Terence Bently

Lean Launch Pad

Here is a link to notes  ISSF LLP Review

What would you call a system that promises to give you a more accurate, efficient method of evaluating the commercial value of any project before you write the dreaded business plan? I’d call it an inventor’s dream come true.

Those in the know call it Lean Launch Pad (LLP). It was developed by Steve Blank, a serial entrepreneur and Alex Osterwalder, a Swiss researcher. They identified two key issues.

First, that startups are not smaller versions of large corporations. Large corporations write Business Plans that are built on their past experience of their particular market. Startups, on the other hand, reflect the vision of their founder, pursuing a market that is usually unclear and often disruptive. Searching for new ideas, products and markets, as startups do, demands a very different approach than enhancing the old as corporations do.

Second, that defining the right market for the Startup’s product must be a fluid process. The Business Plan says, “here’s what I’m going to do”, locking down a limited definition of the market and product. LLP says, “what does the market want?”, flexibly discovering the right need for the right market. This critical process is called discovering the Product-Market Fit. When you discover it, your focused, succinct, targeted Business Plan will often write itself.

The LLP’s motto is “get out of the building”. Interview market participants- customers, designers, channel partners and even competitors- to find out what the market wants. Listen to them, and pivot when appropriate to adapt your idea to market needs. This promotes a flexible disruptive approach, which is difficult for the large corporation. They don’t have the freedom to be disruptive, you do.

Terence Bently is an executive with 35 years of experience in Technology M&A, Marketing, Strategic Business Development and Product Management. He has closed over 40 Tech M&A investments and transactions, made investment decisions concerning hundreds of Business Plans and Proposals as well as delivered 25 Network Products to market. He also has extensive startup advisory experience.

He is a Co-Founder of The Venture Mentoring Team www.thevmt.org here in Florida. Terence served as a Mentor at FAU’s Tech Runway, Startup Quest and the Broward Innovation Hub. He has also served as a Judge for the prestigious Cade Prize for Innovation and the U.S. Department of State TECH-I International Business Plan Competition. He is a co-founder and Board Member of the Association for Corporate Growth’s (ACG) New Jersey Chapter and a past Board Member if the ACG New York City Chapter.

Most importantly, Terence has been a Lean Launchpad Instructor at FIU’s College of Engineering, Startup Now and taught the Florida Veterans Entrepreneurship Program. He has an MBA in finance from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.