On a recent visit to Boulder, entrepreneur and thought leader Eric Ries was kind enough to stop by the TechStars Bunker to lead a discussion for a room full of folks interested in the Lean Startup methodology. In reflecting on that night, I can’t help but wonder, will Lean Startups be the standard in the Boulder startup ecosystem someday soon?

Here’s the methodology in a nutshell: “Stop wasting people’s time.” Ries implores entrepreneurs to stop building products and services that customers don’t want by replacing guesswork with validated learning. At a high level, this requires three actions:

• Build. For the first iteration, build the minimum viable product, as basic as is possible for customers to understand and use. For subsequent cycles, release small batches of code through continuous deployment.
• Measure. Ries recommends measuring the high level stuff, the stuff that matters. Unless it tells you something important about whether what you have built is more or less likely to make customers pay for it, don’t bother measuring it.
• Learn. Talk to customers, look at the data, and face reality. Apply that validated learning to the next cycle before building anything else.

Many of the principles are derived from lean manufacturing, made famous by Toyota, applied in the startup environment. Speed is key here, and progress is measured in how much you learn, not how much code you write.

There’s no need to recount the entire presentation line by line because you can view a recent webinar of Ries’ and hear him directly instead. If you’re curious as to whether the Lean Startup methodology has applications beyond writing code, the answer is yes. Erica O’Grady, who was also there that night, has even applied the Lean Startup methodology to dating.

The Lean Startup methodology seems to be gaining momentum, especially as of late with bloggers and the press. In April Ries held the first Startup Lessons Learned Conference in San Francisco, which was streamed into locations around the world, including Boulder’s own Rally Software.

With that said, coupled with the fact that entrepreneurs, present and future, filled The Bunker that night, it seems that the future for Lean Startups is bright in Boulder. I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens.

If you haven’t watched them, The Founders video series is a collection of webisodes about the TechStars teams and their experiences. A healthy combination of funny, inspiring, and straight-up knowledge, I’d recommend you keep an eye on them.

“The Innovation Lab” The Founders | TechStars Boulder | Episode 2 from TechStars on Vimeo.

“The Question is Why” The Founders | TechStars Boulder | Episode 1 from TechStars on Vimeo.

The videos are produced by Megan Leigh Sweeney. This summer’s videos are here (check out the teasers!) and you can find last summer’s videos over here.

Quoting @davidcohen

“this is my new favorite Google search “best town for startups” http://bit.ly/aGXOFP”

I’ll save you the click through and just show you the results –

Now I know it’s been a topic of debate recently, the whole “which town is the best for startups” with Boston, NYC, Seattle, Boulder, Silicon Valley, Austin and others all vying for the title, so it’s a relief that we can put that to rest finally.  With the complex algorithms behind the Google magic and depth of scientific sorting that goes into answering difficult questions like this, we can be assured that they wouldn’t give such a resounding answer (ALL the top results) if they weren’t sure.

So in all humility I have to say thanks Google, you didn’t have to say that, it was very kind of you, and know that we appreciate the affirmations.

Boulder continues to be recognized as the place for startups.  The New York Times did a story today on Boulder’s success in the startup arena.  They contrasted the scene here with the scene in Silicon Valley trying to identify what it was about this place that made it stand out so.

“In Silicon Valley, you’re a small fish in a huge pond, and it didn’t seem as collaborative and a lot more corporate,” said Chad McGimpsey … “Here, you’re a big fish in a small pond. Plus, there are the mountains.”

And while I may disagree with how small the pond is, I get where he’s coming from.  The opportunity is more accessible here.   It’s the culmination of talent, success, desire, and failure that make up this wonderful supportive community, which continues to sustain innovation and creativity while so many other cities are failing.

“Boulder has reached this beautiful sweet spot, where it has many advantages of a university town — tech and talent and openness — but without many of the costs and traffic and congestion that may disadvantage incumbent centers of innovation,”

The amazing thing to me is people (New York Times?) still can’t figure out what it is about this place, and really you just have to be here to get it, but when you do finally get it, you’ll never leave.  Even if you have to become a hippie on Pearl St, it’s totally worth it.

As I sat at my second free breakfast of the week, this one sponsored by the Leeds Business School, I met another new group of friends doing interesting things. One had flown in from Atlanta, the other came in from Worchester Mass, as well as a few locals (meaning they’ve been here at least 1 month). Being a recent transplant here, I continue to be amazed at the support and interest shown by the community, it’s the perfect stage to just go up and introduce yourself, swap twitter handles, and bam you’ve got a new connection.

It was some great conversation, and one of the comments made during breakfast was “This is great, I don’t know of any other town in America that’s even trying to do something like this!” After pondering this for a bit, I have to agree, I can’t think of anywhere else with an event of this magnitude aimed specifically as startups and entrepreneurs. Chris from ReadWriteWeb.com, who has been in town for the festivities, makes the observation that

Part of the reason I think Boulder has such a closely bonded community is that the entire downtown area is no larger than a few square miles. There are hundreds of startups located in and around Boulder, and their proximity to one another creates an amazing sense of solidarity throughout the city. When a new startup launches in Boulder, the entire town gets behind it to provide a base of enthusiastic early adopters.

We’re in a unique position to create some very real value to entrepreneurs, startup enthusiasts, VCs, and existing companies. Think about the benefit something like this is in helping people try out the town, identify opportunities, make new connections, connect current startups with potential talent, etc. You can’t overstate the impact that an event like this will create as it continues to mature and grow.
So what’s that all you other startup centric towns out there, you don’t have a startup week full of free food, beer, and meetups? You should get one, it’s great.

So late last night, @andrewhyde and myself finished off the Boulder Startup Week schedule and site and it’s ready for the big reveal.  The goal is to provide each of you with the tools you need to rock Startup Week.  Meaning you should be equipped to make some great contacts and build out your network, get a feel for the intimate startup scene here in Boulder, learn something, and find a way to enjoy yourself while doing all that.  Between the drinks, meals, people, and topics of discussion, you shouldn’t have a problem hitting all those goals.

Just a few links to help you through the week -

Plancast.com/BoulderStartupWeek – So we’re doing a cool thing with our RSVP-ing, we’re using PlanCast.  As you RSVP, leave a comment and introduce yourself, start the conversation going before you even get there.  If you’re coming in from out of town, this is a great way to break the ice.  Also, we’re hoping this is helpful in letting you find people you’re hoping to connect with throughout the week.

BoulderStartupWeek.com – Your landing page throughout the week.  For general information / schedule, this is our master list, and we’ve conveniently split the events up by day so you can piece together you schedule for the week.  Also, this will be a good one to check throughout the week as changes to the schedule will hit here first.

So there you go.  I’d suggest you spend a few minutes and build out your strategy for the week in order to make the most of the opportunity, RSVP your heart out on PlanCast, and get ready to rock Startup Week.