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 the Government, Enterprise, and Nonprofit sectors. Our expert faculty coach your organization through implementing new practices that, when supported by accountability and strong leadership, will lead to cultural transformation.

Imagine if entrepreneurship was a core function of every organization; we could solve some of the world’s biggest problems. We teach organizations everywhere in this fast-changing world how to innovate with customer-centric, data-driven metrics for success. We help you build products that matter, products that people want and need.

Welcome to our community and thanks for learning about what we do. We hope you’ll check out our library of online media, join us for a live event and let us know how we can help you bring 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.

Chris Stephens

Head of Sales

Chris Stephens is a highly experienced sales leader and entrepreneur. As Head of Sales & Client Management, 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 & Faculty Wrangler

CJ brings with her to the Lean Startup Co. team a background in experiential marketing, and film/TV production. She supports the Labs team logistically with events, and special projects.

Jazmin Cornejo

Partnerships Manager

Jazmin Cornejo is Partnerships Manager for the Lean Startup Conference and brings with her more than 6 years of experience in sponsorship sales and customer relationship management. She has a passion for fostering productive relationships and successful partnerships and brings a unique approach to her work, creating bespoke sponsorship packages that maximize ROI for her clients. Previously she lived and worked international in Sydney, Australia for an events company focused on supporting female entrepreneurs.

Jenna Elkins, CMP

Head of Events

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

Jenny Trang

Director of Business Development

Jenny Trang is Lean Startup Co.'s Director of Business Development and brings over a decade of experience in sales, client development, and marketing.

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. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Public Relations and Innovation. Maria previously worked to support the communications strategy and business development for an Austin-based software startup. She has a passion for entrepreneurship, travel, and competitive sports.

Marilyn Gorman

Faculty Lead

Marilyn Gorman is a highly experienced learning professional, facilitator and executive coach. Using Lean Startup and change-management practices, she has been able to deliver key cultural outcomes, helping business leaders around the world build credibility and confidence through challenging and application-rich training solutions focused on delivering business impact.

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.

Stacy Conlon

Director of Business Development

Stacy Conlon is the Director of Business Development for Lean Startup Company’s Education Program. With more than 15 years experience in sales and marketing, Stacy helps large, complex organizations around the world get the tools and support they need to build products and services faster, minimize risk and create a framework for innovation.