For most startups, user experience is considered a luxury rather than a necessity. Many of us are just trying to get our product/site out there fast and plan to focus on design and user experience when we have more resources. But everyone from startup superheroes Eric Ries and Paul Graham to Dave McClure will tell you that UX is incredibly important and startups should be thinking about it from day 1:

“It’s very important in the first phase [of Y Combinator], perhaps more important than anything else. We encourage startups to build the smallest thing they can as fast as they can and then get it in front of users immediately to test whether they like it.” – Paul Graham on UX .

“Design and marketing aren’t just as important as engineering: They are way more important.” - Dave McClure on the Value of Design.

We have hosted talks and workshops on everything from lean startup methodology to term sheet negotiations but we have yet to cover the importance of UX from the get go. So, I approached one of the best people in the biz, Mike Macadaan-  the current VP of UX & Design at MySpace and asked him to come speak in Vancouver.

Mike Macadaan with team and new MySpace logo

Knowing that Mike has spent the last year Redesigning MySpace, I thought it would be a perfect time for him to come to Vancouver to share his recent UX challenges and experiences, as well as what he has learned over the past 10 years.  On top of his experience, Mike is an all around good guy, who is very plugged in to the tech and startup communities in SF & LA.  Some of you may remember that Mike visited us once before when we co-hosted our second Launch Party event together, Launch Party with a Twiist in December 2007.

Few Tickets Left
Whether you are an Internet entrepreneur, investor, designer, product marketer, or a web developer- you should not miss what is sure to be a very informative and fun talk on December 1, 2010 at 9am-12pm at Bootup HQ, 163 West Hastings – Suite 200.  There are still some spots left, so scoop one up now.