Startup Lessons Learned - the Conference (April 23, 2010 in SF)

Today we are opening up registration for the first ever Startup Lessons Learned Conference on April 23, 2010 in San Francisco. I'm incredibly excited. The event is being produced in partnership with Charles Hudson, who puts on many of Silicon Valley's top events, including the forthcoming Freemium Summit.

The Startup Lessons Learned Conference is by-and-for entrepreneurs, and only entrepreneurs. We have a lineup of speakers who are primarily active practitioners of the lean startup methodology. They'll be speaking about their real-life experiences trying to put these ideas into practice. You'll also have a chance to hear from the leading lights of the lean startup movement, including Steve Blank, Sean Ellis, Dave McClure, and many more.

I have spent a lot of time over the past few years experimenting with what helps startup teams adopt new practices. One pattern has been overwhelmingly clear: it works best when a cross-functional team hears about new ideas all at the same time. As a result, we've built this event to be best experienced by teams, not just individuals. We have special team tickets; these teams will have special seating at the event and special access to mentors, who can answer questions and suggest ways to incorporate ideas from the speakers into each team's company.

This event is for present and future entrepreneurs only - not service vendors or investors. If you are working on new product development in any sized company, you are welcome to attend. Remember, a startup is "a human institution designed to create something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty." If that describes your job, you're welcome to attend. (We will reserve a limited number of spots for sponsors to attend; if you'd like to become a sponsor, please get in touch.)

For those that are able to make the trip to San Francisco, I hope you'll make the effort. I think this is going to be a one of a kind event, and you'll be glad you came. That said, for those who cannot make the trip, we're working to provide simulcast venues in cities around the world. We'll have more details shortly. In the meantime, if you'd like to attend remotely, or volunteer to host a viewing, please sign up as part of this survey. And for those of you who have already volunteered, please stay tuned for details.

A partial list of speakers and mentors is posted on the registration page. More will be posted as we're able to confirm them. If you'd like to nominate someone to be a speaker or mentor, please feel free to leave a comment on this post. We'll consider all nominees; when possible, please include a link to a video of them speaking or to a relevant blog post.

Last, I always try to have a scholarship program for paid events, and this one is no exception. If you'd like to sponsor a scholarship for a deserving startup that can't afford to make the trip, please let me know. At past events, the generosity of these scholarships has been amazing, and has meant a whole host of interesting people were able to benefit who would not have been able to otherwise. To those who can make a donation, you have my thanks. We'll post details of how to apply for scholarships after we get a sense for how many we will be able to award.