Most founders follow advice that sets them up to fail.In this episode of Divot, we sit down with one of the most influential minds in startup history — Steve Blank.
Before reshaping modern entrepreneurship, Steve co-founded E.piphany, a CRM company that went public in 1999 and soared to an $8 billion valuation. After multiple startups and hard-won lessons, he created the startup playbook that changed how companies are built — from customer discovery to the Lean Startup.
Steve’s teachings are used at Stanford, Columbia, and Berkeley, adopted by Y Combinator, and taught in U.S. national security programs through his Hacking for Defense initiative. He’s helped thousands of founders avoid failure and build with truth instead of hype.
This conversation is a masterclass in resilience, innovation, and clarity for any builder, founder, or operator.
Follow Steve – X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/sgblank
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Timestamps:
0:00 – Why founders are chasing the wrong things
3:15 – The hidden startup rule no one talks about
6:45 – What combat taught him about startups
9:40 – Why customer discovery saves companies
14:10 – Founders who build too early
18:35 – Inside the Lean Startup origin story
24:00 – Why failure is the best startup professor
28:15 – Government innovation and saving lives
31:30 – Common startup myths that never die
35:20 – Steve’s advice to early-stage founders
Episode Partner:
Salesforce
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