Disciplined Entrepreneurship: An Alternative to Lean LaunchPad? Kramer Winingham Program Manager, Studio G Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University March 21st, 2014 Open Conference 2015
Abstract Studio G used Lean LaunchPad to coach and mentor student entrepreneurs for two years. Encountered challenges Pivoted to MIT s Disciplined Entrepreneurship Learned interesting aspects about both curriculums Wanted to share our experiences to help others using these curriculums to teach entrepreneurship.
Introduction Studio G is New Mexico State University s student incubator. Offered through Arrowhead Center, New Mexico State University s Economic Development Arm. 35 active student businesses currently in Studio G Work with about 75 new student entrepreneurs annually Mentorship provided by staff, student employees, and enterprise advisors
Background Studio G s Mission: Help Aggies Start Businesses Goal is to get clients generating revenue as quickly as possible Current staffing for Studio G (4) Manager - full-time staff Coordinator - part-time staff Two graduate assistants Shared space, more of a community than a true incubator Free to students and recent alumni
Background (cont.) Entrepreneurship curriculums were implemented into Studio G programming for two primary reasons: 1. To avoid reinventing the wheel by utilizing well-regarded methodologies. 2. To provide a consistent structure for advisement to all clients from all mentors.
Background (cont.) In our program the curriculum needed to be able to: Train new student entrepreneurs Train student employees to guide, coach, consult, and advise student entrepreneurs AND provide the tools to succeed doing so.
Structure Case Study - Lean LaunchPad & Disciplined Entrepreneurship Introduction Implementation Feedback & Observations Advantages Disadvantages
Lean LaunchPad Case Study
Case Study: Lean LaunchPad Overview Lean LaunchPad or Evidence-based Entrepreneurship consists of three parts: The Customer Development Model Business Model Canvas Agile Engineering And four steps Customer Discovery Customer Validation Customer Creation Company Building Goal: Find a repeatable scalable business model based on customer insights
Case Study: Lean LaunchPad Implementation Business Model Canvas Talking point/progress tracker in mentor meetings to quickly convey progress and status. Hypothesis testing The concept of validating assumptions made by the startup through customer insights. Startup Owner s Manual distribution and adoption in classes in the College of Engineering Helped disseminate details about Lean Launch Design Thinking training Empathy maps, customer insights, etc.
Case Study: Lean LaunchPad Feedback & Observations Appealing to students Made entrepreneurship accessible and easier than traditional business planning Helped grow the entrepreneurial culture at NMSU substantially Dramatically increased participation in Studio G, particularly from College of Engineering
Case Study: Lean LaunchPad Feedback & Observations Business Model Canvas was most effective as a strategy guide for formulating and validating hypotheses. Often became a brainstorming tool - this was a disaster Became overwhelming for clients. Narrowing component extremely Two primary problems important, needed to be emphasized to mentors. Clients and Mentors lacked a broader vision. They knew their next steps, but not where they were going in a big picture sense. Brainstorming using a Business Model Canvas clouded focus and produced laundry lists that felt like homework to the clients.
Case Study: Lean LaunchPad Feedback & Observations Difficult to formulate a mission and vision when clients were waiting for customers to identify what their mission and vision should be. Successful clients came in with a clear idea and vision and were undeterred by major pivots. Iterations helped helped refine the idea, but the idea remained. Pivots are dangerous Canvas should be used to refine, not redirect.
Case Study: Lean LaunchPad Advantages Made entrepreneurship more appealing and accessible. Improved culture of entrepreneurship through ease of access. Disadvantages Failed to provide sound methodology for focusing client activities. Lack of focus/direction eventually overwhelmed some clients. Not enough guidance for new entrepreneurs to manage uncertainty inherent to entrepreneurship.
Disciplined Entrepreneurship Case Study
Case Study: Disciplined Entrepreneurship Overview Developed by Bill Aulet from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Covers six basic themes: 1. Who is your customer? 2. What can you do for your customer? 3. How does your customer acquire your product? 4. How do you make money off your product? 5. How do you design and build your product? 6. How do you scale your business? Underlying these six themes are 24 steps that walk through the validation and development of a business.
Case Study: Disciplined Entrepreneurship Overview Disciplined Entrepreneurship builds on Lean LaunchPad, and also draws a heavy influence from Geoffrey Moore s Crossing the Chasm and other well-known entrepreneurship books.
Case Study: Disciplined Entrepreneurship Implementation Adopted as consulting methodology in June 2014 Implemented through a deep dive by all student mentors Eight 15-minute presentation covering 3 steps Covered all 24 steps in a two-hour block with staff, mentors and clients Offered as client curriculum by August 2014 Developed 1-page modules for each of the 24 steps. Began a Networking Hour with regular presentations on Disciplined Entrepreneurship
Case Study: Disciplined Entrepreneurship Feedback & Observations Received positively because clients were eager for more guidance and structure than provided by Lean LaunchPad. Excelled as a standalone teaching tool Each step contained concrete and valuable business lessons Encouraged focus and refinement Increased certainty Helped clients get out of the brainstorming phase quickly to focus on making their idea real.
Case Study: Disciplined Entrepreneurship Advantages Focus was emphasized as a key principle and encouraged from the beginning of the process. Each step provided concrete and valuable principles that offered sound guidance to mentors and entrepreneurs. Adaptable and applicable to a wide variety of businesses.
Case Study: Disciplined Entrepreneurship Disadvantages Formal curriculum progress is difficult because there is not Business Model Canvas tool for Disciplined Entrepreneurship. Worksheets had to be developed for each step to guide formal progress.
Takeaways Lean LaunchPad is very effective for making entrepreneurship accessible. As a standalone curriculum our new entrepreneurs struggled due to lack of focus and direction. Disciplined Entrepreneurship s emphasis on focus and reducing ideas to concrete actions addressed many of these challenges for our new entrepreneurs. In the experience of Studio G, student entrepreneurs have responded well to the structure and principles of Disciplined Entrepreneurship.
Questions/Comments? Kramer Winingham Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University (575) 646-7151 jkramer@nmsu.edu