Frequently Asked Questions

What is TechSpeak?

TechSpeak is an online learning program developed by a seasoned CTO, Nelly Yusupova, where she teaches entrepreneurs the most efficient & effective way to manage development teams and projects…all based on time-tested strategies and methodologies that she uses every day, on every feature, on every project, with every developer.

TechSpeak is a fast-paced, information filled program that will take you from apprehension and trepidation to energized and empowered. It will provide you with a roadmap to avoid costly technology mistakes and provide you with clarity, vision, and the ability to execute consistently on the right strategies…fast-tracking your success and save you years of expensive trial and error.

Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned entrepreneur with a tech team, you will be able to learn a proven roadmap to accelerate your time to market. Every improvement in your process and team communications will have a great impact on your company's efficiency, speed, and bottom line.

All of the course materials including steaming videos, demos, PDF guides, checklists, and templates are within the online member portal so you can participate from anywhere.

 

Who is TechSpeak for?

Entrepreneurs from around the world have attended TechSpeak. It’s for entrepreneurs at ANY stage of development.

You should attend if you:

  • are an entrepreneur, founder, investor, executive, project manager, designer, and even a developer
  • need to become more familiar with the latest processes of building Web and Mobile applications
  • would like to learn how to outsource your development
  • would like to communicate more effectively with your tech team
  • are building the team and culture in your startup
  • are managing technology projects and time and budget are important to you

Have a Startup idea? This is what you will learn:

  • Validate your idea to ensure it is viable and solves a real problem. If you have already validated your idea and know it’s a good one and solves a real problem, you should use the validation process on every feature of every project with every developer.
  • Plan, in detail, your entire project so your tech team will know exactly what to do.
  • Find the tech team that will help turn your idea into a reality.

Already in a Startup? This is what you will learn:

  • Hire the right tech team and create the company culture you want.
  • Implement the best lean and agile project management techniques to ensure that you manage your project all the way through to delivery.
  • Scale your technology so your Startup can grow effectively and efficiently.

Developer? Designer? Project Manager? This is what you will learn:

  • Make your team more responsive to you as your leadership skills will improve.
  • Implement the best lean and agile project management techniques to deliver on time and on budget.
  • Gain your client’s trust and manage their expectations better.

Why did I create TechSpeak?

I created TechSpeak after speaking to thousands of entrepreneurs in my workshops and seminars at conferences across the country and hearing the horror stories about their tech projects getting out of control. I mean $60K, $80K, even a startup who lost $100K of their seed round…that wasn’t an uncommon story.

At first, I blamed the developers and could not understand how they could morally function like this or stay in business!

But the more I dug into it, the more I started realizing that the problem is not always with developers…sometimes…only sometimes…it’s the entrepreneur.

Part of the problem for the entrepreneur is:

  • Not knowing the process of building web and mobile applications
  • Not knowing how to communicate their ideas so that the tech team will know EXACTLY what to do
  • Not knowing how to hire the right tech people
  • Not knowing how to manage the project
  • Trusting that the developers will take care of everything
  • Not knowing the right questions to ask to ensure the right decisions are made for the business and that all of the technology decisions are aligned with business goals.


I created TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs to teach entrepreneurs the skills they need to become more capable and confident entrepreneurs.

Each TechSpeak workshop is designed to help you learn new processes that will prevent you from making
costly mistakes. It doesn’t mean that you won’t make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes…I make mistakes! But
by knowing the right processes, you will be able to MINIMIZE the damage of mistakes.

 

How long will TechSpeak take to learn and implement?

I wish I would have done TechSpeak three years ago. Is it too late now?

Is the TechSpeak program also relevant for developers and/or tech consultants?

Should I enroll my entire team & freelancers in the TechSpeak program?

If you would like to learn about the team packages, please email us at team@techspeak.co

Some testimonials:

“I rescheduled surgery and missed an important family function to attend with no regrets. I’m sorry that I didn’t bring my entire staff!”
Susan Perry – CEO, Taylannas

“This is an entire soup-to-nuts workshop of everything you need to know to build a startup. This workshop would be great for the whole team!”
Ivy Eisenberg – Lean Customer Research/UX, Our Idea Works LLC

What if I already have a technical team and a process that they follow?

I am constantly asked to come into a company to “fix the process”.

Often times I find profound inefficiencies or no discernable process at all. Often times the technical teams simply don’t know what they are doing…even if they are good coders, they don’t know process and they don’t like process…they just want to write code.

TechSpeak will ensure that you will be better able to analyze and optimize your process for timely and cost efficient delivery and make it work for you and your business and ensure that you are not at the mercy of your tech team’s “process”.

A few TechSpeak graduates reported to me that they fired their CTO after attending TechSpeak.

Here is what some founders who had technical teams at the time of attending TechSpeak said:

“This seminar would have saved my startup tens of thousands of dollars and more importantly 6 months had I attended it a year ago”
Frank White – COO/CFO at CollegeFrog 

“I’m in my 3rd year of my software company, TechSpeak would have saved us close to half a million dollars in delays, development costs, and sleepless nights”
Eric Dosal – Co-Founder of BrightGauge Software

 

I'm a complete newbie and have no technical experience, will TechSpeak go over my head?

Newbs are more than welcome!

You don’t need technical experience to attend. When I developed the program, I wanted to make sure that all attendees walked away with an entire product development process – starting with validating an idea, though planning & execution, and then how to improving and scale.

Any past experience will help but it’s not necessary. The program is fast paced but I break down each process step-by-step and make sure everyone understands the material…even the newbies.

 

I work at a large company, can I benefit from attending TechSpeak?

Get ahead of the curve…it’s time to lead.

According to Gartner, more than 50% of established corporations will be leveraging lean startup techniques by 2021.

If your company is not using Lean and Agile methodologies, you can get ahead of the game and bring these concepts and techniques to your organization. If instead, you’d like to arrange for an in-house training, please contact us.

 

I already know some of the information, will I still benefit from TechSpeak?  Is this bootcamp for non-technical people only?

No, TechSpeak is NOT only for non-technical people. I am pretty sure you will learn a lot, no matter your background!

At TechSpeak, I teach a process that I’ve refined and optimized over many years of working on tech projects and managing technical teams. Lean and Agile methodologies are at the core of my development process, which allows teams to move and innovate quickly and efficiently…getting to success faster.

We’ve had entrepreneurs at every stage in business take TechSpeak – experienced Technologists, software & product developers, and founders with successful exits – they all learned a lot.

See some example testimonials below and you can read more testimonials in the results section.

“Even though I have worked in Technology for years, I learned a huge amount of usable advice that I can apply straight away to improve my latest business. I would recommend this bootcamp to anybody either in or contemplating a startup".
James Sowry
Director, Radix Software

“I have a strong background in software & product development, but I still learned an enormous amount. Even if you are technical and work at a big company, you’ll learn tons of practical & innovative concepts that you can put to use immediately in your organization.”
Ben Vides
VP, Strategy Development at Acceller

“I’m a developer yet I learned a lot of leadership, CEO things at TechSpeak. This workshop is not just for “non-techie” people, it’s also for developers who don’t want to remain “code monkeys” for ever!
Shiva Manjunath
Full stack developer & entrepreneur

“Had I known the information I learned at TechSpeak before, I wouldn’t just have a good exit, I would have had a GREAT exit.”
Josef Ruef
CEO of Verical.com & Mentor at Founder Institute

 

Should I wait until I have a business idea to I attend TechSpeak?

No! One of the most frequent comments in the feedback that I’ve received from entrepreneurs who were already in business when they attended TechSpeak is: “I wish I had taken this bootcamp before I started my company!”

Attending TechSpeak pre-idea phase will help you:

  1. Understand how to identify whether your idea is a Vitamin vs. a Painkiller. If your idea solves a real problem for a segment of a population (Painkiller), you will have an easier time convincing users to to pay for your product, which is an issue a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with.
  2. Become familiar with all of the concepts and processes and help you get comfortable with them, so when you’re ready to implement your idea, you will know exactly what to do and avoid most of the mistakes that entrepreneurs who don't know this process make.
 

I'm in pre-idea stage. When is the right time to join TechSpeak?

Should I do STAGE 1 of TechSpeak with a specific idea in mind or will it help me reach an idea that I should eventually be building?

I am a lead engineer and CTO myself, but I need to refine all of my processes before getting into my current venture. Is that a good idea?

Do you have a list of developers that you work with or will be able to recommend?

Does TechSpeak process help to manage Internet Of Things, hardware, or industrial design projects?

Does the program go into the types of agreements and contracts you have to have when you hire?

How can I delay the start of my weekly coaching?

What is the difference between being a Scrum Master to doing your process?

Do you suggest I go through TechSpeak and then raise money and look for investors?

Do you offer a guarantee?

At TechSpeak, you will learn a lot of new concepts, terminologies, technologies and processes.

It will certainly help you think differently and on a whole new level.

It will shift your thinking and shorten your timeline toward success.

So get ready to grow and have shifts in the way you lead, think, and work.

We’re confident that if you follow and implement every one of the 10 steps in the process, you’ll get enormous benefit from this experience. And we’re happy to back that up with our 90 day money back guarantee. See our refund policy for details.

I have another question.  Can I speak with Nelly directly?

Nelly Yusupova, CTO

About Nelly

Nelly Yusupova is a CTO, with over 18 years experience, leading companies to technical excellence. She is a start-up tech advisor, outsourced CTO, and the creator of TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs.

Nelly is on a mission to help entrepreneurs minimize technology mistakes and through her online masterclass TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs, she provides the roadmap to successfully manage technology teams and projects, without being technical or knowing how to code.

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