The document summarizes the speakers for the GIST TechConnect event on Product Market Fit. Steve Blank, Donna Harris, and Kerry Rupp will speak on developing product-market fit and customer discovery. Blake Stevens will moderate. The event will provide an interactive discussion for entrepreneurs on these topics and how to establish reliable customer feedback. The document also provides instructions for hosting a local viewing group of the event.

1. GIST TechConnect Speakers
Steve Blank (left)
Consulting Assoc. Prof.,
Stanford
@sgblank
Donna Harris (middle)
Co-Founder, 1776
@dharrisindc, @1776
Blake Stevens (right)
Sr. Assoc., Harris & Harris Group
@BlakeStevensVC
Moderator & Speaker
Kerry Rupp (right)
Strategy & Innovation Consultant
@kerry_rupp
TechConnect
PRODUCT MARKET FIT
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
11:00 AM -12:00 PM EDT
15:00 - 16:00 UTC
www.gistnetwork.org
TechConnect links global science and technology
entrepreneurs to highly skilled experts through
interactive videos on cross-cutting topics that
empower young innovators. Join the live broadcast to:
•Develop your startup’s product-market fit
•Learn about customer discovery from the concept’s
pioneer
•Interact with GIST TechConnect experts live
How to host a GIST TechConnect viewing group
1. Reserve a room with a video screen
2. Establish a reliable Internet connection
3. Inform Christina Pellicane at cpellicane@venturewell.org about the TechConnect viewing group
4. Invite participants and spread the word about the local viewing group
5. Send pictures from your TechConnect viewing group to be shown live during the broadcast
infacebook/GISTNet in@GISTNetwork/#GISTTechConnect
The GIST Initiative is led by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by Venturewell.
20 years of idea to impact

2. Steve Blank is an entrepreneur-turned-
educator who is credited with launch-
ing the Lean Startup movement. He’s
changed how startups are built, how
entrepreneurship is taught, how science
is commercialized, and how companies
and the government innovate. Steve is
the author of The Four Steps to the
Epiphany, The Startup Owner’s Manual,
and his May 2013 Harvard Business Review cover story defined
the Lean Startup movement. He teaches at Stanford, Columbia,
Berkeley, and NYU; he created the National Science Foundation
Innovation Corps - now the standard for science commercial-
ization in the U.S. His Hacking for Defense class at Stanford
is revolutionizing how the U.S. defense and intelligence com-
munity can deploy innovation with speed and urgency. Steve
blogs at www.steveblank.com and hosts Entrepreneurs are Ev-
erywhere, a weekly radio show on SiriusXM.
Donna Harris is co-founder of 1776, a
major initiative that convenes and accel-
erates startups from around the world by
connecting them to the political, intellec-
tual, social and financial capital that make
Washington, DC unique. Donna is also a
Founding Member of the K Street Capi-
tal angel network and is an active angel
investor. She is a Member of the GEW
Global Board, a Board Member of the National Center for Entre-
preneurship and Innovation, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at
Georgetown University and an alumna of Springboard Enterpris-
es. Prior to starting 1776, Donna was Managing Director of the
Startup America Partnership, where she architected and led the
Startup Regions Initiative, which focused on accelerating the for-
mation of vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems across the United
States and connecting the communities into a national startup
ecosystem.
Speakers’ Biographies
Kerry Rupp advises clients on innovation
& strategy, leveraging over 20 years
experience launching and growing start-
ups and new lines of business. She is a
Venture Partner at True Wealth Ventures,
a new early-stage venture capital fund
investing in women-led businesses in the
sustainableconsumerandconsumerhealth
verticals. She also serves as an instructor
for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program. An
active startup coach, Kerry is a frequent speaker on entrepre-
neurship, innovation and early-stage investing and serves as
a judge at startup competitions nationwide. Previously, Kerry
was CEO at DreamIt, a top ten U.S. startup accelerator and early-
stage venture fund, where she was directly involved with the
launch of over 150 companies, now worth over $1B in aggre-
gate. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA
in Biology from Duke University.
The GIST Initiative is led by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by Venturewell.
20 years of idea to impact
infacebook/GISTNet in@GISTNetwork/#GISTTechConnectwww.gistnetwork.org
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Blake Stevens has worked as both an
entrepreneur and a venture investor.
He currently serves as Vice President
and Senior Associate at Harris & Harris
Group, Inc., a New York City­-based early-
stage venture capital firm. At H&H,
Blake specializes in working with its ear-
liest stage companies, including acting
as COO of TARA Biosystems, Inc. He also
sits on the Board of Directors of Promuc, Inc.; Interome, Inc.;
Synglyco, Inc.; and is a former Director of TARA. Prior to joining
H&H, Blake was the 7th employee at HZO, Inc., a start­up
focused on protecting electronics from environmental hazards.
He led their R&D, commercialization and technical business
development efforts, helping grow the company to over 70
employees and its first significant revenue. Blake also built and
managed HZO’s intellectual property system, growing their
patent portfolio from 3 to over 60 patents.