We recently hosted a conversation between Brianne Kimmel, Founder & Managing Partner at Work Life Ventures, and Chris Guest, Lean Startup Co. Advisor, about entering this new era of work and business. Brianne Kimmel shares her experiences on how our current accelerating speed is impacting startups and what it means for enterprise organizations and government. Email us: [email protected] Follow Lean Startup Co. @leanstartup https://leanstartup.co/education

We recently hosted a conversation between Jesse Thomas, Co-founder & CEO of Picky Bars, and Chris Guest, Lean Startup Co. Advisor, about the impact of passion, patience and a focus on growth that led to consistent, year-over-year growth for the energy bar company. In the conversation, they discuss: - How Jesse struggled to find balance in his life while working for a VC-funded startup. - How a personal need from Jesse’s athletic training led to the creation of Picky Bars. - The benefits...

We recently hosted a conversation between Christina Greenberg, Co-Founder of Edgility Consulting, and Chris Guest, Lean Startup Co. Advisor, about how Christina recruited to build a diverse and inclusive organization and how you can do the same. In the conversation, they discuss: - The founding story of Edgility Consulting and why they decided to focus on helping youth-serving nonprofits and education organizations find, hire, and keep talent. - How they examined their own recruiting methods...

We recently hosted a conversation between Christopher Lochhead, bestselling author and #1 charting podcaster, and Chris Guest, Lean Startup Co. Advisor, about why category design is so powerful, how to best wield it, and why entrepreneurs should naturally embody it. In the conversation, they discuss: - What is category design and who are some companies that have successfully implemented it. - How category design gets you out of the comparison trap. - What it takes as an entrepreneur and...

We recently hosted a conversation between Ralph Morales III, Head of Innovation Practice at SmartOrg, and David Binetti, Innovation Consultant, about solutions for some of the trickier innovation puzzles facing intrapreneurs. This conversation was recorded during the 2019 Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco and we’re excited to make it available to you as a podcast. In the conversation, they discuss: - Testing a range of assumptions and knowing when to move from one to the next. - The...

We recently hosted a conversation between Michael Barlow, Co-Founder & CEO at Fernish, Lucas Dickey, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer at Fernish, DeMarcus Williams, Director of Silicon Valley Bank Early Stage Practice, and Hisham Ibrahim, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Member, about six rookie mistakes that block growth in early stage startups. In the conversation, they discuss: - How to implement good hiring and retention practices to ensure you’re surrounding yourself with the right...

This conversation between Alton McDowell, Co-head of Technology and Disruptive Commerce at J.P. Morgan, and Eric Ries took place at the Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco. Eric and his team are known for creating a movement within the startup community and have helped companies make lasting impacts and experience sustainable growth. In this conversation, he talks with Alton about startup trends, lessons he’s learned along the way, and best practices entrepreneurs can follow. Email us:...

We recently hosted a conversation between fiifi Founder & CEO, Theron McCollough, and Lean Startup Co. Advisor, Chris Guest, focused on Theron’s experiences working in the world of startups and his recent return to the role of an entrepreneur as he launches his new venture.  In Chris and Theron’s conversation, they discuss: - Given Theron’s background advising and investing in hundreds of startups, what insights has he taken with him as he re-enters the world of entrepreneurship? - And...

We recently hosted a conversation between Ryan Caldbeck, Founder & CEO at CircleUp, and Chris Guest, Lean Startup Co. Advisor, focused on what it’s like as a CEO to take your company through a major pivot. This episode is part two of their conversation. In Chris and Ryan’s conversation they discuss: - How to create a culture that gives support to people that want to be vulnerable and authentic for the benefit of the company and for themselves. - The unique challenges CEO’s face and how...

We recently hosted a conversation between Ryan Caldbeck, Founder & CEO at CircleUp, and Chris Guest, Lean Startup Co. Advisor, about how to navigate through a major pivot. This episode is part one of the conversation with Ryan and part two is coming up next week. Even more exciting, Ryan is also speaking at the Lean Startup Conference this week in San Francisco. Tickets to the conference are still available at LeanStartup.co. Email us: [email protected] Follow Lean Startup Co....

We recently hosted a conversation between Sarah Paiji Yoo, Co-Founder & CEO at Blueland, and Chris Guest, Lean Startup Co. Advisor, about how becoming a mom led Sarah to create a company that is reimagining how we consume household products to eliminate the need for wasteful plastic packaging. In Chris and Sarah’s conversation, they discuss: - How Sarah got the idea for Blueland and why she felt so compelled to solve the problem of wasteful plastic packaging. - How the team developed...

We recently hosted a conversation between Chris Cochella, Executive Business Coach at Sequoia Group, and Adam Berk, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Member, about the value and application of mental models for extremely uncertain Lean Startup situations. In Chris and Adam’s conversation, they discuss: - What is a mental model and how can they help you? - What is first conclusion bias and how can it help and/or hurt you? - Three critical mental models that can help the Lean Startup entrepreneur...

We recently hosted a conversation between Brock Blake, Founder & CEO of Lendio, and Marilyn Gorman, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Lead, focused on the decision to pivot one successful company into another that served a completely different niche of the market while embracing the importance of accountability. In Brock and Marilyn’s conversation, they discuss: - How Brock got started in the world of entrepreneurship and decided which problem to focus on. - How a pivot from his first idea...

We recently hosted a conversation between Maryana Iskander, CEO at Harambee Youth Accelerator, and Ann Mei Chang, Executive Director of Lean Impact at Lean Startup Co., focused on the pioneering work of Harambee Youth Accelerator in South Africa and their efforts to tackle the global youth unemployment crisis. In Maryana and Ann Mei’s conversation, they discuss: - How Harambee focused their efforts on solving problems for two customers - young people looking for a job and businesses needing...

We recently hosted a conversation between Claire Lee, Head of Early Stage at Silicon Valley Bank, Liz Curtis, CEO & Founder at Table + Teaspoon, and CJ Legare, Lean Startup Co. Chief of Staff, about the realities facing female entrepreneurs today. In Claire, Liz, and CJ’s conversation, they discuss: - Why Liz decided to start Table + Teaspoon, a “Rent the Runway, but for table settings.” - What Claire calls the “Single Digit Club” and what we can do to change it. - The importance that...

We recently hosted a conversation between Bec Evans, Co-founder of Prolifiko and author of "How to Have a Happy Hustle", and Elliot Susel, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Member, focused on the similarities between the world of writing and publishing and the world of startups. In Bec and Elliot’s conversation, they discuss: - The traditional, old-school practices of the publishing industry and why change is needed. - How Bec utilized a Lean Startup approach to writing her new book. - Current...

We recently hosted a conversation between Julie Legault and Justin Pahara, Co-Founders of Amino Labs, and Hisham Ibrahim, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Member, focused on building a product designed to bring biotechnology — an area of science typically only accessible to experts in the field — to non-experts and beginners. In Julie, Justin, and Hisham’s conversation, they discuss: - How they discovered the problem with bringing biotechnology to beginners and how that led to the creation of Amino...

We recently hosted a conversation between Chris Cochella, Founder & Co-Owner at Brackitz, and Marilyn Gorman, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Lead, focused on how the desire to find better engineering toys for his son turned into an idea to create a toy to help promote STEAM learning in young children. In Chris and Marilyn’s conversation, they discuss: - What problem drove Chris to start Brackitz. - The process Chris went through to test his early assumptions with his customers (teachers and...

We recently hosted a webcast conversation between Dante Vitagliano, Political Consultant at Pinnacle Campaign Strategies, and Marilyn Gorman, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Lead, focused on how Lean Startup can be used to run political campaigns. In Dante and Marilyn’s conversation, they discuss: - The similarities between startups and running political campaigns. - The 3 major phases in the political process where using a Lean Startup approach can help campaigners. - How to do experimentation and...

We recently hosted a webcast conversation between Pete Oliver-Krueger, Agile, Lean, and Teal Managing Consultant; Jim Damato, Agile Specialist; and Heather McGough, Lean Startup Co. CEO & Co-Founder focused on how Lean Startup is applied in politics. In Pete, Jim, and Heather’s conversation, they discuss: - Why it’s so important to apply Lean Startup in the political arena and how it can be done. - The key lessons learned from Jim’s former startup, TruthinessCheck, which used...

We recently hosted a webcast conversation between Jason VandeBoom, CEO and Founder of ActiveCampaign, and Hisham Ibrahim, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Member, focused on the importance of leaning into your customers and learning from them in order to grow your business. In Jason and Hisham’s conversation, they discuss: - The importance of letting customer feedback guide the product development - How to scale up while staying close to your customers - The key lessons learned as Jason looks back...

We recently hosted the first episode of a six-part webcast series we’re doing with Silicon Valley Bank. In episode one, Elliot Susel, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Member, spoke with Theron McCollough, Managing Director of Silicon Valley Bank’s Early Stage Practice about the 2019 Startup Outlook US Report they just released. You can read the report here: https://bit.svb.com/2GzYO4e In Theron and Elliot’s conversation, they discuss: - The challenges that companies are facing in finding and...

We recently hosted a webcast conversation between Giovanni Rotondo, Film Composer & Editor In Chief at Film Scoring Tips, and Marilyn Gorman, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Lead, on how Lean Startup methodologies directly translates into working in the world of music and composition. In Giovanni and Marilyn’s conversation, they discuss: - How Giovanni discovered The Lean Startup and began applying it to his work composing music scores - How he applied the MVP concept to a Minimum Viable Cue -...

We recently hosted a webcast conversation where Elliot Susel, Lean Startup Co. Faculty Member, spoke with Aaron Levy, Founder and CEO of Raise The Bar about the need for better leaders, unlocking potential, and psychological safety in today's shifting marketplace. In Aaron and Elliot’s conversation, they discuss: - How leaders are made and not born, meaning good leadership is a trainable skill. - The iteration process Aaron went through to develop a product focused on leadership...