Lean 15, Australasia’s first ever conference to centre around lean startup methodology, is intended to expose New Zealand startup companies to cutting edge thinking from global entrepreneurs.
The conference, which is organised by Creative HQ, takes place over three days in Wellington this October, with the first two days aimed toward bigger organisations, while the “Supercharge” last day is aimed at giving smaller start-ups ideas to help develop their businesses.
Nick Churchouse, head of customer engagement at Creative HQ says the conference is about transferring that knowledge to different groups.
“Lean 15 is a very intensive, high touch interaction for corporates and government and Supercharge is an opportunity to get those compelling individuals in front of the grassroots entrepreneurial ecosystem that we are very much a part of to give some insights about how it’s done around the rest of the world in a very ‘startup’ focused way.”
Image: Nick Churchouse, head of customer engagement at Creative HQ
Churchouse says while New Zealand is tackling “the tyranny of distance” very capably, New Zealand businesses need to know what the big ideas are globally.
“There is a natural delay in information and lack of visibility and clarity around what the global leading edge is in various industries and technologies and that puts New Zealand at a disadvantage.”
I am very privileged to be privy to peoples’ passions, to peoples’ ambitions, to take fantastic innovative technology and business thinking from New Zealand to international markets. – Nick Churchouse
While being far removed from the rest of the world had its advantages, New Zealanders risked being unaware of what was going on “day to day” in major overseas markets.
“We can go up there for a month but we are also at a disadvantage in terms of understanding how our customers are living day to day how they are responding to various technologies, products and trends that are happening in the market at any given time.”
Churchouse says Lean 15 and Supercharge are about bringing the market to New Zealand companies.
“With Lean 15 and Supercharge we are bringing the leading thinkers who are in touch with what corporates, governments and start-ups are doing in the US and in other parts of the world and hearing it from them first hand with real interaction and that experience is second to none.”
A former business journalist, Churchouse says working with Creative HQ offers the opportunity to “get in behind businesses” and “after five years, it is still as exciting as ever”.
“I am very privileged to be privy to peoples’ passions, to peoples’ ambitions, to take fantastic innovative technology and business thinking from New Zealand to international markets.”
Rather than singling out a particular ‘one to watch’ speaker, Churchouse says the wide range of expertise means there is something for everyone – with attendees likely to pull different takeaways depending on their specific business context.
The Lean 15 conference will take place between 5 and 7 October with the Supercharge day taking place on the last day, Wednesday 7th October.
For more information about Lean 15 go here.
For more information about ‘Supercharge’, which is tailored to small startup businesses, go here.
