The ideas behind the Lean Startup concept have been around in some fashion for almost as long as companies have existed. However, these ideas have only truly coalesced into a unified methodology over the past several years through efforts by many seasoned entrepreneurs, investors, and academics. One of the cornerstones of the Lean Startup method is Evidence-based Pitching.

So what is Evidence-based Pitching? Well, our guest Brent Sebold from Arizona State University's Fulton Schools Startup Center (www.engineering.asu.edu/startup-center) introduces us to the topic. Brent's experience as a teacher at ASU and a mentor for many student entrepreneurs is built around what he has learned from Lean Startup resources, some of which are linked below:

www.steveblank.com

www.theleanstartup.com

www.strategyzer.com

www.entrepreneurship.org/founders-school

Our sponsor for this episode is the City of Peoria! (www.peoriaaz.gov)

PS: This interview was recorded the day before Halloween so expect some references to that!

Since 2007, groups of like-minded people from all sorts of backgrounds around the world have come together to participate in a phenomenon called Startup Weekend. These are weekend events that encourage people to pitch ideas and form teams to build a brand new business within a 54-hour weekend. On this episode, we interview Zach Ferres from Coplex (www.coplex.com) who is organizing the upcoming Phoenix Startup Weekend to learn about how everything works and what to expect! Both the Phoenix metro area and Tucson have hosted a number of Startup Weekends over the past few years, with the next one in Phoenix beginning on November 20th, 2015.

To sign up for the Phoenix Startup Weekend on Nov. 20th, visit http://www.up.co/communities/usa/phoenix/startup-weekend/6726

Our sponsor for this episode is the City of Peoria! (www.peoriaaz.gov)

A common issue raised by founders and other members of the Arizona startup community is the lack of venture capital as compared to other parts of the country. Our guest, MaryAnn Guerra from BioAccel (www.bioaccel.org), shares her opinion about the reality and implications of this issue. We then discuss the steps she and others are taking to improve access to venture capital for early stage companies, particularly startups involved with biotechnology. This is a time of fast-paced change across the funding landscape in Arizona, so listen to learn more...

Our sponsor for this episode is the City of Peoria! (www.peoriaaz.gov)

Managing cash flow is a classic challenge for small companies traversing the early stages of growth and filling customer orders. Our guest, Miguel Jardine, discusses some work he is spearheading on behalf of the Arizona Commerce Authority (www.azcommerce.com) to open more creative debt financing options for Arizona startups. Listen in to get some tips on the pros and cons of debt financing compared to other options, and resources to learn even more about the subject.

Today's guest is Adeel Yang, co-founder and president of Picmonic (www.picmonic.com). Picmonic is well-known among the Arizona startup community and has achieved lots of traction with fundraising and revenue in the past couple years.

Adeel is one of the many young entrepreneurs who has grappled with balancing school (medical school in this case!) and his startup at the same time. Listen in to learn about why he decided to undertake such a challenge, how he has managed so far, and what other student entrepreneurs can do to boost their odds for success.

Our guest is Gregg Scoresby, founder and CEO of Campus Logic (www.campuslogic.com). Campus Logic is on a winning streak in Arizona's top-tier business competitions, recently winning Venture Madness 2015 and the Spring 2015 Arizona Innovation Challenge.

As a serial entrepreneur focused on education technology, Gregg is an integral part of Arizona's booming activity within that industry. Listen to learn from Gregg's successes and failures with his companies, and how our entire Ed Tech community is coming together to share knowledge and resources for newcomers!

Our guest is Jim Goulka, managing director of Arizona Tech Investors (www.arizonatechinvestors.com). ATI is among the most active angel investor groups in Arizona. Jim opens the curtain about how angel investors approach their investment decisions and describes how companies in Arizona can increase their chances for success in fundraising.

This "pre-episode" features your co-hosts Hilary Hirsch and Mark Sholin discussing the purpose and format for the Startups A to Z podcast. They also share a bit about their personal backgrounds and expectations for the show.