Leanconf 2014, a conference designed to help start-ups and entrepreneurs be successful and profitable as quickly as possible, has been brought back into Manchester by two Manchester entrepreneurs
for a second year.
Leanconf, taking place on Monday, November 17 and Tuesday, November 18, is the largest gathering of the Lean Start-Up community in Europe. The city will see delegates and speakers from all over the continent take part.
Ben Aldred and Manuel da Costa are both Manchester-based entrepreneurs and set up a regular networking group, called Lean Start-Up Manchester (Leanmanc), two years ago. Having then spotted a gap in the market for a conference with recognised speakers in the field, they launched Leanconf last year which saw 150 attendees.
The event is a grassroots conference and is not-for-profit, with Ben and Manuel giving up all of their spare time to organise the event.
This year’s event has doubled in size and will see 300 delegates listen to business and technology speakers over two days, at the Comedy Store at Deansgate Locks.
Although the method was originally aimed at start-ups, the conference sees 60% of its attendees from large businesses and corporations, looking to learn about Lean methods of working. The remaining 40% of delegates are start-ups, entrepreneurs and innovators, who have either set up their own company or would like to in the future.
Leanconf takes its theory from The Lean Start-Up, a 2011 book by Eric Ries, which focuses on how start-ups can get to a profitable state as quickly and efficiently as possible.
With around 75% of venture-funded start-ups failing, it’s important for new businesses to come together and learn from each other’s mistakes, as well as learning Lean methods.
Ben, who runs Tiny Code Factory as well as his own start-up Chefnote, said:
“We’re really proud to be the only Lean Start-Up conference in Europe, which really helps highlight Manchester as a city. One of our aims for setting up this conference was to grow the burgeoning start-up scene by drawing attention from across Europe, as well as encouraging innovators and business people to visit the city.”
Manuel, who runs the consultancy Digital Tonic, continued:
“We’ve had some amazing feedback from last year’s event and we’re really looking forward to expanding this year’s event massively.
“Our aim was to create a conference that supports and educates innovators and entrepreneurs and helps them to grow new businesses, which will go on to benefit the economy in the whole of Greater Manchester.”
Lean Start-Up is a methodology for business and entrepreneurs, particularly start-ups. The Lean Start-Up book was written by Eric Ries in 2011. The method is based on Lean Manufacturing, which was developed from the Toyota factory in Japan in the 90s which focuses on making manufacturing as streamlined and efficient as possible.
The theory comprises three phases: build, measure and learn. By focusing on the ability to change product or service quickly, depending on customer feedback, the business will become profitable quickly.
This year, Leanconf has launched the community ticket, which helps out early entrepreneurs or students who cannot afford the full ticket price. By filling out an application to tell organisers what the ticket is worth to them and how it will help their business, they can be considered for a reduced price ticket.
Leanconf 2014:
Date: Nov 17 and 18
Location: The Comedy Store, Deansgate Locks