The Lean Startup Conference

2015 Lean Startup Conference Program Details

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Afternoon Breakouts2:00 PM - 4:45 PM

• A Playbook for Achieving Product-Market Fit2:00 - 3:00 PM
  Dan Olsen, The Lean Product Playbook , @danolsen
  Room: C260

  Everyone working on a new product is trying to achieve the same goal: product-market fit. Although product-market fit is one of the most important Lean Startup concepts, it’s also the least well defined. Dan Olsen shares the top advice from his book The Lean Product Playbook, including the Product-Market Fit Pyramid: an actionable model that breaks product-market fit down into 5 key elements. Dan also explains the Lean Product Process, a 6-step methodology with practical guidance on how to achieve product-market fit, illustrated with a real-world case study.
  Product Market FitAll/GeneralInteractive
• Accelerate Beyond The Lean Startup2:00 - 3:00 PM
  Zach Nies, Techstars , @zachnies
  Rachel Weston Rowell, CA Technologies , @RachelAWeston
  Room: C205

  You know that Lean Startup techniques have helped your company move forward, and you know your competitors are successfully using those same techniques. To stay ahead of the competition, you need to find new ways to accelerate your company. The key is to use Lean to balance exploration and operation within your company. In this experience report, Zach Nies and Rachel Weston Rowell will share techniques and stories from startups to large organizations that have accelerated their growth by applying Lean thinking to how they operate their company and how they explore through uncertainty.
  Leadership/ManagementStartupCase StudyInteractive
• Don't Listen to Users, Sample Their Experience!3:30 - 4:00 PM
  Tomer Sharon, WeWork, @tsharon
  Room: Herbst

  Uncovering true user needs is one of the most challenging aspects of product development. Oh-so-many organizations develop products and services that nobody needs. The Experience Sampling Method is a simple research technique for uncovering user needs. In a typical Experience Sampling study, research participants are interrupted several times a day to note their experience in real time. In this talk, Tomer Sharon will demonstrate the method with conference attendees, show how it can help shape product roadmap priorities, describe how it serves as Google Search’s secret weapon, and demonstrate live, onstage data analysis.
  Customer DevelopmentAll/GeneralInteractive
• Live Q&A with Eric Ries3:30 - 4:30 PM
  Eric Ries, The Lean Startup, @EricRies
  Room: Cowell

  This session is open to Platinum passholders only. Eric Ries will hold a live Q&A with entrepreneurs. Not only will you have a chance to ask him your toughest questions about running experiments, measuring success, knowing when to pivot, understanding customer feedback and more–you’ll also hear about the challenges other entrepreneurs face and the advice Eric gives them.
  Interactive
• Talking to Humans: Success Starts with Understanding your Customers3:30 - 4:30 PM
  Frank Rimalovski, New York University, @rimalovski
  Room: Southside

  While most entrepreneurs understand that “getting out of the building” is a core tenet of the Lean Startup, many still struggle to effectively conduct the kinds of interviews and experiments that will lead to the insights they seek (and need). In this hands on workshop, you’ll be guided through the process of securing, conducting and synthesizing early customer discovery interviews.
  Customer DevelopmentEducationStartupDiscussionInteractive
• Mastering Customer Discovery3:30 - 4:00 PM
  Ariana Friedlander, Rosabella Consulting, LLC , @arianaf
  Room: C205

  Do you struggle connecting with your customers? Having a hard time getting valuable insights from your customers? Tired of running experiments that don’t give accurate pass/fail indicators? In this hands-on interactive session, Ariana will help you move past those limitations by sharing her unique co-creational approach. At the end, you will walk away with a well crafted line of inquiry so that you may conduct more effective experiments while building your community of supporters.
  Customer DevelopmentStartupInteractive

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Morning Plenary9:45 AM - 12:30 PM

• Mindfulness Meditation
  Stacy Conlon, The Zen Girl, @TheZenGirl
  Room: Herbst

  Before we break for lunch, Zen GIrl Stacy Conlon will lead a brief mindfulness exercise to help everyone process the morning sessions and get ready for the afternoon.
  All/GeneralInteractive

Afternoon Breakouts2:00 PM - 4:30 PM

• Management Framework for Fast-Growing Early Stage Companies3:30 - 4:30 PM
  Alan Lobock, Spartacus Muse, LLC , @AlanLobock
  Room: C205

  As entrepreneurs, we’re seldom taught how to manage the companies we build. Learn those skills in this interactive session so you don’t build an organization that manages by crisis. Join Alan Lobock for this interactive session that will focus on scalable practices to establish and maintain accountability and sound managerial practices in a growing organization.

  Among the skills you will learn: Establish a learning organization that will surface issues quickly for swift resolution; Run a productive weekly meeting; Use core values and other tools to hire the right people for the right position in your organization; Establish specific, measurable, and attainable metrics with which to measure progress and identify challenges; Document processes to ensure uniformity of practices that will yield reliable outputs.
  Leadership/ManagementSMBStartupInteractive