Mariana Mazzucato
Professor of Innovation Economics, University College London | Founding Director, UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose | Author of The Entrepreneurial State; Mission Economy & The Big Con
Steve Blank
Father of the Lean Startup Movement | Adjunct Professor, Stanford | Senior Fellow, Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation | Thinkers50
Steve Blank changed how startups are built, how companies innovate, and how entrepreneurship is taught — earning him the title "father of modern entrepreneurship." Stanford professor, Thinkers50 scholar, and architect of the Lean Startup, he now applies his methodology to AI disruption and national security innovation. His keynotes give executives the frameworks to act, not just think.
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Steve Blank biography
Widely regarded as the father of modern entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship speaker Steve Blank is the architect of the Lean Startup methodology — a framework that has fundamentally changed how startups are built, how companies innovate, and how entrepreneurship is taught at universities around the world. A veteran of eight Silicon Valley startups, four of which went public, Blank traded a 21-year business career for academia and has since become one of the most influential thinkers in global business.
Blank’s landmark 2005 book The Four Steps to the Epiphany introduced the concept of Customer Development and ignited the Lean Startup movement — establishing that startups are not simply smaller versions of large companies, but fundamentally different organisms that require a distinct set of tools and mindsets. His subsequent Harvard Business Review cover story “Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything” brought these ideas to the C-suite, demonstrating that established companies are just as much in need of customer discovery as early-stage ventures. The Startup Owner’s Manual, co-authored with Bob Dorf, became the definitive operational playbook for founders worldwide.
Thinkers50 has named Blank one of the world’s top management scholars, and Harvard Business Review recognized him as one of its 12 Masters of Innovation. He teaches at Stanford University‘s Graduate School of Business and School of Engineering, where he won the Undergraduate Teaching Award in Management Science and Engineering, and serves as Senior Fellow for Entrepreneurship at Columbia University. He also leads the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program, which has used his methodology to commercialize science out of federally funded research labs at scale.
From Silicon Valley to National Security Innovation
In recent years, Blank has extended his reach from startup culture into national security and government innovation. In 2016, he co-founded the Hacking for Defense program at Stanford, pairing student teams with the Department of Defense to solve real, pressing military challenges using Lean Startup principles. He is a founding member of Stanford’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, where he teaches Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition alongside courses on entrepreneurship inside government. He has also published a widely-used directory of Department of Defense acquisition offices to reduce information asymmetry between the defense establishment and the startup ecosystem. Today, his thinking on AI’s disruption of the startup playbook — from the collapse of software moats to the emergence of AI Agent/Customer Outcome fit as the successor to product/market fit — is required reading for any founder or innovation leader navigating a world where the rules are being rewritten in real time.
As a speaker, Steve Blank brings unmatched credibility to the stage: he has lived every phase of the entrepreneurial journey, built the theoretical frameworks that guide a generation of founders, and applied those same frameworks to some of the most complex institutions in the world. His keynotes challenge executives, founders, and government leaders alike to rethink what innovation actually requires — and to get out of the building before it’s too late. Contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to book Steve Blank for your next event.
Steve Blank Speaking Videos
Steve Blank - Want Your Startup to Succeed? 'Get Out of the Building'
Steve Blank - How to Keep Your Job as Your Company Grows
Steve Blank Keynote Topics
The startup playbook that worked five years ago may already be obsolete. Blank examines how AI is dismantling software moats, collapsing development timelines, and shifting the fundamental question from product/market fit to AI Agent/Customer Outcome fit. For both early-stage founders and innovation leaders inside large organizations, this keynote provides a clear-eyed update to the Lean Startup principles — and a warning about the sunk-cost mindsets that will put companies out of business.
Big companies don't fail because they stop working hard — they fail because they apply execution thinking to discovery problems. Drawing on his decades of research and practice, Blank shows how established organizations can adopt Lean Startup techniques, separate innovation from operations, and build the internal culture and processes needed to move at the speed the market demands. A keynote designed for Fortune 500 leadership teams navigating continuous disruption.
Most companies build products and then look for customers. The ones that survive and scale do the opposite. Blank unpacks the Customer Development methodology he pioneered — why leaving the building is not a metaphor but a discipline, how to distinguish between what customers say and what they do, and why this applies as powerfully to a century-old corporation as to a two-person startup. Practical, direct, and rooted in decades of hard evidence.
National security is the innovation challenge of the century, and it requires a new kind of collaboration between government institutions and the private sector. Blank traces the creation and impact of the Hacking for Defense program at Stanford, what the DoD has learned from the startup world, what Silicon Valley has learned about mission-driven constraints, and what it will take to build an innovation ecosystem capable of competing with state-level adversaries in AI, autonomy, and beyond.
Silicon Valley's dominance as a global innovation hub did not emerge from garages or venture capital alone — its roots trace back to Cold War defense spending, university research, and deliberate ecosystem design. Blank tells the true history of how the Valley came to be and draws out the precise, replicable conditions that any region, government, or institution can apply to build its own engine of entrepreneurial growth.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Steve Blank
Why Steve Blank?
Booking Steve Blank means putting the person who literally rewrote the rules of entrepreneurship in front of your audience. He didn't just observe the startup world — he built eight companies in it, then spent decades distilling those experiences into frameworks that now guide founders, corporate innovation teams, and government agencies on every continent. His Lean Startup methodology is taught at hundreds of universities. His Hacking for Defense program is reshaping how the U.S. military acquires technology. And his ongoing writing on AI's disruption of the startup playbook is among the most cited thinking in the space. For any event focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, strategy, or organizational transformation, Blank delivers substance that executives can actually use. Contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to check availability.
What is the Lean Startup methodology and who created it?
The Lean Startup is a methodology for building and scaling new ventures that prioritizes validated learning over intuition and planning. Rather than spending months or years developing a product in isolation, it prescribes rapid experimentation, direct customer discovery, and iterative development — testing assumptions early and cheaply before committing large resources. Steve Blank created the intellectual foundation for the movement with his Customer Development model, first articulated in his 2005 book The Four Steps to the Epiphany. Eric Ries subsequently popularized the term "Lean Startup" in his 2011 book of the same name, building directly on Blank's framework. Today the methodology is applied not only by startups but by major corporations, government agencies, and universities worldwide.
What is Steve Blank's connection to national security and defense innovation?
Beyond his work on entrepreneurship, Blank has spent over a decade applying Lean Startup principles to national security. In 2016, he co-founded the Hacking for Defense program at Stanford, which pairs student teams with branches of the U.S. Department of Defense to solve real operational problems. He is also a founding member of Stanford's Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, where he teaches courses on technology, innovation, and great power competition, including classes that integrate AI tools into national security policymaking. He has served on the DoD Business Board and the U.S. Navy Science and Technology Board, and is widely recognized as a key bridge between Silicon Valley's innovation culture and the defense establishment.
What topics does Steve Blank cover as a keynote speaker?
Steve Blank speaks on entrepreneurship and the Lean Startup methodology, corporate innovation and disruption, AI's impact on startups and business models, Customer Development and product/market fit, national security innovation and defense-tech ecosystems, and how to build entrepreneurial ecosystems from scratch. His keynotes are tailored for startup founders, Fortune 500 leadership teams, government agencies, university audiences, and anyone grappling with how to build and sustain innovation in a rapidly changing world. To book Steve Blank for your conference or corporate event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau today.
How to book Steve Blank as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Steve Blank as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Steve Blank's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Steve Blank or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Steve Blank speaking fee?
Steve Blank speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Steve Blank to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Steve Blank.
How can I contact Steve Blank?
We only work with Steve Blank on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Steve Blank and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Steve Blank speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Steve Blank for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Steve Blank for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Steve Blank is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Steve Blank for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
