Program Overview

These were the Submission Criteria for our Spring 2013 Applications - the only program run by Lean Launch Ventures

  • Your business must have been formed not less than 3 months prior to application submission
  • All applicants should be teams of at least 2 people
  • At least one member of your team must have sufficient technical skills to develop your minimum viable product (MVP)
  • Your business must be located within or willing to relocate to the state of Connecticut

Duration: 12 week hands-on, workshop-oriented, exploration and refinement of your startup concept

Goal: To build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) filling customer need and/or solves customer problem

Curriculum: was based on LeanLaunchPadTM methodology of Steve Blank and Bob Dorf

Location was: 285 Riverside Ave, Westport CT - in the offices of Canaan Partners

Lean Launch Ventures provided: 

  • an engaged partner 
  • experience, industry and domain skills 
  • talented group of seasoned mentors 
  • contacts from our extended network

Key Tool: Business Model Canvas (BMC) was used as a scorecard for proven hypotheses

Focus: “getting out of the building” meeting customers, suppliers and partners validating hypotheses

One 3 hour class per week using a "flipped classroom" model:

  • key lectures watched on video as homework assignments
  • lectures discussed in class
  • bulk of class time = reviewing progress of each team’s work

Successful completion of the program: investments of $33K were made in each startup in the form of convertible Notes with a 2 year duration which ended in June of 2015. 

Demo Day: the 5 teams which graduated pitched their businesses to highly qualified early-stage investors to gain additional funding.

 

Classroom Sessions

Week 1:   Kickoff / Introductions / Mentor Matching / BMC review

Week 2:   Business model and the process of Customer Discovery

Week 3:   Value Propositions - Statement, Testing & Refinement

Week 4:   Customers, Users & Payers

Week 5:   Distribution Channels 

Week 6:   Customer Funnel - Get, Keep & Grow

Week 7:   Revenue Models

Week 8:   Partnerships, Joint Ventures & Strategic Relationships

Week 9:   Key Resources / Key Activities

Week 10: Costs & Budgeting

Week 11: Presentation Skills

Week 12: Presentation Practice

Demo Day