Ideas to Reality: World Class Training in Technology. Now.

Q: What’s the Best Online Training for Lean Startup?

Q: What’s the Best Online Training for Technology Commercialization?

A: Steve Blank’s new Stanford-based Lean Launchpad class

http://steveblank.com/category/lean-launchpad/
[more on lean: http://bitly.com/bwC3XF & especially http://bitly.com/dOv5zh ]

The Start: Maybe the premier technology entrepreneurship course at Stanford, Lean Launchpad [http://steveblank.com/category/lean-launchpad] teaches the Lean Startup model (eg, Steve Blank’s Customer Development model) in-person to advanced science & engineering students at Stanford and Berkeley. Can you imagine getting brainiac techies actually talking to customers? And does that mean there is hope for some of you! ;)

Proof of Concept: The NSF put this at the heart of their new Innovation Corps to serve the 100 best technology commercialization teams for novel NSF-developed technologies.

The Payoff (for Us): The course is being offered now as an online course (over 60K has already signed up, including me!) as a series of 10 1-hour video lectures bundled with its textbook, The Startup Owners’ Manual. Free, except for the textbook.

But Wait…There’s More! Why Not a Blended Course?

My dear friends at Startup Weekend have commissioned (and threatened, LOL) people to organize local meetups. The video lectures will likely begin later this month but the pacing is up to us (lectures are archived).

It probably means 10 weekly 2-3 hour meetups or more likely 5 weekly/biweekly meetups of 4-5 hours for us to share what we are doing, what we are learning and how we can help each other. This is for anyone willing to take the plunge – I’m a b-school PhD in entrepreneurship and I’ve been a tech entrepreneur and I’m taking it! (Of course, my past “experience” means I’m the perfect candidate, LOL)

Initial feedback will let us set the schedule (most likely a weekday evening, though I’m hearing that many meetups are scheduling Sunday afternoons).

The Startup Weekend crew will be sending me Eventbrite invitations to share – expect a ping as early as this weekend. We estimate a ticket price of $50 to cover the text and refreshments. (Not bad for a Stanford MBA/MSEE-level of education even without the meetup!)

Obviously sponsors and prospective hosts are welcome …and anyone who’ll provide coffee, beer and/or pizza ;) Please email me: Norris.Krueger[at]gmail.com if interested!

For You?

Plan A: Respond “Yes!” to the eventbrite invitation & let me know your best/worst days

Plan B: Be hip but boring and simply sign up for Steve’s class & do it on your own 

Plan C: Wear a permanent “L” on your forehead & not even try to take Steve’s class ;)

p.s. But, Norris! I don’t live in/near Boise!  So host your own meetup – I will help!

Can you or your organization host/sponsor? Call me.

Want to do this outside of the Treasure Valley? Call me.

Want to seize this incredible opportunity? Say “YES!” to the invitation.

Entrepreneur UP. Y’all!

Norris