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CHAT (Tuesdays, starting June 25) is a series of informal interviews with successful entrepreneurs, having them share their stories; educating, inspiring, and connecting the local entrepreneurial community.

Why Should you attend CHAT? Connect with the local CEOs in an intimate and approachable setting. Learn about their path to success.

NEXT (Thursdays, on June 20 – July 18) is an in-person, action-based five-week program that lets early-stage entrepreneurs apply Steve Blank’s Customer Development methodology in a challenging and socially accountable environment in Vancouver. We aim to bring the best instructors and mentors together to help you build your startup properly.

Why Should you attend NEXT: Customer Discovery Program? Apply consumer-focused startup-development methodologies in your new startup. NEXT FAQ.  

Listen to what Steve Blank, author of The Startup Owner’s Manual, has to say about NEXT:

Early stage entrepreneurs often become infatuated with their product — building something to solve a problem they think (or sometimes hope) people actually have. But the reality is that there is nothing more powerful for an entrepreneur than building a product that solves a real problem for a customer. Its only by structured customer discovery that you’ll learn what your customers need solved, how to solve it easier, cheaper or faster, and what you can get paid for. It seems so simple, but it’s really not that obvious to most first-time (or even multi-time) entrepreneurs.

With CHAT, you’ll learn first-hand from successful entrepreneurs about the road that led to their success.

With NEXT, you’ll put down your product and pick up a notebook to start speaking with your potential customers — actual businesses and users.

Expect to interview over 50 prospective customers during NEXT and get extensive feedback from experienced entrepreneurs in your local community. You’ll be a part of a cohort of other entrepreneurs as well as mentors and coaches to help you even after the course is complete. And most importantly, you’ll finish NEXT with an answer to the question: “Why Should I Build This Product?” NEXT helps you to break down your assumptions, fail fast and get laser focused on building something your customers will love. Come out more prepared to speak about your company, to deal with feedback and to answer the tough questions from potential employees, partners and investors. All in all, you’ll be more prepared to succeed — and that’s what NEXT is about: “Getting you ready for whatever’s NEXT.” Are you up for the challenge?

NEXT Program Structure

View the NEXT Customer Discovery Program Curriculum for more details.

Week 1: June 20th 6:00pm to 9:00pm
The Art of Customer Discovery
Overview of the theory and the best practices for conducting Customer Discovery.

Week 2: June 27th 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Opportunity Assessment & Initial Team Presentations
Assessing the business opportunity by understanding the size of the market and competitive landscapes.

Week 3: July 4th 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Team Presentations
Teams will present their customer discovery insights and validated/invalidated assumptions.

Week 4: July 11th 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Team Presentations
Teams will present their customer discovery insights and validated/invalidated assumptions.

Week 5: July 18th 6:00pm to 9:00pm
NEXT Final Presentations
Each team will present a comprehensive overview of their insights gained and major assumptions validated or invalidated.