However, this model may not just be ill-fitting for startup companies, but it may actually be a cause of death, said serial entrepreneur Steve Blank.

Blank, who has started eight Silicon Valley startups since 1978, wrote on his website that the product development model is often a cause of early startup failure.

The model, which consists of four stages - concept and seed, product development, alpha and beta tests, and product launch and first customer ship - is most successful when the product is being launched into an existing, well-defined market, Blank said. This is not the case with most startup companies.

"Following this diagram religiously will more often than not put you out of business," Blank wrote. "Most experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the model collapses at first contact with customers."

Regardless of the use of product development models, two-thirds of startups survive at least two years, according to the Small Business Administration.