/">https://www.lauraethomas.com/</a></p> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1652764281&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:88:"https://steveblank.com/2023/10/23/leaving-government-for-the-private-sector-part-2/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"0";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30076";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:15;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:76:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"Leaving Government for the Private Sector – Part 1";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"https://steveblank.com/2023/10/10/leaving-government-for-the-private-sector-part-1/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://steveblank.com/2023/10/10/leaving-government-for-the-private-sector-part-1/#respond";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 10 Oct 2023 13:00:23 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:2:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:21:"Family/Career/Culture";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17:"National Security";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=30042";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:346:"Laura Thomas is a former CIA operations officer. Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops into a quantum technology company offered insightful career transition advice for those leaving her agency. Most of her lessons were applicable to any government employee venturing out to the private sector. Below is the first of her three-part […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11664:"<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-thomas123/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Laura Thomas</a> is a former <a href="https://www.cia.gov/about/organization/#directorate-of-operations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CIA operations</a> officer. Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops into a quantum technology company offered insightful career transition advice for those leaving her agency. Most of her lessons were applicable to any government employee venturing out to the private sector.<br /> Below is the first of her three-part series.</p> <p>—-</p> <p>At least a few times a month, people looking to jump ask about my transition, which has led to me consolidating my answers below. To be up front, some of what I write will be controversial and all of it is biased. Due to length, I’ve broken it up into a three-part series.</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Is it really a big jump to the private sector? </strong>It wasn’t a big jump. At <a href="https://www.cia.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Agency</a>, 85% of my time was spent navigating bureaucracy and equities, arguing for resources and permission for operations, and dealing with the bottom rung of employees, all while making decisions with little data or data overload. Only 15% of my time was doing the more exciting <a href="https://www.cia.gov/about/organization/#directorate-of-operations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">operations</a>. Though that 15% – along with the camaraderie of some of my colleagues – made the work deeply meaningful.</p> <p>Industry is similar. Human nature is human nature, and I deal with many of the same challenges and pull many of the same levers of satisfaction. The difference is my decisions now aren’t life or death.</p> <p>Another large difference is the greater level of autonomy I now have. Making decisions on the fly in operations is an extreme example of autonomy, of course, but there is always a back-end overhead. Depending on company culture, decision-making can be driven dramatically down with less overhead. As an example, I can make direct recommendations to Congress with no oversight, no internal reporting requirements, and with the trust of the CEO and Board.</p> <p><strong>Do you miss it? </strong>Yes. Nothing beats the rush of <a href="https://spyscape.com/article/spy-glossary#:~:text=Bump,course%20taught%20at%20the%20Farm." target="_blank" rel="noopener">bumping a target</a> who agrees to meet with you again or landing in a foreign country for the first time. I no longer know the stories behind the headlines, and I’m not the person making those stories happen. Aside from close friends, I am now treated as an “outsider” by former colleagues.</p> <p>Fortunately, I still work with smart people solving hard problems every day. And there is still meaning in what I do. Raising tens of millions of dollars from investors to advance a technology faster than the Chinese Communist Party uses the same skillset. Learning how M&A deals are structured gives me the same thrill as first learning the mechanics of a <a href="https://trdcrft.com/surveillance-detection-route-sdr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surveillance detection route</a>. It’s the excitement of being a beginner again, but one with deep and profound experiences, which blunts the downs and enhances the ups that you will face post-Agency.</p> <p>Today, I get to move our national security mission in emerging technologies farther and faster in ways that I could not in government. And while there is some level of self-justification in these statements, there is nonlinearity in industry. You can move at exponential speed.</p> <p><strong>How do you transfer your old skills to your current role? </strong>Driving decisions, organizational change, and operations in a deep tech company presents many of the same challenges and opportunities as my time in government. Leading and managing people amid uncertainty, high degrees of change, and making decisions remain my day-to-day functions. My current role as a Chief of Staff is in many ways like a DCOS (deputy <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Station_chief" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chief of station</a>) or a traditional Chief of Staff in government. I work behind the scenes, and sometimes out front, to shape our company vision, strategy and then execute, measure, and refine. (Rather than giving away bags of cash in my old job, I now ask for money from investors.)</p> <p>Relationship dynamics are the same, minus the burden of extreme secrecy. All the things that most of the outside world doesn’t understand as being critical to a <a href="https://spyscape.com/article/agent-handling-101-the-psychology-of-running-spies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">handler-asset relationship</a> are just as critical to relationships in industry. Judgment remains paramount.</p> <p>In the Agency I dealt with a few difficult personalities focused on empire-building and metrics rather than running sound operations. You likely will still deal with this in industry, though there are far fewer layers and entrenched interests to deal with. Knowing how to navigate various stakeholders and interests, avoid landmines, and bring people together is an extremely useful skill in industry. If you’ve been a “doer” who knows how to communicate, work, and gain buy-in across an enterprise that is geographically dispersed, as well as with and against external third parties who are frenemies (or outright hostile), this will serve you well in industry. Talk about it when you’re seeking jobs and interviewing.</p> <p><strong>Did you make any resume missteps?</strong> Most often your resume is <span style="text-decoration: underline;">not</span> what will get you a job, and submitting one to a recruiter or resume bank is not the right move. Odds are your resume is almost certainly written in government-speak, and probably more terrible than you realize. It likely talks about all the jobs you held (to the degree you can share) and the dates and maybe the general locations but says nothing about what you actually accomplished or how it <em>specifically</em> relates to industry. You probably won’t even get beyond the AI filter.</p> <p>Having a resume that says you served in country X and wrote reports that went to policymakers, and “the President,” might get you a <em>curiosity</em> interview, but won’t get you a job. Unless you can translate how your skills provide commercial value, you won’t get hired.</p> <p>For starters, first figure out which industry you want to work in, narrow it down, and work hard to get intros at the senior levels to a handful of companies (Board of Directors member, Advisory Board member, member of the C-suite (CEO, CTO, CFO, etc), and/or investor.) You have to do a lot of networking to create your list and build your network. Find a way to meet and captivate them with a story of what you did, and how your skills can transfer this to industry and add value to their company.</p> <p>An early learning point for me came as I was speaking with a prospective VC about a job. He flat-out told me he didn’t understand my value to the company. He asked point blank, “How much money did you net the U.S. Government over your career, what exactly did you do in order to get those results, and how would you bring me those same returns?”</p> <p>You will get asked a question like this.</p> <p>My suggestion is to say something along these lines: “It’s exponentially harder to be hired by the Agency than it is to get into Harvard, and not only was I hired based on an assessment of my judgment and the ability to operate in ambiguous situations, I <em>then</em> was trained to do just that, and <em>then</em> did it for years.</p> <p>I was entrusted to create and carry out some of the most sensitive and most important missions that the U.S. Government conducts, often with little direction. Not only did I have to plan and do them, I had to do so in secret, with lives on the line, <em>which is hard to put a price tag on</em>.</p> <p>You can give me your toughest problem, and I will figure out how to solve it in record time <em>with</em> buy-in from those whom you rarely get buy-in, and position you for multiple shots on goal for future opportunities because I will have your company and sector wired. I can do for you what I did for our country: evaluate opportunity, mitigate risk, and make quick <em>and</em> smart decisions that attack problems differently than a typical insider would. I’ll turn my salary into millions of dollars in returns or investments within two years – not singlehandedly – but in a cooperative way that leverages many parts of the company. We’ll row in unison and we’ll row in the right direction.”</p> <p><strong>How did you get your current job? </strong>I networked nonstop and ran a full targeting campaign for multiple companies to get to their CEOs. I didn’t have a resume when I was looking for jobs. I had to find senior people who had left the agency who would vouch for me.</p> <p>For my current company <a href="https://www.infleqtion.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Infleqtion</a>, I was introduced to a former senior Intelligence Community official who previously served on a board with the CEO, who made an introduction. When we met I asked the CEO his challenges and outlined how I might be able to help. Five months later, the CEO called and said he may have a job for me and invited me to visit and speak with others in the company for their input. I received an offer shortly thereafter.</p> <p>Meanwhile, three years before I left the Agency I had done a cold outreach on LinkedIn to the person I suspected was the hiring manager for a job advertisement for a company that I liked. The person told me they wanted someone with more business experience for the role, but then came calling <em>three years later</em> when another role opened that they thought would be a good fit. Ultimately, I met each layer up in that company including the CEO.</p> <p>This all came in handy when negotiating salary, title, and function. From the many, many hours of networking hustle, I received two job offers, which happened in parallel, and I negotiated around the same title and compensation levels. Throughout the entire process, I forwarded them relevant articles and commentary on opportunities to demonstrate my value. Ultimately, I chose Infleqtion because of its mission, its people, and its reputation amid US Government circles.</p> <p><strong>Action</strong>: A) If you’re an A-player, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">stay in government</span>. B) If you’re an A-player and leave, do great things on the outside and return to government service at some point.</p> <p><strong>Coming up next</strong>:</p> <p>• Part II – what are the criteria for choosing your next role, the most common types of business roles that formers go into, and how to think about big vs small company risks and current markets.</p> <p>• Part III – title, compensation (salary + equity + bonuses) and resources you can use.</p> <p>Read the rest of Laura’s blogs at <a href="https://www.lauraethomas.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.lauraethomas.com/</a><br /> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1639121841&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe></p> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:88:"https://steveblank.com/2023/10/10/leaving-government-for-the-private-sector-part-1/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"0";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"30042";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:16;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:73:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Profound Beliefs";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"https://steveblank.com/2023/09/05/profound-beliefs/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:60:"https://steveblank.com/2023/09/05/profound-beliefs/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 05 Sep 2023 13:00:35 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:20:"Customer Development";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=29869";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:336:"This post previously appeared in EIX. In the early stages of a startup your hypotheses about all the parts of your business model are your profound beliefs. Think of profound beliefs as “strong opinions loosely held.” You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite of a startup if you don’t hold any. Here’s […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14475:"<p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://eiexchange.com"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29564" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/02/14/startups-that-have-employees-in-offices-grow-3-%c2%bd-times-faster/eix-logo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EIX-logo.jpg?fit=466%2C196&ssl=1" data-orig-size="466,196" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="EIX logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EIX-logo.jpg?fit=300%2C126&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EIX-logo.jpg?fit=466%2C196&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft wp-image-29564" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EIX-logo.jpg?resize=100%2C42&ssl=1" alt="" width="100" height="42" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EIX-logo.jpg?resize=150%2C63&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EIX-logo.jpg?resize=300%2C126&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EIX-logo.jpg?w=466&ssl=1 466w" sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>This post previously <a href="https://eiexchange.com/content/startups-need-both-profound-beliefs-and-customer-input" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared in EIX</a>.</p> <p>In the early stages of a startup your hypotheses about all the parts of your <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAOzMTLP5s">business model</a> are your profound beliefs. Think of profound beliefs as “strong opinions loosely held.”</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite of a startup if you don’t hold any.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s how I learned why they were critical to successful customer development.</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">I was an aggressive, young and a very tactical VP of marketing at <a href="http://steveblank.com/category/ardent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ardent</a>, a supercomputer company – who really hadn’t a clue about the relationship between profound beliefs, customer discovery and strategy.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">One day the CEO called me into his office and asked, “Steve I’ve been thinking about this as our strategy going forward. What do you think?” And he proceeded to lay out a fairly complex and innovative sales and marketing strategy for our next 18 months. “Yeah, that sounds great,” I said. He nodded and then offered up, “Well what do you think of this other strategy?” I listened intently as he spun an equally complex alternative strategy. “Can you pull both of these off?” he asked looking right at me. By the angelic look on his face I should have known that I was being set up. I replied naively, “Sure, I’ll get right on it.”</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Ambushed<br /> </strong>Decades later I still remember what happened next. All of a sudden the air temperature in the room dropped by about 40 degrees. Out of nowhere the CEO started screaming at me, “You stupid x?!x. <em>These strategies are mutually exclusive</em>. Executing both of them would put us out of business. You don’t have a clue about what the purpose of marketing is because all you are doing is <em>giving engineering a list of feature requests and executing a series of tasks like they’re like a big To Do list</em>. Without understanding why you’re doing them, you’re dangerous as the VP of Marketing, in fact you’re just a glorified head of marketing communications. <u>You have no profound beliefs.”</u></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">I left in a daze, angry and confused. There was no doubt my boss was a jerk, but I didn’t understand the point. I was a great marketer. I was getting feedback from customers, and I’d pass on every list of what customers wanted to engineering and tell them that’s the features our customers needed. I could implement any marketing plan handed to me regardless of how complex. In fact I was implementing three different ones. Oh…hmm… perhaps I was missing something.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">I was executing a lot of marketing “things” but why was I doing them? The CEO was right. I had approached my activities as simply a task-list to get through. With my tail between my legs I was left to ponder: What was the function of marketing in a startup? And more importantly, what was a profound belief and why was it important?</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Hypotheses about Your Business Model = Your Profound Beliefs Loosely Held<br /> </strong><em>Your hypotheses about all the parts of your business model are your profound beliefs. Think of them as strong opinions loosely held</em>. You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite if you don’t have any.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bus-Model.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29882" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/09/05/profound-beliefs/bus-model-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bus-Model.jpg?fit=686%2C480&ssl=1" data-orig-size="686,480" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Bus Model" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bus-Model.jpg?fit=300%2C210&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bus-Model.jpg?fit=468%2C327&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-29882" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bus-Model.jpg?resize=300%2C210&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="210" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bus-Model.jpg?resize=300%2C210&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bus-Model.jpg?resize=150%2C105&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bus-Model.jpg?w=686&ssl=1 686w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The whole role of customer discovery and validation outside your building <em>is to inform your profound beliefs</em>. By inform I mean use the evidence you gather outside the building to either validate your beliefs/hypotheses, invalidate or modify them. Specifically, what beliefs and hypotheses? Start with those around product/market fit – who are your customers and what features do they want? Who are the payers? Then march through the rest of the business model. What price will they pay? What role do regulators pay? Etc. The best validation you can get is an order. (BTW, if you’re creating a new market, it’s even OK to ignore customer feedback but you have to be able to articulate why.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The reality of a startup is that that on day one most of your beliefs/hypotheses are likely wrong. However, you will be informed by those experiments outside the building, and data from potential customers, partners, regulators, et al will modify your vision over time.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">It’s helpful to diagram the consequences between hypotheses/ beliefs and customer discovery. <span style="font-weight: 400;">(See the diagram) </span><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29885" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/09/05/profound-beliefs/profound-3/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?fit=1863%2C1322&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1863,1322" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Profound" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?fit=300%2C213&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?fit=468%2C332&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-29885" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?resize=300%2C213&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="213" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?resize=300%2C213&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C727&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?resize=150%2C106&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?resize=768%2C545&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?resize=1536%2C1090&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?w=1863&ssl=1 1863w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Profound-1.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If <em>you have</em> <em>no beliefs and haven’t gotten out of the building</em> to gather evidence, then your role inside a new venture is neutral. You act as a tactical implementer as you add no insight/or value to product development.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">If you’ve gotten out of the building to gather evidence but <em>have no profound beliefs to guide your inquiries</em>, then your role inside a new venture is negative. You’ll collect a laundry-list of customer feature requests and deliver them to product development, without any insight. This is essentially a denial of service attack on engineering’s time. (I was mostly operating in this box when I got chewed out by our CEO.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The biggest drag on a startup is those who have <em>strong beliefs</em> <em>but</em> <em>haven’t</em> <em>gotten out of the building</em> to gather evidence. Meetings become opinion contests and those with the loudest voices (or worse “I’m the CEO and my opinion matters more than your facts”) dominate planning and strategy. (They may be right, but Twitter/X is an example where Elon is in the box on the bottom right of the diagram. )</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The winning combination is <em>strong beliefs</em> <em>that are validated or modified by evidence gathered outside the building</em>. These are “strong opinions loosely held.”</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Strategy is Not a To Do List, It <em>Drives</em> a To Do List<br /> </strong>It took me awhile, but I began to realize that the <em>strategic</em> part of my job was to recognize that (in today’s jargon) we were still searching for a scalable and repeatable business model. Therefore my job was to:</p> <ul> <li>Articulate the founding team’s strong beliefs and hypotheses about our business model</li> <li>Do an internal check-in to see if a) the founders were aligned and b) if I agreed with them</li> <li>Get out of the building and test our strong beliefs and hypotheses about who were potential customers, what problems they had and what their needs were</li> <li>Test product development’s/engineering’s beliefs about customer needs with customer feedback</li> <li>When we found product/market fit, marketing’s job was to put together a strategy/plan for marketing and sales. That should be easy. If we did enough discovery customers would have told us what features were important to them, how we compare to competitors, how we should set prices, and how to best sell to them</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Once I understood the strategy, the tactical marketing To Do list (website, branding, pr, tradeshows, white papers, data sheets) became clear. It allowed me to prioritize what I did, when I did it and instantly understand what would be mutually exclusive.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Lessons Learned</strong></p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>Profound beliefs are your hypotheses about all the parts of your business model <ul> <li>No profound beliefs but lots of customer discovery ends up as a feature list collection which is detrimental to product development</li> <li>Profound beliefs but no customer discovery ends up as opinion contests and those with the loudest voices dominate</li> </ul> </li> <li>The winning combination is <em>strong beliefs</em> <em>that are validated or modified by evidence gathered outside the building</em>These are “strong opinions loosely held.”</li> </ul> </blockquote> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1611779052&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"https://steveblank.com/2023/09/05/profound-beliefs/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"6";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"29869";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:17;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:82:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"Before there was Oppenheimer there was Vannevar Bush";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 29 Aug 2023 13:00:58 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:4:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17:"National Security";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:2;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"Science and Industrial Policy";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:3;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"Secret History of Silicon Valley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=29888";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:326:"I just saw the movie Oppenheimer. A wonderful movie on multiple levels. But the Atomic Bomb story that starts at Los Alamos with Oppenheimer and General Grove misses the fact that from mid-1940 to mid-1942 it was Vannevar Bush (and his number 2, James Conant, the president of Harvard) who ran the U.S. atomic bomb […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:50406:"<p style="font-weight: 400;">I just saw the movie <a href="https://www.oppenheimermovie.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oppenheimer</a>. A wonderful movie on multiple levels.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">But the Atomic Bomb story that starts at Los Alamos with Oppenheimer and General Grove misses the fact that <em>from mid-1940 to mid-1942 it was Vannevar Bush</em> (and his number 2, James Conant, the president of Harvard) <em>who ran the U.S. atomic bomb program</em> and laid the groundwork that made the Manhattan Project possible.</p> <p>Here’s the story.</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">During World War II, the combatants (Germany, Britain, U.S. Japan, Italy, and the Soviet Union) made strategic decisions about what types of weapons to build (tanks, airplanes, ships, submarines, artillery, rockets), what was the right mix (aircraft carriers, fighter planes, bombers, light/ medium/ heavy tanks, etc.) and how many to build.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">But only one country – the U.S. — succeeded in building nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons during the war, moving from atomic theory and lab experiments to actually deploying nuclear weapons in a remarkable 3 years.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Three reasons unique to the U.S. made this possible:</p> <ol> <li>Émigré and U.S. physicists who feared that the Nazis would have an atomic bomb led to passionate advocacy <em>before </em>the government became involved.</li> <li>A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Advisor_to_the_President" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Presidential Science Advisor</a> who created a <em>civilian</em> organization for building advanced weapons systems, funded and coordinated atomic research, then convinced the president to authorize an atomic bomb program and order the Army build it.</li> <li>The commitment of U.S. industrial capacity and manpower to the atomic bomb program as the No. 1 national priority.</li> </ol> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>The Atom Splits<br /> </strong>In December 1938 scientists in Nazi Germany reported a new discovery – that the Uranium atom split (<a href="https://youtu.be/mBdVK4cqiFs?t=38" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fissioned</a>) when it hit with neutrons. Other scientists calculated that splitting the uranium atom released an enormous amount of energy.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/splitting-atom.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29897" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/splitting-atom/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/splitting-atom.jpg?fit=322%2C241&ssl=1" data-orig-size="322,241" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="splitting atom" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/splitting-atom.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/splitting-atom.jpg?fit=322%2C241&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29897" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/splitting-atom.jpg?resize=150%2C112&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="112" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/splitting-atom.jpg?resize=150%2C112&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/splitting-atom.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/splitting-atom.jpg?w=322&ssl=1 322w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Fear and Einstein<br /> </strong>Once it became clear that in theory a single bomb with enormous destructive potential was possible, it’s hard to understate the existential dread, fear, and outright panic of U.S. and British emigre physicists – many of them Jewish refugees who had fled Germany and occupied Europe. In the 1920s and ‘30s, Germany was the world center of advanced physics and the home of many first-class scientists. After seeing firsthand the terror of Nazi conquest, the U.S. and British understood all too well what an atomic bomb in the hands of the Nazis would mean. They assumed that German scientists had the know-how and capacity to build an atomic bomb. This was so concerning that physicists convinced Albert Einstein in August 1939 <a href="https://www.fdrlibrary.org/documents/356632/390886/document007.pdf/3483329d-7b68-442d-953d-eb91e0c5c9b1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to write</a> to President Roosevelt pointing out the potential of an atomic weapon and the risk of the bomb in German hands.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Motivated by fear of a Nazi atomic bomb, for the next two years scientists in the U.S. lobbied, pushed and worked at a frantic speed to get the government engaged, believing they were in a race with Nazi Germany to build a bomb.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">After Einstein’s letter, Roosevelt appointed an Advisory Committee on Uranium. In early 1940 the Committee recommended that the government fund limited research on Uranium isotope separation. It spent $6,000.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Vannevar Bush Takes Over – National Defense Research Committee</strong> <strong>(NRDC)<br /> </strong>European émigré physicists (Einstein, Fermi, Szilard, and Teller) and Ernest Lawrence at Berkeley were frustrated at the pace the Advisory Committee on Uranium was moving. As theorists, they thought it was clear an atomic bomb could be built. They wanted the U.S. government to aggressively fund atomic research, so that the U.S. could build an atomic bomb before the Germans had one.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Physicists.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29899" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/physicists/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Physicists.jpg?fit=422%2C338&ssl=1" data-orig-size="422,338" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Physicists" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Physicists.jpg?fit=300%2C240&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Physicists.jpg?fit=422%2C338&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright wp-image-29899 size-thumbnail" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Physicists.jpg?resize=150%2C120&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="120" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Physicists.jpg?resize=150%2C120&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Physicists.jpg?resize=300%2C240&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Physicists.jpg?w=422&ssl=1 422w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>They weren’t alone in feeling frustrated about the U.S. approach to advanced weapons, not just atomic bombs.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In June 1940 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vannevar_Bush" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vannevar Bush</a>, ex-MIT dean of engineering; and<em> a group of the country’s top </em><em>science</em> <em>and </em><em>research administrators</em><em> (</em>Harvard President <a href="https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/People/Administrators/james-conant.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Conant</a>, Bell Labs President and head of the National Academy of Sciences <a href="https://ethw.org/Frank_B._Jewett" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frank Jewett</a>, and <a href="http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/tolman-richard.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richard Tolman</a> Caltech Dean) all felt that there was a huge disconnect. The U.S. military had little idea of what science could provide in the event of war, and scientists were wholly in the dark as to what the military needed. As a result, <em>they believed the U.S. was woefully unprepared and ill-equipped for a war driven by technology. </em></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>This group engineered a massive end run around the existing Army and Navy Research and Development labs. Bush and others believed that advanced weapons could be created better and faster if they could be designed by </em><em>civilian scientists and engineers in universities and companies</em>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The scientists drafted a one-page plan for a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Research_Committee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Defense Research Committee</a> (NDRC). The NDRC would look for new technologies that the military labs weren’t working on (radar, proximity fuses, and anti-submarine warfare. (At first, atomic weapons weren’t even on their list.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">in June 1940 Bush got Roosevelt’s approval for the NDRC. In a masterful bureaucratic sleight of hand the NDRC sat in the newly created Executive Office of the President (EOP), where it got its funding and reported directly to the president. <em>This meant that the NDRC didn’t need legislation or a presidential executive order. More importantly it could operate without congressional or military oversight</em>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Roosevelt’s decision gave the United States an 18-month head start for employing science in the war effort.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The NRDC was divided into five divisions and one committee, each run by a <em>civilian </em>director and each having a number of sections. (see diagram below.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29900" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/ndrc/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?fit=1853%2C799&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1853,799" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="NDRC" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?fit=300%2C129&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?fit=468%2C202&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-29900 size-large aligncenter" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?resize=468%2C202&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="202" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?resize=1024%2C442&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?resize=300%2C129&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?resize=150%2C65&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?resize=768%2C331&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?resize=1536%2C662&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?w=1853&ssl=1 1853w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NDRC.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p>Bush became chairman of the NDRC and the first U.S. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Advisor_to_the_President">Presidential Science Advisor</a> <em>systematically</em> applying science to develop advanced weapons. The U.S., alone among all the Axis powers and Allied nations, now had a science advisor who reported directly to the president and had the charter and budget to fund<em> </em>advanced weapon systems <em>research</em> – outside the confines of the Army or Navy.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">NRDC was run by science <em>administrators</em>, who had managed university researchers as well as complex research and applied engineering projects science before. They took input from theorists, experimental physicists, and industrial contractors, and were able to weigh the advice they were receiving. They understood the risks, scale and resources needed to turn blackboard theory to deployed weapons. Equally important, they weren’t afraid to make multiple bets on a promising technology nor were they afraid to kill projects that seemed like dead ends for the war effort.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>200+ contracts<br /> </em>Prior to mid 1940 research in U.S. universities was funded by private foundations or companies. There was no government funding. The NRDC changed that. With a budget of $10,000,000 to fund <em>research</em> proposed by the five section chairmen, the NDRC funded 200+ contracts for research in radar, physics, optics, chemical engineering, and atomic fission.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>For the first time ever, U.S. university researchers were receiving funding from the U.S. government</em>. (It would never stop.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>The Uranium Committee<br /> </em>In addition to the five NRDC divisions working on conventional weapons, the NRDC took over the moribund standalone Uranium Committee and made it a scientific advisory board reporting directly to Bush. The goal was to understand whether the theory of an atomic weapon could be turned into a practical weapon. Now the NRDC could directly fund research scientists to investigate ways to separate for U-235 to make a bomb.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>What Didn’t Work at the NRDC?<br /> </em>After a year, it was clear to Bush that while the NDRC was funding advanced research, the military wasn’t integrating those inventions into weapons. The NRDC had <em>no authority to build and acquire weapons</em>. Bush decided what he needed was a way to bypass traditional Army and Navy <em>procurement processes</em> and get those advanced weapons built.<strong> </strong></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Read the sidebars for background.</em></p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29941" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/opp-sidebar-1/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?fit=1411%2C1844&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1411,1844" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Opp sidebar 1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?fit=230%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?fit=468%2C611&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29941" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?resize=468%2C611&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="611" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?resize=784%2C1024&ssl=1 784w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?resize=230%2C300&ssl=1 230w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?resize=115%2C150&ssl=1 115w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?resize=768%2C1004&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?resize=1175%2C1536&ssl=1 1175w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?w=1411&ssl=1 1411w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Opp-sidebar-1.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29944" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/opp-sidebar-2/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?fit=1344%2C739&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1344,739" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="opp sidebar 2" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?fit=300%2C165&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?fit=468%2C257&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29944" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?resize=468%2C257&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="257" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C563&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?resize=300%2C165&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?resize=150%2C82&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?resize=768%2C422&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?w=1344&ssl=1 1344w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-2.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>The Office of Scientific Research and Development</strong> <strong>Stands Up<br /> </strong>In May 1941 Bush went back to President Roosevelt, this time with a more audacious request: Turn NRDC into an organization that not only funded research but <em><u>built</u> prototypes of new advanced weapons</em> <em>and had the budget and authority to write contracts to industry to build these weapons at scale</em>. In June 1941 Roosevelt agreed and signed the Executive Order creating the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD). (It’s worth reading the Executive Order <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-8807-establishing-the-office-scientific-research-and-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> to see the extraordinary authority he gave OSRD.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">OSRD expanded the National Defense Research Committee’s (NDRC) original five divisions into 19 weapons divisions, five research committees and a medical portfolio. Each division managed a broad portfolio of projects from research to production, and deployment. Its organization chart is shown below.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29907" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/osrd-23/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?fit=1626%2C1511&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1626,1511" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="OSRD 23" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?fit=300%2C279&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?fit=468%2C435&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-29907" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?resize=468%2C435&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="435" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?resize=1024%2C952&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?resize=300%2C279&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?resize=150%2C139&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?resize=768%2C714&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?resize=1536%2C1427&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?w=1626&ssl=1 1626w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OSRD-23.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">These divisions spearheaded the development of an impressive array of advanced weapons including <a href="http://www.vectorsite.net/ttwiz_03.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">radar</a>, <a href="http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/3672/1/Snyder.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rockets</a>, <a href="http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~hua15001" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sonar</a>, the <a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq96-1.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proximity fuse</a>, <a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/napalm.htm">Napalm</a>, the Bazooka and new drugs such as <a href="http://www.lib.niu.edu/2001/iht810139.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">penicillin</a> and cures for malaria.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The OSRD was a radical experiment. Instead of the military controlling weapons development Bush was now running an organization where civilian scientists designed and built advanced weapons systems. Nearly 10,000 scientists and engineers received draft deferments to work in these labs.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">As a harbinger of much bigger things, the NRDC uranium committee was enlarged and renamed the S-1 Section on Uranium.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Applied-physicists.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29915" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/applied-physicists/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Applied-physicists.jpg?fit=652%2C338&ssl=1" data-orig-size="652,338" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Applied physicists" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Applied-physicists.jpg?fit=300%2C156&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Applied-physicists.jpg?fit=468%2C243&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-29915" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Applied-physicists.jpg?resize=300%2C156&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="156" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Applied-physicists.jpg?resize=300%2C156&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Applied-physicists.jpg?resize=150%2C78&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Applied-physicists.jpg?w=652&ssl=1 652w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Throughout the next year the pace of atomic research picked up. And Bush’s involvement in launching the U.S. nuclear weapons program would grow larger.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong> </strong>By the middle of 1941 Bush was beginning to believe that building an atomic bomb was possible. But he felt he did not have enough evidence to suggest to the president that the country commit to the massive engineering effort to build the bomb.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Then the MAUD report from the British arrived.</p> <div style="background-color: #ededed;"> <div style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 5px;"> <p><strong>The British Nuclear Weapons Program codenamed “Tube Alloys” and the MAUD Report</strong></p> <p>Meanwhile in the UK, British nuclear physicists had not only concluded that building an atomic bomb was feasible, but they had calculated the size of the industrial effort needed.In March 1940 scientists had told UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill that nuclear weapons could be built.</p> <p>In June 1940 the UK formed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAUD_Committee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MAUD Committee</a> to study the possibility of developing a nuclear weapon. A year later they had their answer: the July 1941 the MAUD Committee report, “Use of Uranium for a Bomb,” said that it was possible to build a bomb from uranium using gaseous diffusion on a massive scale to produce uranium-235. It kick-started the UK’s own nuclear weapons program called Tube Alloys. (Read the MAUD report <a href="https://fissilematerials.org/library/maud.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.)</p> <p>They delivered their report to Vannevar Bush in July 1941. And it changed everything.</p> </div> </div> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Bush is Convinced by the MAUD Report<br /> </strong>The MAUD Report finally pushed Bush over the edge. The British report showed how it was possible to build an atomic bomb. The fact that the British were independently saying what passionate advocates like Lawrence, Fermi, et al were saying convinced Bush that an atomic bomb program was worth investing in at the scale needed.</p> <div style="background-color: #ededed;"> <div style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 5px;"> <p>For a short period of time in 1941 the UK was ahead of the U.S. in thinking about how to weaponize uranium, but British officials dithered on approaching the U.S. for a full nuclear partnership with the U.S. By mid 1942, when the British realized their industrial capacity was stretched too thin and they couldn’t build the uranium separation plants and Bomb alone during the War, the <a href="https://www.ias.edu/idea-tags/manhattan-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manhattan Project</a> was scaling up and the U.S. had no need for the UK.</p> <p>The UK would play a minor role in the Manhattan project.</p> </div> </div> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Bush Tells Roosevelt – We Can Build an Atomic Bomb<br /> </strong>In October 1941, Bush told the President about the British MAUD report conclusions: the bomb’s uranium core might weigh twenty-five pounds, its explosive power might equal eighteen hundred tons of TNT, but to separate the U-235 they would need to build a massive industrial facility. The President asked Bush to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to figure out what type of plant to build, how to build it and how much would it cost.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">A month later, in November 1941 the U.S. National Academy of Sciences confirmed to Bush that the British MAUD report conclusions were correct.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Bush now had all the pieces lined up to support an all-out effort to develop an atomic bomb.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>December 1941 – Let’s Build an Atomic Bomb<br /> </strong>In December 1941, the day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, <em>the atomic bomb program was placed under Vannevar Bush</em>. He renamed the Uranium program as the S-1 Committee of OSRD.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to overseeing the 19 Divisions of OSRD, Bush’s new responsibility was to coordinate all the moving parts of the atomic bomb program – the research, the lab experiments, and now the beginning of construction contracts.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">With the Presidents support, Bush <u>reorganized the program to take it from research to a weapons program</u>. The goal now was to find the best ways to produce uranium-235 and Plutonium in large quantities. He appointed Harold Urey at Columbia to lead the gaseous diffusion and centrifuge methods and heavy-water studies. Ernest Lawrence at Berkeley took electromagnetic and plutonium responsibilities, and Arthur Compton at Chicago ran chain reaction and weapons theory programs. This team proposed to begin building pilot plants for all five methods of separating U-235 before they were proven. Bush and Conant agreed and sent the plan to the President, Vice President, and Secretary of War, suggesting the Army Corps of Engineers build these plants.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">With U.S. now at war with Germany and Japan, the race to build the bomb was on.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29930" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/nrdc-and-osrd/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?fit=1025%2C400&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1025,400" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="NRDC and OSRD" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?fit=300%2C117&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?fit=468%2C183&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29930" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?resize=468%2C183&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="183" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?w=1025&ssl=1 1025w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?resize=300%2C117&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?resize=150%2C59&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?resize=768%2C300&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NRDC-and-OSRD.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In January 1942, Compton made Oppenheimer responsible for fast neutron research at Berkeley. This very small part of the atomic bomb program is the first time Oppenheimer was formally engaged in atomic bomb work.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Enter the Army<br /> </strong>The Army began attending OSRD S-1 (the Atomic Bomb group) meetings in March 1942. Bush told the President that by the summer of 1942 the Army should be authorized to build full-scale plants.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Build the U-235 Separation and Plutonium Plants<br /> </strong>By May 1942 it was still unclear which U-235 separation method would work and what was the right way to build a nuclear reactor to make Plutonium, so the S-1 committee recommended – <em>build all of them</em>. Build centrifuge, electromagnetic separation, and gaseous diffusion plants as fast as possible; build a heavy water plant for the nuclear reactors as an alternative to graphite; build reactors to produce plutonium; and start planning for large-scale production and select the site(s). The S-1 Committee also recommended the Army be in charge of building the plants.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29946" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/opp-sidebar-z3/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?fit=1351%2C1900&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1351,1900" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Opp sidebar z3" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?fit=213%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?fit=468%2C658&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29946" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?resize=468%2C658&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="658" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?resize=728%2C1024&ssl=1 728w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?resize=213%2C300&ssl=1 213w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?resize=107%2C150&ssl=1 107w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?resize=768%2C1080&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?resize=1092%2C1536&ssl=1 1092w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?w=1351&ssl=1 1351w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Opp-sidebar-z3.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Meanwhile that same month, Oppenheimer was made the “Coordinator of Rapid Rupture.” He headed up a group of theorists working with experimentalists to calculate how many pounds of U-235 and Plutonium were needed for a bomb.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29948" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/opp-sidebar-5/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?fit=1351%2C874&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1351,874" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="opp sidebar 5" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?fit=300%2C194&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?fit=468%2C303&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29948" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?resize=468%2C303&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="303" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?w=1351&ssl=1 1351w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?resize=300%2C194&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?resize=1024%2C662&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?resize=150%2C97&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?resize=768%2C497&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/opp-sidebar-5.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>The Manhattan Engineering District – The Atomic Program Moves to the Army<br /> </strong>In June 1942, the president approved Bush’s plan to hand building the bomb over to the Army. The Manhattan Engineering District became the new name for the U.S. atomic bomb program. General Groves was appointed its head in September 1942.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29973" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/opp-sidebar-6/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?fit=1352%2C520&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1352,520" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="opp sidebar 6" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?fit=300%2C115&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?fit=468%2C180&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29973" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?resize=468%2C180&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="180" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?resize=1024%2C394&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?resize=300%2C115&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?resize=150%2C58&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?resize=768%2C295&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?w=1352&ssl=1 1352w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/opp-sidebar-6.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">To everyone’s surprise Groves selected Oppenheimer to administer the program. It was a surprise because up until then Oppenheimer was a theoretical physicist, not an experimentalist nor had he ever run or managed any programs.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Grove and Oppenheimer decided that in addition to the massive production facilities – U-235 in Oak Ridge, TN, and Plutonium in Hanford, WA – they would need a central laboratory to design the bomb itself. <em>This would become Los Alamos</em>. And Oppenheimer would head that lab bringing together a diverse set of theorists, experimental physicists, explosive experts, chemistry, and metallurgists.</p> <div id="attachment_29952" style="width: 879px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bush-Conant-and-Grove.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29952" data-attachment-id="29952" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/bush-conant-and-grove/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bush-Conant-and-Grove.jpg?fit=869%2C619&ssl=1" data-orig-size="869,619" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Bush Conant and Grove" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Bush, Conant and Grove at Plutonium production site at Hanford -July 1945</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bush-Conant-and-Grove.jpg?fit=300%2C214&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bush-Conant-and-Grove.jpg?fit=468%2C333&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-full wp-image-29952" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bush-Conant-and-Grove.jpg?resize=468%2C333&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="333" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bush-Conant-and-Grove.jpg?w=869&ssl=1 869w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bush-Conant-and-Grove.jpg?resize=300%2C214&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bush-Conant-and-Grove.jpg?resize=150%2C107&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bush-Conant-and-Grove.jpg?resize=768%2C547&ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-29952" class="wp-caption-text">Bush, Conant and Grove at Plutonium production site at Hanford -July 1945</p></div> <p style="font-weight: 400;">At its peak in mid-1944 130,000 people were working on the Manhattan Project; 5,000 of them worked at Los Alamos.</p> <p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29984" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/scale-manhattan/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?fit=3075%2C1961&ssl=1" data-orig-size="3075,1961" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="scale manhattan" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?fit=300%2C191&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?fit=468%2C298&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-29984" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?resize=468%2C298&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="298" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?resize=1024%2C653&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?resize=300%2C191&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?resize=150%2C96&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?resize=768%2C490&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?resize=1536%2C980&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?resize=2048%2C1306&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/scale-manhattan.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Vannevar Bush would be present at the test of the Plutonium weapon at the Trinity test site in July 1945.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The OSRD would be the organization that made the U.S. the leader in 20<sup>th</sup> century research. At the end of World War II, Bush laid out his vision for future U.S. support of research in an article called “<a href="https://www.nsf.gov/about/history/EndlessFrontier_w.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Science the Endless Frontier</a>.” OSRD was disbanded in 1947, but after a long debate it was resurrected in pieces. Out of it came the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, the Atomic Energy Commission and ultimately NASA and DARPA – all would all spring from its roots.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">50 years before it happened Bush would describe what would become the internet in a 1945 article called <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As We May Think</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Summary</strong></p> <blockquote> <ul> <li>By the time Oppenheimer and Grove took over the Atomic Bomb program, Vannevar Bush had been running it for two years</li> <li>The U.S. atomic bomb program was the sum of multiple small decisions guided by OSRD and a Presidential science advisor – Vannevar Bush</li> <li>Bush’s organizations kick-started the program. The NDRC invested (in 2023 dollars) $10M in nuclear research, OSRD put in another $250M for nuclear experiments</li> <li>The Manhattan project would ultimately cost ~$40 billion to build the two bombs.</li> <li>As the country was in a crisis – decisions were made in days/weeks by small groups with the authority to move with speed and urgency.</li> <li>Large-scale federal funding for science research in U.S. universities started with the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) – more to come in subsequent posts</li> </ul> </blockquote> <p><strong>Read all the Secret History posts <a href="https://steveblank.com/secret-history/#Secret%20History%20Backstory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a></strong></p> <hr /> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="91" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1604784834&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:92:"https://steveblank.com/2023/08/29/before-there-was-oppenheimer-there-was-vannevar-bush/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"6";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"29888";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:18;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:79:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Lean Meets Wicked Problems";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:61:"https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 25 Jul 2023 13:00:57 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:3:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:20:"Customer Development";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Lean LaunchPad";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:2;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:8:"Teaching";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=29765";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:394:"This post previously appeared in Poets & Quants. I just spent a month and a half at Imperial College London co-teaching a “Wicked” Entrepreneurship class. In this case Wicked doesn’t mean morally evil, but refers to really complex problems, ones with multiple moving parts, where the solution isn’t obvious. (Understanding and solving homelessness, disinformation, climate […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55458:"<p><a href="https://poetsandquants.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="25513" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2019/12/03/getting-schooled-lessons-from-an-adjuncts/poets-and-quants-logo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/poets-and-quants-logo.png?fit=1438%2C248&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1438,248" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Poets and quants logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/poets-and-quants-logo.png?fit=300%2C52&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/poets-and-quants-logo.png?fit=468%2C81&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-25513 alignleft" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/poets-and-quants-logo.png?resize=163%2C28&ssl=1" alt="" width="163" height="28" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>This post <a href="https://poetsandquants.com/2023/07/17/steve-blank-lean-meets-wicked-problems/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously appeared</a> in Poets & Quants.</p> <p>I just spent a month and a half at Imperial College London co-teaching a “Wicked” Entrepreneurship class. In this case Wicked doesn’t mean morally evil, but refers to really complex problems, ones with multiple moving parts, where the solution isn’t obvious. (Understanding and solving homelessness, disinformation, climate change mitigation or an insurgency are examples of wicked problems. <a href="https://hbr.org/2008/05/strategy-as-a-wicked-problem">Co</a><a href="https://hbr.org/2008/05/strategy-as-a-wicked-problem">mpanies also face Wicked problems</a>. In contrast, designing AI-driven enterprise software or building dating apps are comparatively simple problems.)</p> <hr /> <p style="font-weight: 400;">I’ve known <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-cristobal-garcia-herrera-a81174?originalSubdomain=uk">Professor Cristobal Garcia</a> since 2010 when he hosted my first visit to Catholic University in Santiago of Chile and to southern Patagonia. Now at Imperial College Business School and Co-Founder of the <a href="https://www.wickedacceleration.org/">Wicked Acceleration Labs</a>, Cristobal and I wondered if we could combine the tenets of Lean (get out of the building, build MVPs, run experiments, move with speed and urgency) with the expanded toolset developed by researchers who work on Wicked problems and Systems’ Thinking.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Our goal was to see if we could get students to <u>stop admiring problems and work</u><u> rapidly on solving them</u>. As Wicked and Lean seem to be mutually exclusive, this was a pretty audacious undertaking.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">This five-week class was going to be our MVP.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s what happened.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Finding The Problems<br /> </strong>Professor Garcia scoured the world to find eight Wicked/complex problems for students to work on. He presented to organizations in the Netherlands, Chile, Spain, the UK (Ministry of Defense and the BBC), and aerospace companies. The end result was a truly ambitious, unique, and international set of curated Wicked problems.</p> <ul> <li>Increasing security and prosperity amid the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche_conflict">Mapuche conflict</a> in Araucania region of Chile</li> <li>Enabling and accelerating a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_hydrogen">Green Hydrogen</a> economy</li> <li>Turning the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Country_(autonomous_community)">Basque Country in Spain</a> into an AI hub</li> <li>Solving Disinformation/Information Pollution for the BBC</li> <li>Creating <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-0651/POST-PN-0651.pdf">Blue Carbon</a> projects for the UK Ministry of Defense</li> <li>Improving patient outcomes for Ukrainian battlefield injuries</li> <li>Imagining the future of a low-earth-orbit space economy</li> <li>Creating a modular architecture for future UK defense ships</li> </ul> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Recruiting the Students<br /> </strong>With the problems in hand, we set about recruiting students from both <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/">Imperial College’s business school</a> and the <a href="https://www.rca.ac.uk/">Royal College of Art</a>’s design and engineering programs.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">We held an info session explaining the problems and the unique parts of the class. We were going to share with them a “Swiss Army Knife” of traditional tools to understand Wicked/Complex problems, but they were not going to research these problems in the library. Instead, using the elements of Lean methodology, they were going to get out of the building and observe the problems first-hand. And instead of passively observing them, they were going to build and test MVPs. All in six weeks.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">50 students signed up to work on the eight problems with different degrees of “wickedness”.</p> <div id="attachment_29803" style="width: 478px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29803" data-attachment-id="29803" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/imperial-wicked-2023-class/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?fit=3274%2C1749&ssl=1" data-orig-size="3274,1749" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Imperial wicked 2023 class" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Imperial Wicked Problems and Systems Thinking – 2023 Class</p> " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?fit=300%2C160&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?fit=468%2C250&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-29803 size-large" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?resize=468%2C250&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="250" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?resize=1024%2C547&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?resize=300%2C160&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?resize=150%2C80&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?resize=768%2C410&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?resize=1536%2C821&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?resize=2048%2C1094&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Imperial-wicked-2023-class.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-29803" class="wp-caption-text">Imperial Wicked Problems and Systems Thinking – 2023 Class</p></div> <p><b>The Class<br /> </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">The pedagogy of the class (our teaching methods and the learning activities) were similar to all the Lean/I-Corps and <a href="https://h4d.stanford.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hacking for Defense</a> classes we’ve previously taught. This meant the class was </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">team-based, Lean-driven (hypothesis testing/business model/customer development/agile engineering) and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">experiential – where the students, rather than being presented with all of the essential information, must discover that information </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">rapidly </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">for themselves.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The teams were going to get out of the building and talk to 10 stakeholder a week. Then weekly each team will present </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">1) here’s what we thought, 2) here’s what we did, 3) here’s what we learned, 4) here’s what we’re going to do during this week.</span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">More Tools<br /> </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The key difference between this class and previous Lean/I-Corps and Hacking for Defense classes was that Wicked problems required more than just a business model or mission model to grasp the problem and map the solution. Here, to get a handle on the complexity of their problem the students needed a </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">suite</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of tools – Stakeholder Maps, Systems Maps, Assumptions Mapping, Experimentation Menus, Unintended Consequences Map, and finally Dr. Garcia’s derivative of the Alexander Osterwalder’s <a href="https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas">Business Model Canvas</a> – the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wicked Canvas</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> – which added the concept of unintended consequences and the “sub-problems” according to the different stakeholders’ perspectives to the traditional canvas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During the class the teaching team offered explanations of each tool, but the teams got a firmer grasp on Wicked tools from a guest lecture by </span><a href="https://design.cmu.edu/people/faculty/terry-irwin"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professor Terry Irwin</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Director of the </span><a href="https://transitiondesigninstitute.net/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Transition Design Institute</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> at Carnegie Mellon (see her presentation </span><a href="https://youtu.be/WzRGFiFZwq0?t=7"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.) Throughout the class teams had the flexibility to select the tools they felt appropriate to rapidly gain an holistic understanding and yet to develop a minimum viable product to address and experiment with each of the wicked problems.</span></p> <h3><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Class Flow<br /> </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Week 1 </span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is a simple idea? What are big ideas and Impact Hypotheses? </span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Characteristics of each. Rewards, CEO, team, complexity, end point, etc. </span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is unique about Wicked Problems?</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beyond TAM and SAM (“back of the napkin”) for Wicked Problems</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You need Big Ideas to tackle Wicked Problems: but who does it?</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"> Startups vs. Large Companies vs. Governments</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Innovation at Speed for Horizon 1, 2 and 3 (Managing the Portfolio across Horizons)</span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is Systems Thinking?</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to map stakeholders and systems’ dynamics?</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Customer & Stakeholder Discovery: getting outside the building, city and country: why and how? </span></li> </ul> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mapping the Problem(s), Stakeholders and Systems – Wicked Tools</span></i><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29770" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/figure-1-stakeholders-and-systems/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?fit=3029%2C1320&ssl=1" data-orig-size="3029,1320" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Figure 1 Stakeholders and Systems" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?fit=300%2C131&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?fit=468%2C204&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-large wp-image-29770 aligncenter" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?resize=468%2C204&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="204" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?resize=1024%2C446&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?resize=300%2C131&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?resize=150%2C65&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?resize=768%2C335&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?resize=1536%2C669&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?resize=2048%2C892&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-1-Stakeholders-and-Systems.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Week 2</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Teams present for 6 min and receive 4 mins feedback</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Wicked Swiss Army Knife for the week: Mapping Assumptions Matrix, unintended consequences and how to run and design experiments</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prof Erkko Autio (ICBS and Wicked Labs) on AI Ecosystems and Prof Peter Palensky (TU Delft) on Smart Grids, Decarbornization and Green Hydrogen</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lecture on Minimal Viable Products (MVPs) and Experiments</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Homework: getting outside the building & the country to run experiments</span></li> </ul> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Assumption Mapping and Experimentation Type – Wicked Tools</span></i><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29772" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/figure-2-assumpitons-experiments-consenquences/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?fit=2368%2C1688&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2368,1688" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Figure 2 Assumpitons, Experiments Consenquences" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?fit=300%2C214&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?fit=468%2C334&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-29772" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?resize=468%2C334&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="334" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?resize=1024%2C730&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?resize=300%2C214&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?resize=150%2C107&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?resize=768%2C547&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?resize=1536%2C1095&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?resize=2048%2C1460&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-2-Assumpitons-Experiments-Consenquences.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Week 3</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Teams present in 6 min and receive 4 mins feedback</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Wicked Swiss Army Knife for the week: from problem to solution via “How Might We…” Builder and further initial solution experimentation</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">On Canvases: What, Why and How </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Wicked Canvas </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Next Steps and Homework: continue running experiments with MVPs and start validating your business/mission/wicked canvas</span></li> </ul> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Wicked Canvas – Wicked Tools</span></i></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29777" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/figue-4-wicked-canvas/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?fit=2151%2C1647&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2151,1647" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Figue 4 Wicked Canvas" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?fit=300%2C230&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?fit=468%2C358&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-29777" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?resize=468%2C358&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="358" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?resize=1024%2C784&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?resize=300%2C230&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?resize=150%2C115&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?resize=768%2C588&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?resize=1536%2C1176&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?resize=2048%2C1568&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></span></h3> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Experimentation Design and How We Might… – Wicked Tools</span></i><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29775" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/figure-3-experiment-design-how-we-might/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?fit=3227%2C1239&ssl=1" data-orig-size="3227,1239" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Figure 3 Experiment Design, How we Might" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?fit=300%2C115&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?fit=468%2C180&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-29775" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?resize=468%2C180&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="180" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?resize=1024%2C393&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?resize=300%2C115&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?resize=150%2C58&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?resize=768%2C295&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?resize=1536%2C590&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?resize=2048%2C786&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figure-3-Experiment-Design-How-we-Might.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Week 4</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Teams present in 6 min and receive 5 mins feedback</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wicked Business Models – validating all building blocks</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Geography of Innovation – </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">the milieu, creative cities & prosperous regions</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How World War II and the UK Started Silicon Valley</span></li> <li aria-level="1">The Wicked Swiss Tool- <span style="font-weight: 400;">maps for acupuncture in the territory</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Storytelling & Pitching </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Homework: Validated MVP & Lessons learned</span></li> </ul> <p><em>Acupuncture Map for Regional System Intervention <i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> – Wicked Tools</span></i></em><a href="https://steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg"><br /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29816" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/acupuncture-map/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?fit=1300%2C508&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1300,508" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Acupuncture map" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?fit=300%2C117&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?fit=468%2C183&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-29816" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?resize=468%2C183&ssl=1" alt="" width="468" height="183" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?resize=1024%2C400&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?resize=300%2C117&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?resize=150%2C59&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?resize=768%2C300&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?w=1300&ssl=1 1300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Acupuncture-map.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Figue-4-Wicked-Canvas.jpg"><br /> </a>Week 5</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Teams presented their Final Lessons Learned journey – </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Validated MVP, Insights & Hindsight </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">(see the presentations at the end of the post.)</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What did we understand about the problem on day 1?</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What do we now understand?</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How did we get here?</span></li> <li aria-level="2">What solutions would we propose now?</li> <li aria-level="2">What did we learn?</li> <li aria-level="2"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Reflections on the Wicked Tools</span></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><b>Results<br /> </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. We pushed the students way past what they have done in other classes. In spite of what we said in the info session and syllabus, many students were in shock when they realized that they couldn’t take the class by just showing up, and heard in no uncertain terms that no stakeholder/customer interviews in week 1 was unacceptable.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yet, everyone got the message pretty quickly. The team working on the</span> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche_conflict"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mapuche conflict</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Araucania region of Chile, flew to Chile from London, interviewed multiple stakeholders and were back in time for next week’s class. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The team working to turn the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Country_(autonomous_community)"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Basque Country in Spain</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> into an AI hub</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> did the same – they flew to Bilbao and interviewed several stakeholders. The team working on the Green Hydrogen got connected to the Rotterdam ecosystem and key stakeholders in the Port, energy incumbents, VCs and Tech Universities. The team working on Ukraine did not fly there for obvious reasons. The rest of the teams spread out across the UK – all of them furiously mapping stakeholders, assumptions, systems, etc., while proposing minimal viable solutions. By the end of the class it was a whirlwind of activity as students not only presented their progress but saw that of their peers. No one wanted to be left behind. They all moved with speed and alacrity.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Lessons Learned</strong></span></h3> <blockquote> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our conclusion? While this class is not a substitute for a years-long deep analysis of Wicked/complex problems it gave students:</span> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">a practical hands-on introduction to tools to map, sense, understand and potentially solve Wicked Problems</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">the confidence and tools to stop admiring problems and work on solving them</span></li> </ul> </li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">I think we’ll teach it again.</span></li> </ul> </blockquote> <iframe loading="lazy" width="100%" height="92" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F1578345555&width=false&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=false&show_comments=false&color=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false"></iframe> <h2><b>Team final presentations<br /> </b></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The team’s final lessons learned presentations were pretty extraordinary, only matched by their post-class comments. Take a look below.</span></p> <h3><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oshXruxYZe3ct4-w7oSAgPygXgiYbYBN/view?usp=sharing"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Wicked Araucania</span></i></a></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oshXruxYZe3ct4-w7oSAgPygXgiYbYBN/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29781" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/team-2-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?fit=2669%2C1505&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2669,1505" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Team 2 title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?fit=468%2C264&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29781 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C577&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?resize=150%2C85&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?resize=768%2C433&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C866&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1155&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-2-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Click </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oshXruxYZe3ct4-w7oSAgPygXgiYbYBN/view?usp=sharing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> if you can’t see the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Araucania</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> presentation.</span></p> <h3><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JzKsp13Xule5oddR8Gzapa4qMTsxO7lR/view?usp=sharing"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Accelerate Basque</span></i></a></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JzKsp13Xule5oddR8Gzapa4qMTsxO7lR/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29784" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/team-3-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?fit=2666%2C1502&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2666,1502" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Team 3 title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?fit=468%2C264&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29784 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C577&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?resize=150%2C85&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?resize=768%2C433&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C865&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1154&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-3-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Click </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JzKsp13Xule5oddR8Gzapa4qMTsxO7lR/view?usp=sharing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> if you can’t see the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Accelerate Basque</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> presentation.</span></p> <h3><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c9nlyj_BLRW1mG-FL_0IVruQ2uUEyFZs/view"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Green Hydrogen</span></i></a><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c9nlyj_BLRW1mG-FL_0IVruQ2uUEyFZs/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29790" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/green-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?fit=3550%2C1861&ssl=1" data-orig-size="3550,1861" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Green title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?fit=300%2C157&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?fit=468%2C245&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29790 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?resize=300%2C157&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="157" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?resize=300%2C157&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C537&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?resize=150%2C79&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?resize=768%2C403&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C805&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1074&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Green-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Click </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c9nlyj_BLRW1mG-FL_0IVruQ2uUEyFZs/view?usp=sharing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> if you can’t see the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Green Hydrogen</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> presentation.</span></p> <h3><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GbDDEeLbG2oxaSgLeZqp9h8sHOECMGe5/view?usp=sharing"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team </span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Into The Blue</span></i></a></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GbDDEeLbG2oxaSgLeZqp9h8sHOECMGe5/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29792" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/blue-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?fit=3955%2C2242&ssl=1" data-orig-size="3955,2242" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Blue title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?fit=300%2C170&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?fit=468%2C265&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29792 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?resize=300%2C170&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="170" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?resize=300%2C170&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C580&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?resize=150%2C85&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?resize=768%2C435&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C871&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1161&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Click </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GbDDEeLbG2oxaSgLeZqp9h8sHOECMGe5/view?usp=sharing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> if you can’t see the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Blue</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> presentation.</span></p> <h3><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y_9ftOW4ezBkhFP1sAzgp4otnkp9lAU0/view?usp=sharing"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Information Pollution</span></i></a></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y_9ftOW4ezBkhFP1sAzgp4otnkp9lAU0/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29786" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/team-4-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/team-4-title.jpg?fit=960%2C540&ssl=1" data-orig-size="960,540" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="team 4 title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/team-4-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/team-4-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29786 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/team-4-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/team-4-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/team-4-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/team-4-title.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/team-4-title.jpg?w=960&ssl=1 960w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Click </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y_9ftOW4ezBkhFP1sAzgp4otnkp9lAU0/view?usp=sharing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> if you can’t see the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Information Pollution</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> presentation.</span></p> <h3><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12a2aLdG25YaPUzFwpVlIeO346DUrfH2m/view"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Ukraine</span></i></a></h3> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12a2aLdG25YaPUzFwpVlIeO346DUrfH2m/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29780" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/team-1-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?fit=2000%2C1233&ssl=1" data-orig-size="2000,1233" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Team 1 Title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?fit=300%2C185&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?fit=468%2C288&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29780 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?resize=300%2C185&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="185" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?resize=300%2C185&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?resize=1024%2C631&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?resize=150%2C92&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?resize=768%2C473&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?resize=1536%2C947&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-1-Title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Click </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12a2aLdG25YaPUzFwpVlIeO346DUrfH2m/view?usp=sharing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> if you can’t see the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Ukraine</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> presentation.</span></p> <h3><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-SPOZhBEeidJanTCEBMMKoFlduXex1fL/view?usp=sharing"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Wicked Space</span></i></a></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-SPOZhBEeidJanTCEBMMKoFlduXex1fL/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29794" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/space-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?fit=3921%2C2208&ssl=1" data-orig-size="3921,2208" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Space title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?fit=468%2C264&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29794 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?resize=1024%2C577&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?resize=1536%2C865&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?resize=2048%2C1153&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Space-title.jpg?w=1404&ssl=1 1404w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Click </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-SPOZhBEeidJanTCEBMMKoFlduXex1fL/view?usp=sharing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> if you can’t see the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Wicked Space</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> presentation.</span></p> <h3><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G_VJL8aqYKU5jGdKvEzpZy_Kh69iocuW/view?usp=sharing"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Team Future Proof the Navy</span></i></a></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G_VJL8aqYKU5jGdKvEzpZy_Kh69iocuW/view"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29788" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/team-7-title/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-7-title.jpg?fit=960%2C540&ssl=1" data-orig-size="960,540" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Team 7 title" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-7-title.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-7-title.jpg?fit=468%2C263&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="aligncenter wp-image-29788 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-7-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-7-title.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-7-title.jpg?resize=150%2C84&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-7-title.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Team-7-title.jpg?w=960&ssl=1 960w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>Click </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G_VJL8aqYKU5jGdKvEzpZy_Kh69iocuW/view?usp=sharing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> if you can’t see the Future Proof the Navy</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">presentation.</span></p> <p><br style="font-weight: 400;" /><br style="font-weight: 400;" /></p> ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:36:"http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/";a:1:{s:10:"commentRss";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"https://steveblank.com/2023/07/25/lean-meets-wicked-problems/feed/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:38:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/";a:1:{s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1:"9";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:30:"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1";a:1:{s:7:"post-id";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"29765";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:19;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:82:" ";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:6:{s:0:"";a:7:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:86:"Reorganizing the DoD to Deter China and Win in the Ukraine – A Road Map for Congress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:40:"https://steveblank.com/2023/04/19/29670/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"comments";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"https://steveblank.com/2023/04/19/29670/#comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 19 Apr 2023 13:00:22 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"category";a:4:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"China";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:1;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Corporate/Gov't Innovation";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:2;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17:"National Security";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}i:3;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"Technology Innovation and Great Power Competition";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://steveblank.com/?p=29670";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:11:"isPermaLink";s:5:"false";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:353:"This article previously appeared in Defense News. It was co-written with Joe Felter, and Pete Newell. Today, the U.S. is supporting a proxy war with Russia while simultaneously attempting to deter a China cross-strait invasion of Taiwan. Both are wakeup calls that victory and deterrence in modern war will be determined by a state’s ability […]";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"steve blank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:40:"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/";a:1:{s:7:"encoded";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15710:"<p style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29673" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/04/19/29670/defense-news-logo/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?fit=1286%2C241&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1286,241" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Defense News Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?fit=300%2C56&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?fit=468%2C88&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-29673" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?resize=150%2C28&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="28" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?resize=150%2C28&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?resize=300%2C56&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?resize=1024%2C192&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?resize=768%2C144&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?w=1286&ssl=1 1286w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Defense-News-Logo.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>This article previously <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2023/04/13/a-reorganizational-road-map-for-dod-to-deter-china-win-in-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared in Defense News</a>. It was co-written with <a href="https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/1306061/dr-joseph-h-felter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Felter</a>, and <a href="https://www.commonmission.us/team-members/pete-newell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Newell</a><em>.</em></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Today, the U.S. is supporting a proxy war with Russia while simultaneously attempting to deter a China cross-strait invasion of Taiwan. Both are wakeup calls that victory and deterrence in modern war will be determined by a state’s ability to <em>both</em> use traditional weapons systems and simultaneously rapidly acquire, deploy, and integrate commercial technologies (drones, satellites, targeting software, et al) into operations at every level.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Ukraine’s military is not burdened with the DoD’s 65-year-old acquisition process and 20th-century operational concepts. It is learning and adapting on the fly. China has made the leap to a “whole of nation” approach. This has allowed the <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23503959/if11719.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peoples Liberation Army</a> (PLA) to integrate private capital and commercial technology and use them as a force multiplier to dominate the South China Sea and prepare for a <a href="https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/Books/crossing-the-strait/crossing-the-strait.pdf?ver=VFL9qlF8Flii9svD4EI31g%3d%3d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cross-strait invasion of Taiwan</a>.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The DoD has not done either of these. It is currently organized and oriented to execute traditional weapons systems and operational concepts with its traditional vendors and research centers but is woefully unprepared to integrate commercial technologies and private capital at scale.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29689" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/04/19/29670/the-pentagon/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?fit=1052%2C583&ssl=1" data-orig-size="1052,583" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="the pentagon" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?fit=300%2C166&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?fit=468%2C259&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-29689" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?resize=150%2C83&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="83" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?resize=150%2C83&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?resize=300%2C166&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?resize=1024%2C567&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?resize=768%2C426&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?w=1052&ssl=1 1052w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/the-pentagon.jpg?w=936&ssl=1 936w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Copying SecDef Ash Carter’s 2015 strategy, China has been engaged in <a href="https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/What-is-MCF-One-Pager.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Civil/Military Fusion</a> employing a whole of government coordinated effort to <a href="https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/Tai_Ming_Cheung_Testimony.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harness these disruptive commercial technologies for its national security</a> needs. To fuel the development of technologies critical for defense, China has tapped into<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Innovate-Dominate-Chinese-Techno-Security-State-ebook/dp/B09HW59LDC" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> $900 billion of private capital</a> in Civil/Military Guidance (Investment) Funds and has taken public state owned enterprises to fund their new shipyards, aircraft, and avionics. Worse, China will learn from and apply the lessons from Russia’s failures in the Ukraine at an ever increasing pace.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">But unlike America’s arch strategic rival, the US to date has been unwilling and unable to adapt and adopt new models of systems and operational concepts at the speed of our adversaries. These include attritable systems, autonomous systems, swarms, and other emerging new defense platforms threaten legacy systems, incumbent vendors, organizations, and cultures. (<a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3351281/secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iii-announces-new-director-of-the-defense-i/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Until today</a>, the U.S. effort was still-born with its <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2022/08/dius-director-tried-to-overcome-a-calcified-defense-innovation-system-it-beat-him-now-what/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">half-hearted support of its own Defense Innovation Unit</a> and history of lost capabilities like those that were inherent the US Army’s Rapid Equipping Force.)</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Viewing the DoD budget as a zero-sum game has turned the major defense primes and K-street lobbyists into saboteurs for DoD organizational innovation that threaten their business models. <em>Using private capital could be a force multiplier by adding 100’s of billions of dollars outside the DoD budget</em>.<a href="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Untitled.jpg?ssl=1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="29680" data-permalink="https://steveblank.com/2023/04/19/29670/untitled-8/" data-orig-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Untitled.jpg?fit=683%2C144&ssl=1" data-orig-size="683,144" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Untitled" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Untitled.jpg?fit=300%2C63&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Untitled.jpg?fit=468%2C99&ssl=1" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-29680" src="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Untitled.jpg?resize=150%2C32&ssl=1" alt="" width="150" height="32" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Untitled.jpg?resize=150%2C32&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Untitled.jpg?resize=300%2C63&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/steveblank.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Untitled.jpg?w=683&ssl=1 683w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a> Today, private capital is disincented to participate in national security and incentives are aligned to ensure the U.S. military is organized and configured to fight and win the wars of the last century. The U.S. is on a collision course to experience catastrophic failure in a future conflict because of it. Only Congress can alter this equation.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">For the U.S. to deter and prevail against China the DoD must create <em><a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Interim-Report-Atlantic-Council-Commission-on-Defense-Innovation-Adoption.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">both a strategy</a> and a redesigned organization</em> to embrace those untapped external resources – private capital and commercial innovation. Currently the DoD lacks a coherent plan and an organization with the budget and authority to do so.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">A reorganized and refocused DoD could acquire traditional weapons systems while simultaneously rapidly acquiring, deploying, and integrating commercial technologies. It would create a national industrial policy that incentivizes the development of 21st-century shipyards, drone and satellite factories and a new industrial base along the lines of the <a href="https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/chips-science-act-summary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHIPS and Innovation and Competition</a> acts.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Congress must act to identify and implement changes within the DoD needed to optimize its organization and structure. These include:</p> <ol style="font-weight: 400;"> <li><em>Create a new defense ecosystem that uses the external commercial innovation ecosystem and private capital as a force multiplier.</em> Leverage the expertise of prime contractors as integrators of advanced technology and complex systems, refocus Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (<a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44629/6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FFRDCs</a>) on areas not covered by commercial tech (kinetics, energetics, nuclear and hypersonics).</li> <li><em>Reorganize DoD Research and Engineering. </em>Allocate its budget and resources equally between traditional sources of innovation and new commercial sources of innovation and capital. Split the OSD R&E organization in half. Keep the current organization focused on the status quo. Create a peer organization – the Under Secretary of Defense for Commercial Innovation and Private Capital.</li> <li><em>Scale up the new <a href="https://www.cto.mil/osc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Office of Strategic Capital</a> (OSC) and the <a href="https://www.diu.mil" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defense Innovation Unit</a> (DIU) to be the lead agencies in this new organization</em>. Give them the <em>budget and authority</em> to do so and provide the services the means to do the same.</li> <li><em>Reorganize DoD Acquisition and Sustainment. </em>Allocate its budget and resources equally between traditional sources of production and the creation of new <em>from 21st-century arsenals</em> – new shipyards, drone manufacturers, etc. – that can make 1,000s of low-cost, attritable systems.</li> <li><em>Coordinate with Allies.</em> Expand the National Security Innovation Base (NSIB) to an Allied Security Innovation Base. Source commercial technology from allies.</li> </ol> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Why Is It Up To Congress?</strong></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">National power is ephemeral. Nations decline when they lose allies, economic power, interest in global affairs, experience internal/civil conflicts, or miss disruptive technology transitions and new operational concepts.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The case can be made that all of these have or are happening to the U.S.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">There is historical precedent for Congressional action to ensure the DoD is organized to fight and win our wars. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwater–Nichols_Act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The 1986 Goldwater/Nichols Act</a> laid the foundation for conducting coordinated and effective joint operations by reorganizing the roles of the military services, and the Joint Chiefs, and creating the Joint Staff and the combatant commands. US Congress must take Ukraine and China’s dominance in the South China Sea as call for action and immediately establish a commission to determine what reforms and changes are needed to ensure the U.S. can fight and win our future wars.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">While parts of the DoD understand we’re in a crisis to deter, or if that fails, win a war in the South China Sea, the DoD as a whole shows little urgency and misses a crucial point: China will not defer solving the Taiwan issue on our schedule. Russia will not defer its future plans for aggression to meet our dates. 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