The Four Steps to the Epiphany
by Steven Gary Blank · first published 2005
66% recommend33% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Practical blueprint for customer development: talk to real potential customers and validate demand before building. Includes worksheets and suits technical founders who tend to over-focus on product.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Folks, Those of you who have read Steven Gary Blank's excellent book "The Four Steps to the Epiphany", do you think these principles apply to Web 2.0 companies. In general every commercial business entity must make profits. And most successful enterprise software/hardware companies surprisingly seem…
on “Ask HN: Web 2.0 and The Four Steps to the Epiphany” ↗- The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steven Blank. [1] - Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days by Jessica Livingston. [2] [1] http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-Blank/dp/09... [2] http://www.amazon.com/Founders-Work-Stories-Startups-Problem...
on “What are some good books for tech company founders?” ↗You guys were YC11 and nobody suggested that you read The Four Steps to the Epiphany??? Seriously, half the readers of HN could tell you that you don't do a big PR launch before establishing product/market fit. Are you trying to be Webvan 2.0? Sorry, don't mean to sound harsh, but that…
on “Don’t Launch Your Product” ↗Pinning down just one would be nearly impossible, but I can tell you a small group that I consider indispensable. The Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve Blank. This is a MUST read. If you read nothing else, make it this book. Note that there is a 2nd Edition, which changes the title to "The Startup Owner's Manual". There is a lot of overlap in…
on “Ask HN: As a technical founder what is the best business book you've read?” ↗There's a lot more to marketing than getting on the front page of HN. OP, I suggest you read Traction by Gabriel Weinberg, and The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank, and consider if you've successfully identified who your customers are, and a valid channel for reaching them. Further ask if you've correctly identified a problem that those customers…
on “Ask HN: 4 months after posting my project on HN, it has 0 users. Has it failed?” ↗…The downside to this is: it costs money (potentially a lot) and doesn't generate necessarily generate quality feedback because the people you're targeting aren't invested in helping you. Also: read The Four Steps to the Epiphany or The Startup Owner's Manual.
on “Ask HN: Where do you find potential customers to validate your idea / MVP?” ↗…introductions to their connections, on your behalf. You need to impress people as "someone who knows his shit and is worth spending time with" for best effect. I recommend reading Steve Blank's book The Four Steps To The Epiphany as there's a good section in there about what he calls "Friendly First Contacts" which would be relevant to you. There are also a lot of old threads on the Lean Startup Circle mailing list about how…
on “Ask HN: What will people pay money for?” ↗That's a lot of questions, and most of the answers are "it depends", or there's more than one right answer. I'd suggest you consider reading The Art of the Start[1] by Guy Kawasaki, The Four Steps To The Epiphany[2] by Steve Blank, and High Tech Startup[3] by John Nesheim. Between those, they cover a big chunk of the basic stuff you need to know. The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls…
on “Ask HN: How do you startup? ” ↗- The Four Steps to the Epiphany - The Lean Startup
on “Ask HN: Suggest good books on bootstrapping a startup” ↗…delete from existing solutions and still appeal to a segment of users. Think about one or two missing features you can add after you have deleted many of the existing ones. A really good book on this is "Four Steps to the Epiphany" by Steve Blank, cheapest place to buy it is here http://www.cafepress.com/kandsranch
on “Ask YC: What's your Advice on Performing Market Analysis for a Startup?” ↗…are not a customer (yet). There are distinct methodologies and processes for customer development in the same way that there are for product development: one excellent book on Customer Development is "Four Steps to the Epiphany" by Steve Blank, which is chock full of practical advice on developing early customers.
on “Ask HN: Subscription web sites: How did you get your first customer?” ↗Instead I would recommend "Four Steps to the Epiphany" by Gary Blank http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-Blank/dp/09... I think this book would have helped with some of the prioritization issues the author of this blog post describes.
on “Reflections of a YC Dropout” ↗I used to think that, until I found Four Steps to the Epiphany: http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-Blank/dp/09... Great book. Read it. Two-sentence description: product development is essential, of course, but "build it and then market it" is way too…
on “Want To Be A Startup CEO? Better Learn How To Code.” ↗Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve Blank http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-Blank/dp/09... I've read tons of marketing books and went to school for business, but this one is the best for tech startups hands down.
on “Ask HN: Are there any good Internet marketing books?” ↗1. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini 2. How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger 3. The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steven Gary Blank
on “Good sales books for hackers?” ↗