My Latest Schtick in Byte-Sized Pieces

IDEATION / DESIGN THINKING

Ideation is the process of making your idea a reality. It’s been greatly helped by the practical application of design thinking.
CONCEPTS EXAMPLES
Design Thinking Applied App Startup
The app startup is called ‘Pheasant’. The (synthetic) company is building app’s for families.
B2B Pt. 1
The B2B example is ‘Leonid Systems’, an enterprise software company I founded and where I serve as CTO.
Please choose an option below.Design Thinking Applied

SLIDES | VIDEO

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SLIDES | VIDEO

B2B Pt. 2
The B2B example is ‘Leonid Systems’, an enterprise software company I founded and where I serve as CTO.
Non-Tech
The Penny Ice Creamery in Santa Cruz, CA serves as the non-tech example. The Penny is an artisinal ice creamery.
Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

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SLIDES | VIDEO

PLANNING / LEAN STARTUP

Planning for startup’s is different than for established companies. The practical application of lean principals gives startup’s a huge boost.
CONCEPTS EXAMPLES
Startup
Planning
App Startup
The app startup is called ‘Pheasant’. The (synthetic) company is building app’s for families.
B2B Pt. 1
The B2B example is ‘Leonid Systems’, an enterprise software company I founded and where I serve as CTO.
Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

B2B Pt. 2
The B2B example is ‘Leonid Systems’, an enterprise software company I founded and where I serve as CTO.
Non-Tech
The Penny Ice Creamery in Santa Cruz, CA serves as the non-tech example. The Penny is an artisinal ice creamery.
Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

ORGANIZATION/ CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT

A startup is fundamentally different than an established company. The ideas around customer development are a great way to understand the difference.
CONCEPTS EXAMPLES
Startup
Organization
App Startup
The app startup is called ‘Pheasant’. The (synthetic) company is building app’s for families.
B2B Pt.1
The B2B example is ‘Leonid Systems’, an enterprise software company I founded and where I serve as CTO.
Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

Non-Tech
The Penny Ice Creamery in Santa Cruz, CA serves as the non-tech example. The Penny is an artisinal ice creamery.
Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

DEVELOPMENT/ AGILE

The effective application of agile is a boon startup’s. Agile additionally has strong linkages with the concepts above.
CONCEPTS EXAMPLES
Agile
Development
App Startup
The app startup is called ‘Pheasant’. The (synthetic) company is building app’s for families.
B2B Pt. 1
The B2B example is ‘Leonid Systems’, an enterprise software company I founded and where I serve as CTO.
Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

Non-Tech
The Penny Ice Creamery in Santa Cruz, CA serves as the non-tech example. The Penny is an artisinal ice creamery.
Please choose an option below.

SLIDES | VIDEO

To book Alex, please contact us using this form

@ Lean Startup Circle San Francisco: ‘B2B Hacks – Getting from Consulting to Scalable Products’

I had  great time with the folks from Lean Startup Circle preparing and delivering this talk. I’d like to particularly thank Tristan Kromer, Spike Morelli, and Rich Collins.

The talk’s about using a consulting business as a springboard for product development (a ‘concierge vehicle’ in Lean Startup speak). The slides, footage and original event description appear below. Note on the footage:

Slides

Footage

Event Description

Many consultancies dream of creating a scalable product out of their consulting practice, but few succeed. Some try to switch over and are unable to focus enough resources on the product to be successful. Some try to stop consulting altogether and roll the dice by raising funds.

Discover-Design-Develop-Deliver

Leonid Systems bootstrapped not one, but foursuccessful products out of a consulting business. Leonid’s products are now deployed to many of the world’s largest cloud communications operators which together had over $350 billion in revenue last year.

This talk will walk through Alex Cowan’s recipe for moving from pure consulting to productized consulting to a scalable product. In this recipe, consulting work provides your business an immediate ‘concierge’ style MVP to test out and fund new product ideas.

Alex will go over how to quickly initiate a rapid improvement loop using design thinking, Lean Startup, customer development, and agile. There will be a few hands on exercises.

We’ll also have lightning talks, MVP presentations, and the traditional lean repast of beer and savory pies.
Alex Cowan

 

 

 

 

ABOUT ALEX COWAN:
Alex CowanAlex is the CTO of Leonid Systems, an enterprise software startup with offices in the Bay Area, Washington, Toronto and various points abroad. Leonid works with communications and SaaS providers on innovative solutions to leverage and growth their franchise. He’s also the Author of ‘Starting a Tech Business‘ (Wiley, 2012), a primer for non-engineers who want to up their game with the latest techniques and foundations concepts in product development.

LOCATION:
Meetups are held at RUNWAY, a brand-new 30,000 square foot incubator and co-working space at 1355 Market Street (the new Market Square development). Tenants in the building include Twitter, Yammer, and One Kings Lane. The building is the centerpiece of a new startup hub in the mid-market section of San Francisco.

DIRECTIONS:
The venue is conveniently located one block away from the Civic Center/UN Plaza Station. The building has two lobbies; however, you must enter through the lobby closer to the corner of 9th & Market.

To book Alex, please contact us using this form

Model-View-Controller Explanation

To book Alex, please contact us using this form

@ STANFORD Entrepreneurs- Talk on Ideation, Entrepreneurship, and Product Development

@ STANFORD Entrepreneurs- Talk on Ideation, Entrepreneurship, and Product Development thumbnail
I had a great time meeting with alumni at this event, ‘Accelerate Your Startup’. We reviewed key techniques companies are using to build better products and businesses and I used Leonid Systems (B2B enterprise software) as a case study. Thanks to Kathryn Gorges for the invitation, coaching, and arranging the event. CONCEPTSIdeation- Design Thinking (9:08) [...]

@ SILICON VALLEY PRODUCT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION- Design Thinking, Lean, and Agile for the B2B Product Manager

@ SILICON VALLEY PRODUCT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION- Design Thinking, Lean, and Agile for the B2B Product Manager thumbnail
The SVPMA provides a great set of services for one of the industry’s most demanding and least understood professions. I particularly enjoyed the informal time I had with the members before and after the event. The talk was titled ‘Creating New Products – Case Study on Application of Proven Principles’. CONCEPTS Ideation- Design Thinking (8:11) [...]

@ BAY AREA VIDEO COALITION- PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FOR CREATIVES & ENTREPRENEURS

@ BAY AREA VIDEO COALITION-  PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FOR CREATIVES & ENTREPRENEURS thumbnail
The Bay Area Video Coalition offers classes and workshop space to creatives in digital media and entertainment. At this event, ‘High Tech Product Development for the Non-Engineer’ we looked at key skills, tools, and approaches for the freelancer, creative, or manager who wants to expand their capabilities in product development. For an example, I used [...]

@ WOMENLAUNCH- Product Design & Development for New Ventures

@ WOMENLAUNCH- Product Design & Development for New Ventures thumbnail
WomenLaunch is a peer startup accelerator. At this talk, we reviewed key startup tools and techniques- design thinking, Lean Startup, customer development. The members also practiced their pitches and got peer feedback. Thanks very much to Kathryn Gorges for having me in to speak with the group and asking lots of questions.

@ UCSC GUEST LECTURE- Econ 138: The Economics and Management of Technology and Innovation

@ UCSC GUEST LECTURE- Econ 138: The Economics and Management of Technology and Innovation thumbnail
‘The Economics of Technology and Innovation’ is an undergraduate class in the econ department at UCSC. Kai Pommerenke is the instructor and an avid entrepreneur and tinkerer himself. The class teaches applied topics in Lean Startup, business model generation, and general venture creation.

@ TECH RAISING- Prep Workshop for Hackathon

Tech Raising puts on a series of events throughout their year but their most notable are their weekend hackathons (hence the name). I did a workshop for them with my collaborator Greg Cohen to prepare participants in the hackathon. In the workshop, ‘Four Steps to Success’, we covered concepts, an example, and spent several hours [...]

@ NEW TECH MEETUP- Best Practices in Tech Product Development

@ UVA McIntire School: Customer Discovery Hacks

These are from a talk I did at UVA’s undergraduate school of business (commerce), McIntire. The class was ‘Commerce 4681- Entrepreneurship’. It’s part of an entrepreneurship track UVA offers. The objective of the talk was to present an applied view of design thinking, Lean Startup, customer development, and agile. No footage, but if you’d like [...]

UVA Innovations- Accelerate Your Venture

This is a talk I did for the UVA Innovation center. The center works with researchers at the university to help commercialize their innovations: U.Va. Innovation maximizes the impact of University of Virginia research discoveries by creating opportunities for University innovators and partners to advance these discoveries to the global community No footage but for [...]

@ Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC)- Accelerating Your Startup

This is a talk I did for entrepreneurs and investors at the Charlottesville Innovation Council (CBIC). CBIC is a nexus for the emerging tech and startup community in Charlottesville. Thanks very much to Lianne Landers, Tracey Danner, and Gary Henry for having me in to talk to the group. The hour was early but the audience [...]

@ Hack Cville: Customer Discovery Hacks

This is a talk I gave to students and community on best practices in customer development for startup’s. It’s particular emphasis is on the quick, simple, and effective application of design thinking and Lean Startup. Hack Cville* is a private co-working and mentoring space in Charlottesville with close ties to UVA. Thanks, Spencer Ingram, for having [...]