e@UBC- Lean LaunchPad

I started an interesting experience this morning. Since arriving here I have been doing some informal mentoring at UBC's entrepreneurial effort known as e@UBC. Recently I was asked to participate as a more formal mentor (but still as a volunteer) in a program called Lean LaunchPad. e@UBC selects about ten student-developed business models for a five-week evaluation and coaching session. Today was our first session at UBC with the students for an intense five-hour interactive review.

The students have some innovative ideas and are passionate about their start-up plans. Our role, as mentors, is to help them validate their business concepts. Who are their potential customers, what problems are they solving, etc. Today we were helping them set up and conduct interviews with people and organizations to validate their assumptions. I am enjoying not only mentoring these young leaders but also the chance to learn more about launching business concepts. The successful concepts move onto another process for startup funding.

Here is a link to the startup I am working with during this session.

My new role at UBC gives me access to a wealth of online resources, events and contacts. Exactly what I hoped to gain here.