Wellington will be holding Australasia’s first Lean Startup Methodology Conference

While most local tech entrepreneurs would be familiar with the Lean Startup Methodology and the annual conference held in San Francisco every year, not many have had the opportunity to attend such an event. Over the years many coworking spaces have partnered with Lean Startup Co to live stream the event to an Australian and New Zealand audience. However in October this year, Wellington-based startup incubator and accelerator space/program Creative HQ will be holding the first ever on-the-ground version of the conference called Lean 15. The conference which will take place from October 5th to 7th will revolve around disruptive innovation and the use of The Lean Startup Methodology in large organisations and startups alike. Made famous by Silicon Valley based entrepreneur Eric Ries, the Lean Startup Methodology provides a simple framework for businesses to maximise their impact within an industry while using minimal resources at a rapid pace. Creative HQ was launched back in 2003, which could be described as the formative years of incubation for the region. The space was originally set up by a local politician who thought it would be a great way to stimulate the local early-stage startup ecosystem. Creative HQ has been using Lean Startup Methodology with its ventures for over 10 years and CEO Stefan Korn sees a far wider use for the methods than just applying it to startups. “Corporates and government have just as much, if not more to gain from working Lean," says Korn. "Including learning how to move at rapidly, scale efficiently and operate in conditions of extreme uncertainty.”