I’m back from a break in blogging with renewed optimism and an excellent new staff at the Advantage Accelerator. In reviewing our program over the past two years, I note we’ve had a number of successful ventures, but still find issues relying solely on Lean Launch Pad methodology.
The greatest issue is the time it takes entrepreneurs to acquire a product market fit. Product market fit is vital because it shows customer validation and the discovery of a repeatable sales process. In order to develop a successful fit, the entrepreneur must focus on finding a reasonably sized market for growth.
Our current Accelerator program runs five months and operates as an expanded version of the Lean Launch Pad. Many entrepreneurs successfully complete the Accelerator program in record pace; others struggle with product market fit that may cause a client to struggle. Finding the best response to the iteration or pivot while learning new skills can cause the most seasoned veterans of startup cultures to stumble.
The Lean Launch Pad model requires that product market fit must be validated. If product market fit is false, then the operational side of the startup is invalid. Moving forward into the execution side of the canvas would be wasteful based upon an invalid product market fit.
After considerable thought, we will now be dividing our current five-month accelerator program into two parts: “Accelerate” and “Launch!” These programs will be offered in addition to our existing pre-Accelerator program, “Iterate!”
Iterate is a pre-accelerator program that is focused on problem/solution fit. The program has four, 2-hour workshop sessions with outcomes based upon entrepreneurial thinking, value proposition, an introduction to the Business Model Canvas as a tool, a basic understanding of the customer discovery process, and an introduction to hypothesis testing and validation. These are all necessary tools designed to help understand the hard work in the process of becoming an entrepreneur.
The program homework is optional (hint: but it is a great screening tool for us) and all team members are strongly encouraged to attend all workshops. In order to move into the next phase, Accelerate, and gain acceptance into the Accelerator, there is an expectation of progress, hustle, and “grit.” These qualities are not the only qualifications for acceptance into the Accelerator, but they are helpful considerations in our decision-making.
Accelerate is focused on product/market fit. The objectives of the program are to confirm the entrepreneurial opportunity, define and build a minimal viable product, validate product market fit, complete a first sales call and develop a repeatable sales model, complete building the team, and to be ready to execute and build operations. The program is eight weeks and is backed with significant resources including our intern program, mentors, and first looks by our Executives in Residence and early investors.
Entrepreneurs may repeat the Accelerate program twice if an iteration or pivot is required. A major focus of this program is to reduce the uncertainty of the startup through validation of product/market fit. Successful clients may move forward to the Launch! Program.
Launch is a five-month program focused on taking the company to the build and sell level. There are two major goals: Fulfillment of build and execution on an operation growth plan, and realization of a repeatable sale process. Each month’s program is focused on a specific topic toward a deep dive into a milestone based growth plan. There is work for each week of the program that starts with the introduction of a topic, private coaching sessions, a cohort workshop and roundtable with the last session of each month being a formal Advisory Board session that consists of our senior programming staff, Executives in Residence and any mentor or advisor to the company.
Overall, we feel that separating the completion of product market fit until the concept is validated makes more sense than attempting to move on to build a company with less certainty of success.