Testimonials – what people have said about my work

Northumbria University

Dear Justin

A really heartfelt thank you for presenting at our Bootcamp last week.

I thought the pace and pitch were spot on, Lean is in itself such a transformative mindset, you picked up on themes that had been present but not properly articulated and the timing of the move from lecture to practice was spot on.

The feedback has been really good.  The aim of the Bootcamp was to concentrate some content, get the entrepreneurs into the habit of talking to customers, break the torpor of the summer holidays, reinforce the work ethic and get some real momentum and buzz going.  It really feels as if we have succeeded on every count.  You should see the rate at which some of the ideas progressed into workable plans and tangible progress over the week.

So a big thank you to you, Justin for being a major part of that, and to Graham for making the introduction and getting you in front of the students.  Over the weekend the class has suggested that outside speakers are such rich material that they (the entrepreneurs) should organise a guest speaker series to get the benefit.  Now look what you’ve done!

Many thanks

Newcastle University

Hi Justin,

Just thought I would give you some feedback.  The students were talking about Lean Startup in the online journal and were most enthusiastic.   In particular this quote might make your heart sing!  There were more.  They were definitely liking it.

Hope to catch up soon!  

“This week we have a guest speaker who shares his ideal about business startup. I think it is a really amazing and interesting experience. After this lecture, I know that the business canvas is a very important things before you start to build your own business, because you need real clarity on your business model so you can design your business for success.”

Durham County Council

As per my cross-published blog post by Phil Jackman:

“The process worked well. Thinking about what our customers might want is not the same as knowing. The best way to find out is to ask them. The alternative way, of launching a product only to find then if there is a market, is much more risky approach. The real insight for me is that it flushes out all our assumptions that underpin the viability of the offer. We assume that there are customers. We assume that they have a need. We assume that we can fulfil that need and above all we assume that they will pay us for the pleasure.

The beauty of the Lean Start-up process is that it forces us to reconsider what we believe to be true and test it against what our customers, potential or not, believe to be true. As Saul Kaplan said we need to take our ideas off the whiteboard and into the real world.

Thanks Justin.”

And:

“The Lean Start-up training is paying dividends already. […] I have come to realise that the things I think I know are often nothing more than assumptions. I assume therefore I am.

I have now been taking a step back and trying to unpick my own beliefs. I am asking myself the questions: what is the product that I am trying to sell; who are the intended customers and; what are the assumptions I have made about them or the product. It is proving to be a useful approach.”