# Steve Blank: angel investments and portfolio

> Steve Blank is an angel. 10 investments on record, latest Feb 2017. Portfolio, stages, co-investors and team.

Source: https://millionrounds.com/fund/steve-blank (Millionrounds; every figure on the page links to its filing or article)

[Investor](https://millionrounds.com/investors)

# Steve Blank

Last cheque observed Feb 2017. Silence since then is not evidence of inactivity: our sources miss unannounced rounds.

Quiet Angel

Seed Series A Series B

Cheques on record

**0%** of best year **0** **cheques in 12 months**, 10 on record

Since the last cheque **3531** days **00** hrs **00** min **00** sec

Median round **$4.5M** Rounds led **0 of 10** Sole investor **1 rounds** Exits **2 from the portfolio** Mostly in **United States, 90%**

Pitch Steve Blank

## Steve Blank highlights

- 01 10 rounds on record
- 02 Mostly Seed and Series A: 60% of its rounds
- 03 Sole investor in 1 rounds, median undisclosed
- 04 2 exits from the portfolio

## What they do

- **Type:** Angel (from a list, unverified)
- **Cheque size:** Not stated
- **Cold pitches:** Not stated

## The record

Every round we can evidence, newest first **10 appearances**

- **2017** 1 round
- **Feb** **[Gamalon](https://millionrounds.com/company/gamalon)** Seed · US · FinSMEs **$4.5M** With 8 others
- **2014** 2 rounds
- **Jul** **[Neon Labs](https://millionrounds.com/company/neon-labs)** Series A · US **$4.1M** With 2 others
- **May** **[EdSurge](https://millionrounds.com/company/edsurge)** Series A · US **$960K** With 4 others
- **2013** 1 round
- **Apr** **[Neon Labs](https://millionrounds.com/company/neon-labs)** Seed · US · cmu.edu **$625K** With 3 others
- **2012** 2 rounds
- **Oct** **[Udacity](https://millionrounds.com/company/udacity)** Series B · US · techcrunch.com **$15M** With 2 others
- **Sept** **[Blue River Technology](https://millionrounds.com/company/blue-river-technology)** Venture · US **$245K** With 2 others
- **2011** 2 rounds
- **Nov** **[Blaast](https://millionrounds.com/company/blaast)** Seed · FI · talouselama.fi **Undisclosed** Sole investor
- **Mar** **[Egnyte](https://millionrounds.com/company/egnyte)** Series B · US · bizjournals.com **$10M** With 2 others
- **2010** 2 rounds
- **Sept** **[Votizen](https://millionrounds.com/company/votizen)** Venture · US · techcrunch.com **$1.5M** With 11 others
- **Sept** **[inDinero](https://millionrounds.com/company/indinero)** Seed · US · techcrunch.com **$1.2M** With 11 others

An announcement gives the size of the round, not the size of this investor's cheque: the only rounds that imply a cheque are those where they were the sole named investor.

## The team

We hold **1** person at this firm from the lists this database was built from: a weaker source than the filings, since a list does not say when a title ended. Login to see them.

## What they claim to have backed

From their own portfolio page (on their website)

**11** of 56 we have independently watched raise

[Anthropic](https://millionrounds.com/company/anthropic)[Granola](https://millionrounds.com/company/granola)[Listen Labs](https://millionrounds.com/company/listen-labs)[Listen Labs](https://millionrounds.com/company/listen-labs)[Lockheed Martin](https://millionrounds.com/company/lockheed-martin)[Long Term Stock Exchange](https://millionrounds.com/company/long-term-stock-exchange)[Lovable](https://millionrounds.com/company/lovable)[Perplexity](https://millionrounds.com/company/perplexity)[Twinmind](https://millionrounds.com/company/twinmind)[Vercel](https://millionrounds.com/company/vercel)[the Boring Company](https://millionrounds.com/company/the-boring-company) 20+ in the UK AES-GCM AFTTP 3-32.34v3 Agile Combat Employment America’s Frontier Fund Anthropic Mythos Army Corps of Engineers Army's Modular Protective Chuck Eesley Claude Code Claude Skills Common Mission Project Cristobal Garcia Csrc Doresearch Entrepreneur & Innovation Exchange Eric Volmar Germany Get the Podcasts Gordian Knot Center Hacking for Defense Hacking for Diplomacy Hon Marise Payne Jennifer Carolan Jeremy Weinstein Joe Felter Joe Felter Leanlaunchpad Mar Hershenson Mike Brown Missile Defense Agency MovieLabs National Institutes of Health National Science Foundation National Science Foundation I-Corps OpenClaw Owen West Poets and Quants Sbir THAAD The Cipher Brief Viewpoints AI acquired by John Deere business model v0

Weaker than a round we watched, stronger than a list somebody sold us. A firm is far less willing to put a company on its own site that it never funded.

## Exits from the portfolio

Companies it backed that were later bought or listed **2 in all**

**[Votizen](https://millionrounds.com/company/votizen)** Bought by Brigade **Undisclosed** Jun 2014

**[Votizen](https://millionrounds.com/company/votizen)** Bought by [Causes](https://millionrounds.com/fund/causes) **Undisclosed** Jan 2013

An exit counts when it came after the firm's first round in the company. From historical deal records.

## The cheque

Seed Series A Series B

Median round joined **$4.5M** the round, not its cheque Alone, median **-**

Led 0 of 10 rounds **0%**

- **Sole investor:** 1 rounds
- **Last cheque:** Feb 2017
- **Exits:** 2 from the portfolio

Rounds by stage said on their site

- Seed *4*
- Series A *2*
- Series B *2*
- Venture *2*

Cheques by year Led Joined

2010 2017

Often in the room with

- [500 Global](https://millionrounds.com/fund/500-startups) 2
- [Felicis](https://millionrounds.com/fund/felicis-ventures) 2
- [Mohr Davidow Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/mohr-davidow-ventures) 2

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## Who they invest alongside

The investors most often in the same rounds as Steve Blank. A count of rooms they were both in, not a relationship either has claimed.

[**500 Global** Angel **2** rounds together](https://millionrounds.com/fund/500-startups)[**Felicis** VC firm **2** rounds together](https://millionrounds.com/fund/felicis-ventures)[**Mohr Davidow Ventures** VC firm **2** rounds together](https://millionrounds.com/fund/mohr-davidow-ventures)

## Recently backed

The latest companies Steve Blank put money into.

[**Gamalon** $4.5M · Feb 2017](https://millionrounds.com/company/gamalon)

## Books by the people here

3 books written by people at Steve Blank: [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/person/steve-blank).

- The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/person/steve-blank) · 2003 3.96 from 16,810 ratings on Goodreads About the book The bestselling classic that launched 10,000 startups and new corporate ventures - The Four Steps to the Epiphany is one of the most influential and practical business books of all time. The Four Steps to the Epiphany launched the Lean Startup approach to new ventures. It was… On AmazonListen on Audible
- The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/person/steve-blank) · 2012 4.11 from 12,890 ratings on Goodreads About the book Now a decade after the Four Steps to the Epiphany sparked the Lean Startup revolution, comes its sequel… The Startup Owner's Manual The Manual incorporates 10 years of learning and best practices that have swept the startup world. It: Incorporates the "Business Model… On AmazonListen on Audible
- Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/person/steve-blank) · 2010 4.35 from 23 ratings on Goodreads About the book Volume One of Steve Blank s collected blog posts, featuring war stories and lessons from 20 years in Silicon Valley startups, how to build a successful Customer Development model, and real world advice on creating a successful venture capital pitch. Includes thoughtful ideas on… On AmazonListen on Audible
- Find the books for what you are building, or how you invest. [Open the Reading List](https://millionrounds.com/reading-list)

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

## On podcasts

6 episodes naming Steve Blank in the title, and 4 more that mention it.

- [The Full Ratchet](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/full-ratchet) 11 Jun 2026 · 6 min Investor Stories 479: Startup Lessons from Steve Blank, Seth Levine, and Ben Orthlieb: Hubris, Influence, and Founder Selection (Orthlieb, Levine, Blank) With [Ben Orthlieb](https://millionrounds.com/person/ben-orthlieb-2)[Seth Levine](https://millionrounds.com/person/seth-levine) Mentions [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/fund/steve-blank) Apple PodcastsShow page
- [The Full Ratchet](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/full-ratchet) 11 May 2026 · 58 min 508. Maintaining U.S. Dominance, Navigating Defense Tech, Prime Obsolence, and Why Your Startup is Likely DOA (Steve Blank) Mentions [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/fund/steve-blank) Apple PodcastsShow page
- [In Depth](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/in-depth) 14 Nov 2024 · 34 min How to find customers in the Dept of Defense: From prototype to the Pentagon | Steve Blank (Hacking for Defense) Mentions [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/fund/steve-blank)[Eric Ries](https://millionrounds.com/fund/eric-ries)[First Round Capital](https://millionrounds.com/fund/first-round-capital) *+2* Apple Podcasts
- [In Depth](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/in-depth) 21 Dec 2023 · 1h 10m Mastering modern entrepreneurship | Building lean, starting young, and studying customers | Steve Blank (Author of The Four Steps to the Epiphany) Mentions [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/fund/steve-blank)[Alexander Osterwalder](https://millionrounds.com/person/alexander-osterwalder) Apple Podcasts
- [Latitud Podcast](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/latitud) 20 Jun 2023 · 60 min #148 - How to build products your customers want: Steve Blank Mentions [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/fund/steve-blank)[Yuri Danilchenko](https://millionrounds.com/person/yuri-danilchenko) Apple Podcasts
- [Village Global Podcast](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/village-global) 4 Aug 2022 · 52 min Steve Blank on Rebuilding the Department of Defense Mentions [Steve Blank](https://millionrounds.com/fund/steve-blank)[Elon Musk](https://millionrounds.com/fund/elon-musk)[Palmer Luckey](https://millionrounds.com/fund/palmer-luckey) *+1* Apple PodcastsShow page

### Mentioned in

- [The Full Ratchet](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/full-ratchet) 30 Jul 2026 · 9 min Investor Stories 486: The Traits of Visionary Founders: Ecosystem-Scale Thinking, Data-Driven Truth-Seeking, and Relentless Customer Experience Design (Blank, Demaree, Cheng) Apple PodcastsShow page
- [Cheeky Pint](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/cheeky-pint) 1 Oct 2025 · 2h 8m Marc Andreessen and Charlie Songhurst on the past, present, and future of Silicon Valley Apple PodcastsShow page
- [Pattern Breakers](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/pattern-breakers) 9 Jul 2024 · 40 min A Sneak Peek at Pattern Breakers Apple PodcastsShow page
- [Acquired](https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/acquired) 30 May 2023 · 3h 31m Lockheed Martin Apple PodcastsShow page

## Quick answers about Steve Blank

### What does Steve Blank invest in?

Steve Blank invests most often at Seed and Series A (60% of the rounds on record).

### How active is Steve Blank?

10 investments on record, 0 of them in the last 12 months. The most recent was in Feb 2017.

### What has Steve Blank invested in recently?

Its most recent investments on record: Gamalon (Seed, Feb 2017).

### How big are Steve Blank's cheques?

The median round it joins is $4.5M.

### Does Steve Blank lead rounds?

Rarely, if at all: none of its 10 investments on record names it as the lead.

### Where does Steve Blank invest?

Most of the companies it backs are in the United States (90%) and Finland (10%).

### Is Steve Blank investing now?

No investments in the last 12 months; the latest was in Feb 2017.

### Who does Steve Blank invest alongside?

Most often 500 Global (2 rounds together), Felicis (2 rounds together) and Mohr Davidow Ventures (2 rounds together).

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