1. The Lean LaunchPad
Lecture 0: Introduction to the Class
Steve Blank
Jon Feiber
Jon Burke
http://i245.stanford.edu/

2. This Session
• The teaching team
• Course objective(s)
• Teaching team philosophy
• Our expectations of you

3. Teaching Team

4. Steve Blank,Jon Feiber, John Burke
• BS CS/Astro Physics U of • Yale BS EE
8 startups in Silicon Valley Colorado • McKinsey and Co.
• Semiconductors • VP Networking SUN • Charles River Ventures
• V.C. @ MDV since 1991 • Stanford Ph.D MS&E
• Supercomputers • TA: E145, Mayfield Fellows,
• Consumer electronics •
MS&E 273
V.C. @ Floodgate
• Video games
ann@floodgate.com
• Enterprise software @annimaniac
• Military intelligence
sblank@stanford.edu
@sgblank
www.steveblank.com

5. Steve Blank, Jon Feiber, John Burke
8 startups - 32 years in Silicon Valley
• Semiconductors
• Supercomputers
• Consumer electronics • BS CS/Astro Physics U of Colorado • Yale BS EE Co.
• McKinsey and
• Video games
• Enterprise software • 50 employee, VP Networking @ Sun • Charles River Ventures
th
• Military intelligence • Stanford Ph.D MS&E
• V.C. @ MDV since 1991 • V.C. @ Floodgate
Teach: Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia jdf@mdv.com ann@floodgate.com
Details at www.steveblank.com @annimaniac

6. Steve Blank, Jon Feiber, John Burke
8 startups - 32 years in Silicon Valley
• Semiconductors
• Supercomputers
• Consumer electronics • BS CS/Astro • BSMechEngineering U.C. Berkeley,
• Video games Physics U of
• Enterprise software Colorado • BA Economics U.C. Santa Cruz,
• Military intelligence • 50th employee, • MBA Harvard Business School
VP Networking
Teach: Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia
@ Su • Founder BMI Software
Details at www.steveblank.com • VC at ABS Ventures
• V.C. @ MDV
since 1991
• Co-founder True Ventures
• jdf@mdv.com jburke@trueventures.com
@andemca

7. Alexander Osterwalder, Tina Seelig
• Ph.D. in Management Information
Systems (MIS) University of Lausanne Ph.D. Neuroscience Stanford Med School
• Founder, Business Model Foundry • Mgmt consultant Booz, Allen, Hamilton
• Author Business Model Generation • Multimedia producer at Compaq
Computer
• Co-founder, The Constellation for AIDS • Founder multimedia
competence (NGO) companyBookBrowser.
• Exec Director Stanford Technology
Ventures Program (STVP), EpiCenter
• tseelig@stanford.edu
• @tseelig

8. Alexander Osterwalder, Tina Seelig
8 startups - 32 years in Silicon Valley
• Semiconductors
• Supercomputers
• Consumer electronics • Ph.D. Neuroscience Stanford Med School
• Video games
• Enterprise software • Mgmt consultant Booz, Allen, Hamilton
• Military intelligence
• Multimedia producer at Compaq Computer
Teach: Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia • Founder multimedia companyBookBrowser.
Details at www.steveblank.com • Exec Director Stanford Technology Ventures
Program (STVP), EpiCenter
tseelig@stanford.edu
@tseelig

9. Course Assistant (CA’s)
Thomas Haymore Stephanie Glass
•B.A. in Political Science •MS MS&E 2010
• Stanford Law („06)
• J.D. Stanford Law („12)
thomas.haymore@gmail.com
•CA’s role: Class/lecture questions, Grading and attendance

10. Course Assistant (CA’s)
Thomas Haymore Stephanie Glass
B.A. in Political Science
• Stanford Law („06)
•MS MS&E 2012
• J.D. Stanford Law („12)
thomas.haymore@gmail.com srglass@stanford.edu
•CA’s role: Class/lecture questions, Grading and attendance

11. Course Objective: Idea to a Business
• What does it take to go from idea to a business?
– Business Model + Customer Development
– Hypotheses testing of the business model(s)
– Get “out of the building”

12. Course Objective: Simulate A Startup?
• Create the pressures, uncertainty, and challenges
of a real startup
– Our expectations are unreasonable, they require
extraordinary effort
– We expect failures, iterations and Pivots
– Class is a “lab” - books/lectures are tools, not answers
– Fail fast, learn quick, push you outside your comfort zone

13. Teaching team philosophy
• This class is taught using the “Startup Culture”
– We‟re tough, direct, fair - you need to be the same
– Startup culture has no hierarchy - in this class you are an
entrepreneur - not a PI, lab mgr or center director
– We‟re your biggest supporters – we want you to succeed
• Question us, challenge us, push us as hard as we
push you
• We don‟t pretend to be domain experts, we know
you are smarter than we are

14. Getting Out of The Building
• This class is not about our lectures
• The class is not about your attendance
• The class is about the work you do outside the
building
• It‟s the difference between a vision and a
hallucination

15. Our Expectations of You
• This is a full-contact, immersive class
– All of you will be full participants – here and remotely
– You will spend lots of time outside of your university
– You all will do all the work assigned (and it is a lot
more than you probably realize)
– No “dine and dash”
• If you think you are not learning, or you all
cannot commit the time, see your NSF program
manager

16. Team Deliverables
• Each Week
– Lessons Learned presentation 5 minutes
– Updated Lean LaunchLab blog
– Hours of “outside the building” learning
• December Presentation
– 20 minute Lessons Learned Summary

17. Syllabus
Each week
• We teach you about the business model
• You get out of the building and test hypotheses
• Your team presents what you all learned
Repeat for 8 weeks

18. Syllabus for Today
• 9:30–10:30am Panel: Scientist and Engineers as
Founders and Entrepreneurs
• 10:30–1:00pm Class 1: Business Model/Customer
Development
• 3:00–4:00pmWorkshop: Lean LaunchLab sftwr
• 4:00–5:00pmWorkshop: Mentor Tutorial
• 5:30–6:30pm Workshop: Unleashing Creativity
Homework: Business Model Hypotheses – present tomorrow!

19. Syllabus for Tomorrow
• 9:00–1:00pm Class 2: Value Proposition
• 1:00- 7:00pm Get Out of the Building
• 7:00–8:00pmWorkshop: How to Get out of the
Building while Protecting My IP
Homework: Value Proposition Hypotheses –
present findings tomorrow!

20. Syllabus for Wednesday
• 9:00–1:00pm Class 3: Customers/Users/Payers
• 1:00- 1:30pm Workshop: Emerging Success
Stories
• 7:00–8:00pmWorkshop: Customers, Customers
Homework: Customer Hypotheses – present findings Oct 18th!

21. Syllabus for Oct 18th - Nov 15th
• 9:00–1:00pm PST Classes 4 – 8
Homework: You present findings every week to all teams

22. Syllabus for Dec 13th – 14th
• Dec 13th 9:00–5:00pm PST
– Rehearsal Day at Stanford
• Dec 14th 9:00–5:00pm PST
– Demo Day at Stanford
All team members required both days

23. The Lean LaunchPad
Panel: Scientist and Engineers as
Founders and Entrepreneurs
Panelists:
Kevin Dewalt Founder ClaimAway, Jason Lohn co-Founder,
CEO of X5 Systems, Dave Merrill Founder, CTO of Sifteo,
Kumar Goswami Founder, CEO of Kaviza
http://i245.stanford.edu/