Develop Products/Services

Having an "idea," or if you're skilled, recognizing an opportunity, is not enough to be successful as an entrepreneur. You also have to build a business model around that idea and validate it. We're not talking about a business plan - that comes much later, and maybe not at all depending on how you fund the business. Business plans are monolithic and difficult to adapt or keep updated, which is why most startups no longer use them, with some exceptions. Business models are agile, simple and easy to iterate as you learn.

The most common mistake new entrepreneurs make is starting with an idea, spending a lot of time and/or money building what they think the solution should be, and launching that product without having ever done work to understand their customers' actual needs. This is a surefire path to catastrophic failure - the kind that can be devastating financially, and the kind that keeps most "normal" people from pursuing entrepreneurship. 

Here's another pro entrepreneur tip: Entrepreneurs are NOT crazy risk takers. They are expert risk mitigators!

Minimizing Risk

Entrepreneurs eliminate as much risk as humanly possible before launching a product. We teach Lean Entrepreneurship, which is also commonly referred to as "evidence-based" entrepreneurship. This is an excellent way to mitigate your risk and to ensure that you are not building what you think your customer wants, but rather what you know they want and/or need...because you've talked to them and understand their pain points, emotions and motivations. 

Lean Entrepreneurship

How do you learn Lean Entrepreneurship? Google it - there are millions of resources on the Internet about it. But if you want to do it well, let us guide you through the process! It's way easier to learn it from people that have done it and can save you time by avoiding common mistakes. Plus, you'll receive free advice and ideas to bolster your product.  

Getting Started

There are a couple of ways you can move forward with learning how to develop products or services with Lean Entrepreneurship. First, you can earn recognition and certification from our Emerging Entrepreneur Institute as you progress on your entrepreneurial journey. Tier 2 of the program, "Entrepreneurial Innovator" is designed to help you learn the skills you need to develop new products and services such as innovation, design methods, idea development and customer discovery.

Alternatively, you can learn in a less structured way through our Ad-hoc Mentoring Program, which is simply a customized set of one-on-one mentoring sessions to help you develop ideas and products or otherwise move your business forward.