Story of Building Something Bigger Than a Business
About the event: For entrerpreneurs, product managers, designers, frontend engineers, founders, and anyone interested. Anyone interested in Product or trying to get into Product Management is welcome. How curiosity, relationships, and execution created a platform for urban innovation—and what's next. Building a successful business isn't just about having expertise—it's about solving real problems, building meaningful relationships, and continuously evolving. In this session, you'll hear the journey behind CitiesFirst: how a consulting practice grew into a global platform connecting leaders across cities, transportation, technology, and academia. Our speaker will share practical lessons from building a niche consultancy, establishing credibility, winning clients, launching a podcast that became a powerful networking engine, and expanding into international partnerships and events. Together, we'll explore: How to identify and build around a real market problem Lessons learned from growing a consulting business Why relationships consistently outperform traditional marketing How content can become a strategic asset for business growth The evolution from consultancy to community and global platform What's next: AI-powered advisory services, executive education, digital products, and new ways to connect urban innovation leaders Rather than ending with a traditional Q&A, we'll finish with an interactive discussion about the future of project management, entrepreneurship, and urban innovation. Bring your ideas, challenges, and questions—we'll build the conversation together. Whether you're a project manager, consultant, entrepreneur, public sector leader, or simply interested in building products and communities that create real impact, this session will leave you with practical insights and fresh perspectives on turning ideas into lasting value. About our speaker: Scott Shepard is an award-winning urban planner, entrepreneur, author, educator, and global thought leader at the intersection of AI, Urbanism, Mobility, and Decarbonization. He coined the term CitiesFirst to describe a future-forward, interdisciplinary approach to urban innovation and climate resilience. As Founder & CEO of CitiesFirst Advisors + Podcast and Author of CitiesFirst: Urbanism & Mobility in the Post-COVID City, Scott brings a unique, systems-level view to climate tech, infratech and proptech ecosystems. He serves on the board of Green Mobility Magazine, Lecturer at Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) and Founding Member & Advisor at Urban AI. Scott is a sought-after speaker at major global forums—Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress, ITS World Congress, IAA MOBILITY, TRB, MOVE, and many more—sharing insights on sustainable cities, future mobility, and digital infrastructure. He's delivered guest lectures at top institutions including Dartmouth, UC San Diego, Coventry University, and advised leading think tanks like Fraunhofer and 2b AHEAD. His thought leadership has been widely featured and cited by organizations such as the UN ILO, European Investment Bank, UITP, NIH, and Financial Times, and published in Intelligent Transport, SmartCitiesWorld, Planetizen, Zag Daily, and others. Follow us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-management-society/ Join our Slack channel: https://join.slack.com/t/product-mgmt-society/sharedinvite/zt-2t477uzhc-0RWKnexUEQLmjlymeZ3bg Subscribe to our blog: https://blog.productmanagementsociety.com/
