Hello, Geeks on a Beach-goers! My name is Zachary Cohn, and I'll be one of your MCs for the event. I came to the Philippines last November to facilitate Startup Weekend: Davao #1 and Cebu #2. I fell in love with the country, and when Tina asked me to come back and MC GoaB... I couldn't say no!
In addition to MC'ing, I'll be doing an interactive session on Customer Development. If you haven't heard of it, then you better be there. It's changing the way startups are done. If you have heard of it - you better come too! There will be lots to learn.
Since the bubble burst in the early 2000s, one of the most important things startups have learned is that you have to go TALK to your customer... and not just to sell to them. You need to validate ideas and parts of the Business Model Canvas. But how do you validate your assumptions?
By doing customer interviews.
This is the skill I want to help all of my fellow geeks on the beach become awesome at. Because everything else builds on it. All of your ideas, all of your decisions, all of your products should be based on what you've learned and what assumptions you've validated by talking to customers.
This is literally one of the most important skills you can learn... and I can't wait to teach you. :)