2 Days
·Cohort-based Course
Learn to build products customers want by mastering Lean Startup and Amazon's Working Backwards methods through real-world case studies.
2 Days
·Cohort-based Course
Learn to build products customers want by mastering Lean Startup and Amazon's Working Backwards methods through real-world case studies.
Previously at
Course overview
Students will gain practical experience with both Lean Startup and Amazon's Working Backwards methodologies through real-world case studies drawn from my experience pioneering these approaches at IMVU and studying them at Amazon. Beyond just learning the theory, you will develop hands-on skills in customer interviews, experiment design, and measurement frameworks. By the end of the course, you will have created real Working Backwards documents, designed and analyzed experiments, and built a complete product development plan they can immediately apply to your own projects. Most importantly, you will learn how to avoid common pitfalls I've seen teams make repeatedly - like building features without customer validation or running experiments without testing fundamental assumptions. This will help you save time and resources while increasing your chances of product success.
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Product managers who want to move beyond feature requests and learn proven methods to deeply understand and solve customer problems.
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Engineers who want to stop building unused features and start creating products that drive real customer value.
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Founders who need practical tools to validate product ideas and build the right things in their critical early stages.
Understanding Customer-Centric Product Development Methodologies
Master the fundamentals of Lean Startup and Working Backwards methodologies through real-world examples. Learn how these frameworks evolved at IMVU and Amazon, and how to choose the right approach for your context.
Starting with the Customer (Working Backwards Fundamentals)
Learn to write compelling Working Backwards documents that articulate clear customer value. Practice crafting PRs and FAQs that define success, surface assumptions, and align teams before coding begins.
Validating Assumptions (Lean Startup in Practice)
Take your customer development skills to the next level by mastering Lean Startup techniques. Design effective experiments, conduct revealing customer interviews, and learn from the infamous IMVU tag cloud mistake.
Measurement and Experimentation
Build robust measurement systems that track what matters. Learn how to design meaningful experiments, avoid common A/B testing pitfalls, and create feedback loops that drive continuous improvement.
Combining Methodologies for Maximum Impact
Discover when and how to combine methodologies for maximum impact. Through real case studies, learn to select the right approach for different situations and create hybrid frameworks that work.
Scaling Customer-Centric Practices
Transform your organization with sustainable customer-centric practices. Create implementation roadmaps, train teams effectively, and build lasting processes that keep customers at the center of development.
2 interactive live sessions
Lifetime access to course materials
6 in-depth lessons
Direct access to instructor
Projects to apply learnings
Guided feedback & reflection
Private community of peers
Course certificate upon completion
Maven Satisfaction Guarantee
This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.
Get Out of The Building: Mastering Lean Startup and Amazon's Working Backwards
May
3
May
4
Ed Essey
Rajeev Chandrasekaran
Tech VP & exec coach: 20+ years leading technical teams from startups to Amazon.
I've spent two decades guiding technology organizations through critical growth phases—from VP of Engineering roles at companies like IMVU, SmugMug and Caffeine.tv to Technical Advisor at Amazon.
Today, I advise startups and enterprises across the US and Europe while leading innovation practices in hyper-growth areas at Amazon.
My experience includes pioneering work at IMVU, where my team helped launch the DevOps movement in 2009 by deploying code to production 50 times per day—introducing the term "continuous deployment"—and working alongside Eric Ries to develop the Lean Startup methodology.
My approach combines extensive leadership experience with professional coaching training and certification from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. I help technical leaders navigate key inflection points in their growth journey—whether that's scaling teams, developing their leadership vision, or building high-performance cultures.
I focus on fostering self-awareness, integrity, and accountability while creating environments where continuous learning thrives.
Throughout my career, I've found that the greatest impact comes from helping people and teams reach their full potential. I'm passionate about sharing these tested experiences to help other technical leaders forge their own paths to success.
Join an upcoming cohort
Cohort 1
$495
Dates
Payment Deadline
Saturday & Sunday May 3-4
9:00am - 12:30pm PT
If your events are recurring and at the same time, it might be easiest to use a single line item to communicate your course schedule to students
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Active hands-on learning
This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects
Interactive and project-based
You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams
Learn with a cohort of peers
Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you
Join an upcoming cohort
Cohort 1
$495
Dates
Payment Deadline