About Lean Startup Company | Lean Startup Co.

Lean Startup Co. was born from the global movement launched by Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup and The Startup Way. We pioneered and continue to lead the way in education on innovation, modern management and the Lean Startup methodology for Startups, Government, Enterprise, and Nonprofits.

Imagine if entrepreneurship was a core function of every organization; we could solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Our expert faculty train, coach, and consult your organization through implementing new practices that, when supported by accountability and strong leadership, lead to cultural transformation.

Welcome to our community. We hope you’ll check out our library of online media, join us for a live event, or visit our Education page to learn about bringing the entrepreneurial spirit to your organization.

Founders

Eric Ries

Co-Founder & Author

Eric Ries is an entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way. He serves on the advisory board of several technology startups and has been named Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School, named one of the Best Young Entrepreneurs of Tech by BusinessWeek and honored with a TechFellow award in the category of Engineering Leadership. Previously, he co-founded and served as CTO of IMVU. He is currently Founder & CEO of the Long-Term Stock Exchange.

Heather McGough

CEO & Co-Founder

Heather McGough is CEO and Co-Founder of Lean Startup Company. She aims to transform the way people think and work in the 21st century by empowering the community with modern management education specifically designed for a fast-moving world. The first seven years of her career were spent in the nonprofit sector which still influences much of her work today.

Team

Andy Archer

Account Manager

Andy Archer is an Account Manager for Lean Startup Co.'s Education Program. With a background in entrepreneurship, project management and account management, he works with clients to ensure their training, coaching and consulting engagements with Lean Startup Co. are a success.

Ben Hafele

Senior Faculty

Ben Hafele is an experienced Lean Startup practitioner, program manager, educator, and coach. He built a successful lean innovation program at Caterpillar and has worked with hundreds of startup businesses spanning five continents. Ben thrives on operationalizing Lean Startup concepts and driving alignment and engagement with senior leadership.

Chris Stephens

Head of Education

Chris Stephens is an experienced entrepreneur. As Head of Education, Chris oversees all client-facing operations at Lean Startup Co. His mission is to enable our Education team to deliver the transformational outcomes our clients seek.

CJ Legare

Chief of Staff

CJ brings with her to the Lean Startup Co. team a background in experiential marketing, and film/TV production. She is a Generalist who supports the daily needs of the company as we advocate for the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.

Jenna Elkins, CMP

Head of Events

Jenna Elkins brings more than 10 years of conference planning and program development experience to Lean Startup Co.

Leeann Trang

Head of Operations

With over a decade of experience advising executive teams and streamlining business operations, Leeann leads business optimization efforts for the Lean Startup Co. team.

Maria Vargas

Marketing and Events Associate

Maria Vargas supports Lean Startup Co. in marketing operations, project management and event logistics.

Monte Warren

Senior Client Manager

Monte Warren is the Senior Client Manager for Lean Startup Co. He provides continuous client support for the corporate education program, helping to ensure successful training, coaching and consulting engagements.

Rita Dillon

Senior Strategist

Rita is an experienced and innovative strategist, facilitator and coach. She has worked with large and small organizations across the globe to develop outcome-based solutions that serve as catalysts for transformational change.