Thursday, April 4

As designers, coders, and owners we’re always making experiences and things for other people. Sometimes in pursuit of the things we love we lose our way and neglect our own user experience. In my talk I’ll share some of the things that helped me go from launching a web design company in my dorm room to being an angel investor, entrepreneur and design leader.

Thursday, April 4

Can a small business peek into the future by looking back? Might the keys to predicting market fluctuations, project specifications, and client behavior be hiding in plain sight deep within our inboxes? Rebecca Bilbro thinks so. In this talk she'll offer concrete, practical ways that the data you already have (spreadsheets, invoices, and yes, even emails) can be used to deliver business value. What’s more, she aims to convince us that these “homemade” data science solutions can often yield much more useful, actionable results than even the flashiest of the hyped-up blackbox AI tools.

Thursday, April 4

Most of us in client services will encounter a subcontracting scenario at least once in our career. Many will get involved in subcontracting—on both sides of the aisle—on a regular basis. The word subcontracting is tied to all sorts of emotions and experiences, many of which might be unpleasant. But there's no reason subcontracting needs to be a dirty word.

In this talk, we'll walk through some tips for how to make your subcontracting experiences as successful as possible. With transparent communication and professionalism, you can get a great deal of benefit from hiring subcontractors, or from being one yourself.

Thursday, April 4

Co-founder and CEO Brian Williams pulls back the curtain on scaling Viget from 3 employees to 75. He'll share experiences and insights from over 20 years in business, including the challenges and rewards of slow, steady growth.

Friday, April 5

Collaboration is essential to creative, innovative and functional teamwork, relying on hundreds of creative and cooperative negotiations to be productive and drive our work towards a common goal.

Tanya Tarr is a negotiation and organizational development expert, and in this session, she will lead you through redefining collaboration and show you how to manage for productively stressful situations. She'll also help you tackle three deeply interactive games to reclaim the FUN in FUNctional teams.

This workshop borrows from improv comedy games, the neuroscience of stress and trust-building, and will include nerd-tacular math problems that will help you stretch your brain plasticity (that's a fancy phrase for problem-solving) in ways that are entertaining AND that you can take back home to your company and your clients. Come learn how to create engaging, FUNctional teams and get smarter, together!

Friday, April 5

Whether as a mentor or mentee, the impact of this type of relationship can have a transformative effect on your career. Dian examines the initiative through her lens, defining and clarifying roles. She'll share a case study based around a thriving program that she launched 8-years ago for her local design organization and give some tips for seasoned leaders looking to serve as or find mentors.

Friday, April 5

Kids are better entrepreneurs than we are. They show up excited, listen to their customers and make sure everyone is happy. But something happens as they grow up. Kids lose their enthusiasm and ability to empathize. Then they become us. Super busy adults, always tired, cranky and never having enough time to do a good job. Why does this happen and how can we get that fun swagger of our youth back? The answers may delight you.