--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Greatest risk is not development of new…" description: "\"Greatest risk is not development of new product, but development of customers and markets\" — Steve Blank" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/steve-blank-24385_customers_greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new_2455357.jpg" --- # Greatest risk is not development of new product, but… ![“Greatest risk is not development of new product, but development of customers and markets” quote by Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/steve-blank-24385_customers_greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new_2455357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/steve-blank-24385_customers_greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new_2455357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/steve-blank-24385_customers_greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new_2455357.jpg) > “Greatest risk is not development of new product, but development of customers and markets” [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The biggest risk is ignoring market development, not product creation. **In simple terms:** Focus on customers and markets, not just product. Key Takeaway Prioritize market discovery. Themes risk market customer development Mood analytical strategic Type business practical When to use this quote - startup launch - product design - business planning - investor pitch Key Concepts lean startup innovation strategy Questions to Reflect On - How will you validate market needs? - What steps will you take to develop customers? A Different Perspective Neglecting product quality can fail despite market focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [New products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-products/) [Product development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product-development/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) ## Related quotes > [Fact is, the work place to a great extent is "where we live." We need star accountants. Boffo saleswomen. Over-the-top creatives in marketing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/fact-is-the-work-place-to-a-great-extent-is-where-we-live-we-need/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [At Google, operations are not just an afterthought: they are critical to the company's success, and we want to have just as much effort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/at-google-operations-are-not-just-an-afterthought-they-are-critical/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [Using the Product Development Waterfall diagram for Customer Development activities is like using a clock to tell the temperature. They both measure something, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/using-the-product-development-waterfall-diagram-for-customer/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [Research is an organized method of trying to find out what you are going to do after you cannot do what you are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/research-is-an-organized-method-of-trying-to-find-out-what-you-are/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Truly world-class firms are always examining their business processes and continuously seeking solutions to improve in key areas, such as lead time reduction, cost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-baldwin/truly-world-class-firms-are-always-examining-their-business-processes/) [Daniel Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-baldwin/) > [The minimum viable product is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ries/the-minimum-viable-product-is-that-version-of-a-new-product-which/) [Eric Ries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ries/) > [The greatest risk in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing and becomes nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/the-greatest-risk-in-life-is-to-risk-nothing-the-person-who-risks/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [“You're the greatest risk I've ever taken. And the greatest reward. -- Gideon to Eva”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/you-re-the-greatest-risk-i-ve-ever-taken-and-the-greatest-reward/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [“Greatest risk of all: to be vulnerable, to allow others to see us as we really are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/greatest-risk-of-all-to-be-vulnerable-to-allow-others-to-see-us-as-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The greatest risk is really to take no risk at all. You've got to go out there, jump off the cliff, and take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-warburton/the-greatest-risk-is-really-to-take-no-risk-at-all-you-ve-got-to-go/) [Patrick Warburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-warburton/) > [The greatest IT risk facing most companies is more prosaic than a catastrophe. It is, simply, overspending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-it-risk-facing-most-companies-is-more-prosaic-than-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The greatest risk to man is not that he aims to high and misses, but that he aims to low and hits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-risk-to-man-is-not-that-he-aims-to-high-and-misses-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My philosophy, in a nutshell, is to wipe out the greatest amount of risk with the least amount of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-patricof/my-philosophy-in-a-nutshell-is-to-wipe-out-the-greatest-amount-of/) [Alan Patricof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-patricof/) > [The greatest risk one can take is not to take risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/onuh-justus-izuchukwu/the-greatest-risk-one-can-take-is-not-to-take-risk/) [Onuh Justus Izuchukwu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/onuh-justus-izuchukwu/) > [“The greatest risk most of us will take in our lifetime is that of repression or denial of basic rights of another person. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/the-greatest-risk-most-of-us-will-take-in-our-lifetime-is-that-of/) [Donavan Nelson Butler, Master Sergeant US Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donavan-nelson-butler-master-sergeant-us-army/) ## More by Steve Blank > [There are no facts inside the building so get the hell outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/there-are-no-facts-inside-the-building-so-get-the-hell-outside/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [You need to ask yourself, ‘Where do you want to work: startups, mid-size or large companies?’ If you find yourself debating the ‘startup versus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/you-need-to-ask-yourself-where-do-you-want-to-work-startups-mid-size/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [A business model describes how your company creates, delivers and captures value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/a-business-model-describes-how-your-company-creates-delivers-and/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [We now know that something between 85 and 90 percent of most software product features are unwanted and unneeded by customers. That is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/we-now-know-that-something-between-85-and-90-percent-of-most-software/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [“The first customer ship date does not mean the company understands its customers or how to market or sell to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/the-first-customer-ship-date-does-not-mean-the-company-understands/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [The core tenant of what I teach is there are no facts inside the building. When we come up with a new idea, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/the-core-tenant-of-what-i-teach-is-there-are-no-facts-inside-the/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [For students to understand what the future of journalism is going to be, they're going to have to invent it. It's a big idea.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/for-students-to-understand-what-the-future-of-journalism-is-going-to/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [When you're gone would you rather have your gravestone say, 'He never missed a meeting.' Or one that said, 'He was a great father.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/when-you-re-gone-would-you-rather-have-your-gravestone-say-he-never/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [No Plan Survives First Contact With Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/no-plan-survives-first-contact-with-customers/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [Unless you have tested the assumptions in your business model first, outside the building, your business plan is just creative writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/unless-you-have-tested-the-assumptions-in-your-business-model-first/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [Startups don’t fail because they lack a product; they fail because they lack customers and a profitable business model.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/startups-don-t-fail-because-they-lack-a-product-they-fail-because/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [The company that consistently makes and implements decisions rapidly gains a tremendous, often decisive, competitive advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/the-company-that-consistently-makes-and-implements-decisions-rapidly/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [Business plans are the tool existing companies use for execution. They are the wrong tool to search for a business model.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/business-plans-are-the-tool-existing-companies-use-for-execution-they/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [Disruption on the first day always looks like a toy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/disruption-on-the-first-day-always-looks-like-a-toy/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [Startups are painful, stressful and at times demoralizing. You need to be a true believer in the vision of what you are doing. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/startups-are-painful-stressful-and-at-times-demoralizing-you-need-to/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) [Explore all 24 Steve Blank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) ## More Customers quotes > [The best way to hold customers is to constantly figure out how to give them more for less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/the-best-way-to-hold-customers-is-to-constantly-figure-out-how-to/) [Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [One of the Internet's highest-profile companies, Priceline once dreamed of transforming the way consumer goods are bought and sold by offering customers the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/one-of-the-internet-s-highest-profile-companies-priceline-once/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-truett-cathy/if-we-get-better-our-customers-will-demand-we-get-bigger/) [S. Truett Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-truett-cathy/) > [Research is an organized method of trying to find out what you are going to do after you cannot do what you are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/research-is-an-organized-method-of-trying-to-find-out-what-you-are/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Without a customer, you don't have a business - all you have is a hobby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-peppers/without-a-customer-you-don-t-have-a-business-all-you-have-is-a-hobby/) [Don Peppers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-peppers/) > [In open source, you really have to be near the watershed to have an impact on the source code. Customers want to be near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-fenton/in-open-source-you-really-have-to-be-near-the-watershed-to-have-an/) [Peter Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-fenton/) > [Get a minimum viable product out there, test it out, see how customers respond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shira-goodman/get-a-minimum-viable-product-out-there-test-it-out-see-how-customers/) [Shira Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shira-goodman/) > [Tachyon OPC+ is a natural extension of our market-winning Tachyon platform, giving customers a clear path to minimizing the OPC error budget and producing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/tachyon-opc-is-a-natural-extension-of-our-market-winning-tachyon/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [I think technology advanced faster than anticipated. In that whirlwind, a lot of companies didn't survive. The reason we have done well is because,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/i-think-technology-advanced-faster-than-anticipated-in-that-whirlwind/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [In a very real sense, there are only two roles in organisations: customers and suppliers. Everybody functions simultaneously in both roles, whether inside or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/in-a-very-real-sense-there-are-only-two-roles-in-organisations/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Why is Caterpillar bad if we create a new job in India or China to receive U.S. exports? It makes no sense to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-oberhelman/why-is-caterpillar-bad-if-we-create-a-new-job-in-india-or-china-to/) [Douglas R. Oberhelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-oberhelman/) > [Enthusiastic service providers create enthusiastic customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-kaufman/enthusiastic-service-providers-create-enthusiastic-customers/) [Ron Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-kaufman/) > [The more a prospective customer clicks on you and your stuff, the easier it is for them to make a buying decision in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-gitomer/the-more-a-prospective-customer-clicks-on-you-and-your-stuff-the/) [Jeffrey Gitomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-gitomer/) > [You have to treat your employees like your customers. When you treat them right they will treat your outside customers right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/you-have-to-treat-your-employees-like-your-customers-when-you-treat/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) Browse all 2,036 Customers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Greatest risk is not development of new product, but development of customers and markets", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Blank" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new-product-but-development-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Customers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new-product-but-development-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/steve-blank-24385_customers_greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new_2455357.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/steve-blank-24385_customers_greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new_2455357.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/633/steve-blank-24385_customers_greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new_2455357.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Greatest risk is not development of new product, but development of customers and markets” — Steve Blank", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Steve Blank", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Greatest risk is not development of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new-product-but-development-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/greatest-risk-is-not-development-of-new-product-but-development-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```