Lean Startup Machine Coming to DC this Weekend!

By Danny Boice, Co-Founder and CTO, Speek, @DannnyBoice

My company Speek follows The Lean Startup methodology. We also participated in Lean Startup Machine workshops early and often. We credit the fact that we launched a couple months ago - with minimal funding - and already tout thousands of users to “Lean”.

Regardless of your level of expertise the Lean Startup Machine is a great way to get acclimated with the Lean Startup methodology quickly.

If you happen to live in the Washington, DC area you are in luck!  The Lean Startup Machine is coming to DC this weekend. Here is a list of future Lean Startup Machines in other cities.

What is The Lean Startup?
“Startup success can be engineered by following the process, which means it can be learned, which means it can be taught.”- Eric Ries

The Lean Startup is a methodology for launching product and startups in a highly efficient manner. It all started as a blog run by Eric Ries and recently became a bestselling book and all-out movement. Recently, a book called Running Lean by Ash Maurya came out as well.  It is a very good “how-to” guide on following The Lean Startup methodology. The Lean Startup operates under the basic premise that when starting a business you are going to be severely resource constrained. Specifically you will only have so much cash and people to work with so you need to get it right - fast. It’s all about failing fast, scientifically validating your ideas, and continuous learning and iteration.

Some of the common themes of The Lean Startup are:

  • Eliminate uncertainty - Lean isn't simply about spending less money. Lean isn't just about failing fast, failing cheap. It is about putting a repeatable methodology around the development of a product.

  • Work smarter not harder - At the core of The Lean Startup methodology is the premise that every startup is a giant experiment that attempts to answer questions like "Should this product be built?" or "Can we build a sustainable business around this set of products and services?"

  • Develop an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) - The first step is figuring out the problem that needs to be solved.  The next step is developing the minimal product (MVP) to begin the process of learning as quickly as possible.

  • Validated learning - Validated learning is a rigorous method for demonstrating progress in the midst of extreme uncertainty - as all startups and products are in the beginning.

Some of the core principles of The Lean Startup are:

  • Entrepreneurs are everywhere - You don't have to work in a garage to be in a startup.

  • Entrepreneurship is management - A startup is an institution, not just a product, so it requires management, a new kind of management

  • Validated learning - Startups exist not to make stuff, make money, or serve customers. They exist to learn how to build a sustainable business. This learning can be validated scientifically

  • Innovation accounting - To improve entrepreneurial outcomes, and to hold entrepreneurs accountable, we need to focus on the boring stuff - metrics.

  • Build-Measure-Learn- The fundamental activity of a startup is to turn ideas into products, measure how customers respond, and then learn whether to pivot or persevere.

What is The Lean Startup Machine?

The Lean Startup Machine is the world’s leading workshop on Lean Startup methodologies. Lean Startup Machine workshops typically occur in 3 days - Friday through Sunday - in rotating cities around the world.
Some of the things you will learn and accomplish at a Lean Startup Machine workshop are:

  • Learn more in 3 days than most do in 6 months

  • Fail fast - succeed faster

  • Validate the need for your product

  • Validated learning - Validated learning is a rigorous method for demonstrating progress

Some phrases you may hear at a Lean Startup Machine workshop are:

  • “Customer development” - A process pioneered by Steve Blank and written about extensively in Four Steps to the Epiphany. It emphasizes in-person feedback and focusing early product development efforts around early-evangelists.

  • “Get out of the building” - Don’t assume you know what your customers want. Get out there and talk with them, in-person, and figure it out for sure.

  • “Validate your assumptions” - Don’tassume you know if a product will be desired, or a feature will succeed, or that your customers want / need something. This can, and should, always be validated scientifically in the fastest and cheapest manner possible.

  • “Minimum viable product” or “MVP”- Build the simplest and cheapest thing that a user may actually use. Get this MVP in front of users early and find out what you were wrong about.  Test, learn, validate, iterate / repeat until you have a full-blown product.

Lean Startup Machine DC 8/3 - 8/5
Lean Startup Machine DC is going to be a great event and has a slew of seasoned lean experts as mentors. The cost is $299 and you can register here. Only 7 slots remain at the time of writing this so you better hurry!

Here is the schedule:
FRIDAY, August 3
6:00 PM - Pitches
7:30 PM - Teams Solidify
8:00 PM - Speakers
9:00 PM - Execute
11:00 PM - Venue Closes

SATURDAY, August 4
9:00 AM - Doors Open
12:00 PM - Lunch Workshops
6:00 PM - Dinner Workshops
7:00 PM - Leader Meeting
11:00 PM - Venue Closes

SUNDAY, August 5
9:00 AM - Doors Open
12:00 PM - Lunch Workshops
3:15 PM - Presentation Slides Due
4:00 PM - Judges Take Seats
5:30 PM - Presentations Finish - Beverages Served
6:00 PM - Winners Announced
7:30 PM - Venue is cleaned & closed, attendees head to a local bar

I am going to be a mentor with “office hours” on Sunday. My Speek co-founder and CEO John Bracken (who also co-founded E-vite) is a judge and I hear he CAN be bought (just saying).
We hope to see you there!!

* The bullet points on The Lean Startup were taken and/or paraphrased directly from TheLeanStartup.com.
** The bullet points on The Lean Startup machine were taken and/or paraphrased directly from LeanStartupMachine.com.

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