Nailing Product-Market Fit Workshop Series *Session 1*: Building & Testing your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) w/guest VCs
ProductTheory.io workshop series at Kiln:
There’s one challenge all founders have in common, especially in 2025. It’s achieving product market fit, whether you're early in your innovatio. journey, releasing a second or new 0-1 product, or innovating on something that's already on the market. Product leaders tell us they have superpowered their stratgy using this approach.
Regardless of where you're at, using a string frameworkm for understanding your market needs as you build your business will keep new customers coming through the door, eliminate churn, ensure they turn to you over competitors, and keep you from becoming on of the 92% of startups who fail because of guesswork around who will buy your product.
Drawing from her work as a product strategist for AWS AI, New Relic, Meta, Recreation.gov, and a host of startups of all kinds, Dr. Ali Maaxa and a series of VCs, devs, and startup sales advisors will who teach you how to:
Session 1: Early Stages - Building Your First Customer-Facing Version (MVP)
Build smart from day one, improve your product or introduce a new feature fast.
Use this framework to develop, release, and test a minimum viable product (MVP): build an MVP for a new product or return to an MVP-inspired approach (meaning: iterating and testing new products, versions or features witjh real customers) to product development and strategy. We heave led enterprise incubators and startup accelerators alike using this framework for dialing in early testing and feedback.
You're at one of the most exciting and challenging stages of your journey - turning your vision into something real. The decisions you make now about what to build first will shape everything that follows. In this session, we'll walk through how to create your MVP (Minimum Viable Product - your first testable version) strategically. Whether you're technical or business-focused, you'll gain clarity on prioritizing features, validating assumptions early, and building momentum with real user feedback. This is about setting yourself up for sustainable growth from the start.
This free workshop series at Kiln is based on ProductTheory’s celebrated Product-Market Fit Canvas: a framework for ensuring smart, data-driven product development and market strategy.
Session guest speakers:
Jim Gochee (CTO, New Relic, Apple, VC)
Ben Goetrz (Founder, Semi-Decent)
Open to both Kiln members and the broader entrepreneurial community. Non-members get a free day pass to Kiln with their participation.
Why This Series Matters: Dr. Ali Maaxa has spent 20 years in the trenches - from Big Tech innovation teams to zero-to-one product launches. She's seen what works and what wastes time. These aren't theoretical workshops; they're based on frameworks that have powered successful launches for AWS, Recreation.gov, and dozens of startups who went from idea to revenue.
Free for both Kiln members and the broader community because great products make everyone's ecosystem stronger. Just show up ready to work.
The Upcoming Product-Market Fit Series at KILN PDX
A Free Workshop Series for All Founders, Product People & Innovators
This free workshop series at Kiln is based on ProductTheory’s celebrated Product-Market Fit Canvas: a framework for ensuring smart, data-driven product development and market strategy. Open to both Kiln members and the broader entrepreneurial community.
Session 1: Building & Testing your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) https://luma.com/r71wcfez 9/24/25, 11:00 a.m., Kiln
Session 2: : Understanding Your Ideal Customer Profile https://luma.com/7zmulrns 10/1/25, Noon, Kiln
Session 3: Go-to-Market Strategy: New Approaches for the 2025 Landscape https://lu.ma/xstcod52 10/8/25, 11:00 a.m., Kiln:
Session 4: Product-Market Discovery: A Deep-Dive for Learning, Testing & Earning with Customers & Users https://luma.com/dx4xeeji 10/20/25, 1-3 p.m., Kiln
Open to both Kiln members and the broader entrepreneurial community. Non-members get a free day pass to Kiln with their participation.