Maura Mitchell, a lawyer and MBA, shares her work at the Women's Business Development Center, helping micro businesses test their assumptions and scale. She guides entrepreneurs through a process of testing their early ideas using the Lean Startup Method and the business model canvas.

Mitchell emphasizes the importance of market research and customer discovery interviews to validate assumptions and find product-market fit. She also highlights the value of accountability and mentorship in helping entrepreneurs navigate the early stages of their businesses.

Mitchell's work includes supporting a retail incubator and coaching and education businesses. She envisions expanding her impact by providing connections and facilitating collaboration among entrepreneurs.

In this conversation, Janna Bastow, founder of ProdPad, shares her insights on testing pricing and packaging strategies. She discusses the importance of understanding the different roles and decision-makers in B2B purchasing, as well as the challenges of navigating the procurement process.

Janna also talks about the evolution of pricing at ProdPad and the lessons learned from testing different packages and pricing structures. She highlights the value of customer feedback and the use of AI in product management.

Overall, Janna emphasizes the need for product managers to focus on the core aspects of their role and leverage technology to automate repetitive tasks.

In this conversation, David J Bland interviews Andi Plantenberg about her experience with testing and experimentation, particularly in the context of NASA missions.

They discuss the importance of testing early stage ideas, the challenges of navigating a culture of perfection and safety, and the need for fluidity and adaptability in the face of uncertainty.

Andi shares insights from her work with NASA, including the use of simulated mission control rooms and the iterative design of software.

She also emphasizes the importance of systems thinking and the need to address complex problems in a holistic way.

Overall, the conversation highlights the value of experimentation in driving innovation and addressing the pressing challenges of our time.

Aaron Eden shares his background and experience with experimentation, particularly within Intuit's Design for Delight (D4D) and Innovation Catalyst programs. He discusses the importance of adapting the approach to fit the company's culture and the challenges of marketing and socializing the process internally.

Aaron shares success stories, such as the development of SnapTax, and a failure story with the Quick Receipts project. He emphasizes the need for continuous testing and learning to drive innovation.

Aaron Eden shares his experience with experimentation and innovation at Intuit. He discusses the importance of understanding customer behavior and aspirations, even when they may not align with their stated preferences.

Aaron also talks about the challenges of driving innovation in a changing company culture and how he is working to reignite the innovation catalyst group at Intuit. He shares the success of a recent three-day workshop called Speed, where teams applied AI and velocity mindsets to deliver business impact.

Aaron emphasizes the importance of using real ideas and providing career skills to participants, even if the ideas don't succeed.

Brandy and Craig discuss their collaboration and the challenges they faced in teaching entrepreneurship and de-risking startups.

They highlight the importance of testing and iterating through customer interviews, surveys, and landing pages. They also emphasize the need to overcome biases and consider counterfactuals when evaluating risk.

The success stories they share include students winning funding at Draper University and turning down investments to pursue their own vision. They discuss the process of scaling their program and providing support to entrepreneurs through events and resources. They also touch on the importance of questioning assumptions and guiding entrepreneurs to discover the gaps in their understanding.

The conversation explores the importance of feedback and testing in entrepreneurship. It emphasizes the need to be open to feedback and willing to challenge assumptions. The hosts discuss the concept of being right versus being successful and the value of honest feedback.

They also touch on the importance of understanding the problem and the customer before jumping into activities like advertising and landing page optimization.

The conversation concludes with a discussion on the founders' initiatives, including Founder Fridays and Help a Startup Out.

Kate shares her journey of building OneGuide, a platform that provides leverage to PE and VC firms.

She initially started with a marketplace model, but realized that startups were not willing to pay for access to experts.

She then pivoted to selling to PE and VC firms, offering them a centralized platform for resources and an extended network of experts. Kate discusses the challenges of selling to firms, the importance of testing, and the evolution of OneGuide's features.

She emphasizes the need for patience and the willingness to iterate and adapt along the way.

Aaron Slessinger, a product leader at HP, discusses the challenges of testing hardware and software together, specifically in the context of hot desking and hybrid work environments. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the needs and pain points of end users, as well as the shift towards prioritizing the end user experience in B2B products. Aaron shares his approach to testing, which includes conducting user interviews, low-fidelity prototyping with cardboard, and leveraging customer feedback to improve products. He also highlights the value of the collaboration between hardware and software teams in delivering the best customer experience.

Markus Muller, co-founder of Flinn, shares his journey of testing ideas and building a business in the healthcare industry.

He emphasizes the importance of testing assumptions and using experiments to validate ideas. Markus discusses the use of LOIs (Letters of Intent) as a tool to gain commitment from potential customers.

He also highlights the value of co-creation with customers and the need to balance risk in heavily regulated industries. Overall, Markus provides insights into the testing mindset and its application in building a successful business.