Innovation Bootcamp
Executive training for founders, investors, & product leaders
UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF PRODUCT/MARKET FIT
Learn how to validate ideas 10X faster
Are you creating something new?
Or improving your existing product?
Our Innovation Bootcamp is a crash course in Game Thinking that will help you innovate smarter & find product/market fit.
If you want to give your team(s) the tools & training they need to get reliably better innovation outcomes – this expanded workshop is for you.
Startups, game studios & global brands use Game Thinking to launch successful products. You can too.
Summer Bootcamp coming July 10-14 2023
Learn How to Apply Game Thinking
Accelerate your team 🚀
Game Thinking is a proven innovation system that blends Game Design, Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, and Agile/Lean Practices into a potent recipe for accelerating innovation.
Game Thinking speeds up product validation and customer discovery by showing you how to:
- partner with the right early customers and leverage their investment to tune your systems
- plan your product lifecycle around a mastery path – and zero-in on the right parts to test first
- build a stripped down, high-learning MVP that drives engagement from the ground up
Who it’s for
What you’ll learn
This program is magic for entrepreneurs searching for product/market fit
Candis Best
CEO @ Learningateway
This program saved my team months of time. Incredible value
Vinayak Joglekar
CTO @ Excellerate
This program changed how we design; it delivers powerful insights fast
Kacie Hsu
User Research @ Jam City
What you can expect
Create your Playbook with Hands-On Training & Support
In the Bootcamp, you’ll learn how to validate your ideas faster and smarter with the Game Thinking toolkit.
To level-up your product skills, we show you how to run three interconnected Game Thinking Sprints. This is an integrated system: the output of each Sprint is the input to the next.
This highly efficient system exposes blue-ocean market opportunities and delivers validated design insights in record time.
Learning these techniques will save you months of time and dramatically increase your odds of success.
How to Build Habits that Stick
Increase retention by engaging customers in learning a skill
- Get an overview of the entire Game Thinking system
- Hear case studies of companies who have used Game Thinking
- Learn three habits of successful innovators
- Learn to do a mastery path teardown of an existing product
Find your Hot-core Superfans
Clarify your strategy & get focused customer insights
- Clarify your beachhead strategy & high-risk assumptions
- Identify who NEEDS what you offer – and who doesn’t
- Understand your customers habits & motivations
- Write Job Stories that capture their motivations & habits
Design for Re-engagement
Design sustained engagement from the ground up
- Visualize your end-to-end Customer Journey
- Analyze your market with Competitive Teardowns
- Design a habit-building Learning Loop
- Drive retention with smart Progression Design
Validate & Iterate Your Ideas
Test your ideas with low-fidelity storyboards
- Visualize a 30-day journey with Concept Storyboards
- Test your concept with vetted early customers
- Validate & update your key assumptions
- Update your design plans & next steps
Harness the power of Competitive Teardowns
Share your work and plan next steps
- Share mastery path teardowns created by students
- Learn about ways teardowns can be used in innovation
- Plan next steps in your Game Thinking journey
- Receive a certificate of completion
Game Thinking stretches beyond gaming
Trusted By Leading Brands, Startups & Game Studios
Game Thinking isn’t just for games. Our clients work in automotive, beauty, education, entertainment, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and technology.
Successful product teams at Disney, Netflix, Tesla, Google, MTV, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, & the New York Times have used Game Thinking to bring their ideas to life faster and smarter.
What about you?
This program made me a better, more strategic product maker
Ian Brand
Product Innovation @ General Motors
Amanda Taylor
Senior Researcher
Dylan Watkins
VR / AR Developer
Eugenia Kuyda
CEO @ Replika
Who we are
Meet your coaches 👋🏽
Amy Jo Kim
Game designer & startup coach
I’ve worked with hundreds of product leaders to bring their ideas to life, and helped build and launch Rock Band, The Sims, eBay, Covet Fashion, and Happify. I’ve also run and sold a venture-funded startup – so I know those challenges first-hand.
Through it all, I’ve learned what works—and what doesn’t—when you’re bringing a risky idea to life. I’m bringing that knowledge to startups, game studios, and companies worldwide in our Game Thinking Innovation Bootcamp.
I’m passionate about helping entrepreneurs find product/market fit. I’d love to help YOU innovate smarter and build a high-retention product.
Scott Kim
Educational game designer
I’m a game designer specializing in puzzle games (Tetris, Bejeweled), and educational game design (ThinkFun, ABCmouse).
I helped ABCmouse.com bring alive their innovative adaptive math game suite Mastering Math, started the supplemental educational program Math Monday to bring playfulness and beauty to math education.
If you’re in education, I’d love to help you build games that are both entertaining and effective.
Amy Jo’s program & insights gave me practical, tangible design skills.
Gina Bianchini
CEO, Mighty Networks
Amy Jo’s MVP methodology is fantastic. The results you’ll see are a no-brainer
Ofer Leidner
President, Twill / Happify
Amy Jo has a refined, effective process for bringing new ideas to life
Blair Ethington
VP @ eBay
Case Study
How Geocaching applied Game Thinking
Allison Kelsey
Director of Product, Geocaching
the world’s largest treasure hunt
Allison Kelsey was searching for a process to help her teams innovate beyond their core product & reach new audiences.
She attended the Bootcamp with a colleague, and liked it so much she brought her entire team into the program.
Enroll now
Join the Innovation Bootcamp
What can you expect?
- Learn the basics with EZ-to-follow instructional videos
- Apply the training with your step-by-step Playbook
- Get answers & feedback in our private peer community
- Get hands-on coaching with 5 days of LIVE trainings
- BONUS: access to our Rapid Innovation Workshop (3/31)
- BONUS: unlock discounts on followup programs
Summer Bootcamp runs LIVE
July 10-14 9am & 4pm PT
BONUS: enroll now & attend our LIVE Rapid Innovation Workshop
March 31, 2023 9am-1pm PST
Bootcamp for Teams
$4,997 (one-time payment)
includes up to 8 seats +
private 1-hour coaching session
Got more than 8 team members?
Check out our Enhanced Team Package
Bootcamp for Individuals
$997 (one-time payment)
$397/month for 3 months
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Innovation Bootcamp?
A 5-day Game Thinking crash course that will level-up your product skills and deliver RESULTS.
When does the bootcamp happen?
Our next Bootcamp runs November 14-18, 2022 with LIVE sessions at 9am & 4pm PST
Where do I need to participate?
The Bootcamp runs online. You need an Internet-connected computer or mobile phone to access the materials and attend live meetings.
What topics do you cover?
The Bootcamp targets key skills needed for cross-functional product teams: product strategy, customer research, game & UX design, and product management.
What happens if I get busy?
You move at your own pace: everything is online and you get lifetime access to the videos, templates and private group.
What if I can’t make it to the live meetings?
We run these Bootcamps quarterly – if you miss one, simply attend the next one at your convenience.
Game Thinking sounds great, but I’m building an app/platform/enterprise system. Is this only for games?
Game Thinking will improve any product experience that can be built around learning, mastery and empowerment. It works for games – and ALSO for products, apps, blogs, marketplaces, and events where the goal is long-term engagement.
This reminds me of Gamification – but I’m not hearing a lot about game mechanics. What’s the difference?
Gamification opens the door and gets people interested in the power of games. Game Thinking is the next step. You’ll learn how to bring your ideas to life like a game designer, and create Learning Loops that empower your players
Will my employer cover the cost?
If your company has a training budget, this should be easy to cover. Participating will enhance your product design and management skills – and your entire team will benefit from the techniques you bring back to the company.
Is this a good fit for me?
It’s all about what kind of outcomes you’re looking for. If you want to super-charge your product innovation skills, find product/market fit faster than you thought possible, and leverage the deeper underlying power of games – this Bootcamp is for you.
