About this Event
Created by two of Alberta’s best-known ecosystem builders, Craig Elias and Brandy Old, this session is a natural extension of the Lean(er) Canvas Mentoring Overview and Guide Book they created together in August 2020.
Presented by Craig Elias, this in-person session will share how aspiring, early-stage, first-time, and youth entrepreneurs can avoid some of the biggest and most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting a business.
It combines concepts from startup experts like Ash Maurya, David Bland, Geoffrey Moore, Melissa Kaufman, Mike Raab, Renee Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim with original concepts Craig and Brandy developed by helping hundreds of entrepreneurs validate their business ideas.
The session will share how to:
- Validate that a problem is worth solving
- Determine a startup’s Ideal Client Profile (ICP)
- Know if a start-up should pause, pivot, or proceed
- Identify and test the assumptions that could K*ll a startup
- Differentiate from the three forms of competition every startup has
- Leverage the 11 questions every problem validation interview should ask
- Combine early adopters and trigger events to accelerate customer adoption
- Understand the six types of customer problems that increase a startup’s odds of success
About the Presenter
Craig Elias is a LinkedIn user number 3,956 out of over a billion users, boasting over 10,000 unsolicited endorsements for his skills in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Sales. Recognized as Canada’s #1 B2B Sales Expert in 2018 and 2019, Craig has a proven track record in the startup ecosystem.
His first startup gained funding from a Tier 1 US-based Venture Capitalist and was named by Dow Jones as one of North America's 50 most promising companies within 24 months of launch.
Craig serves as a Technology Development Advisor (TDA) for Alberta Innovates and is a Startup Mentor for the Alchemist Accelerator in San Francisco. He is also involved with the advisory board for South by Southwest (SXSW) and mentors at Techstars in Toronto, alongside being a National Growth Advisor for Goldman Sachs’ and Babson College’s 10,000 Small Business Program in Boston.
He has received the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics Gold Award of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and previously served as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Bow Valley College in Calgary. Craig holds an Executive MBA from the University of Calgary, specializing in New Venture Creation and Technology Commercialization, and a cross-disciplinary BA from the University of Western Ontario.
Whether you're looking to validate a new business idea or refine your startup strategy, Craig's guidance will help you make informed decisions and move forward with confidence.
Reserve your spot today and get ready to take your business idea to the next level!
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Richard Road Southwest, Richard Road Southwest, Calgary, Canada
CAD 0.00
