Coming up on April 16'2009 (Thrusday) @ HP Oakroom Auditorium, Cupertino, CA.

We have heard that recessions are the best time to start your own startup. For entrepreneurs who have been on the path, it may be straight forward to get started. What about the rest of us? There are so many engineers with bright ideas, but don't know how to start.

The current macroeconomic climate presents unparalleled opportunities for those that can thrive with constrained resources. Many startups are now following the Lean Startup process. The Lean process was created by Toyota in the 50s. The Lean Startup embodies similar principles as applied to the startup process. The Lean Startup is a practical approach for creating and managing a new breed of company that excels in low-cost experimentation, rapid iteration, and true customer insight.

Eric Ries, a co-founder of IMVU, is a strong proponent of this process and very successfully used it at IMVU. He will share the key principles of making sure you get your startup idea off the ground and stay on course.

If you are an engineer with bright ideas, consider Lean Startup to build confidence while building your startup.

1. Identify a profitable business model faster and cheaper than your competitors.

2. Continuously discover what customers want to buy before building or making follow-on investments in new features.

3. Ship new software at a dizzying pace: multiple times a day while improving quality and lowering costs.

4. Build a company-wide culture of decision-making based on real facts, not opinions.

Agenda 

6pm – 6.30pm Registration and Card Exchange Networking

6.30pm – 6.45pm Introductory Comments

6.45pm – 7pm Member Spotlight – Bala Aryan “Push Reset” *

7pm - 8.30pm Main Event including Q&A

8.30pm – Wrap Up and Networking

* Member Spotlight by Bala Aryan - "Push Reset"

We start the event with our monthly member spotlight section. Our feature this month is Bala Aryan, an entrepreneur. Many of us switch careers or jump into entrepreneurship at the first opportunity. There is a silent majority who feel the need to do something different, but something holds them back. How they wish they could simply press the reset button and start over. Bala was one of them. But he overcame his challenges not once....but 5 times. How did he do it? He will share his lessons which many of you will use to push the reset button of your life. 

Registration Link - https://www.123signup.com/register?id=zrbqq

Event Location: HP Oakroom Auditorium (Click here for details and directions)