The Lean Launchpad, an education program for a new business development, and the introduction of the approach to run the program in Japan

Abstract

The methodology for new business development has been developed last decade by turning implicit knowledge into explicit knowledge and by systemizing the knowledge. Leveraging the knowledge, the approach to teach entrepreneurship is also advanced. One of such new approaches is The Lean Launchpad. Students in the Lean Launchpad are taught the latest methodology for new business development and then forced to apply the methodology in real business idea, leading to excellent educational output. It has aspects of volume production, boarder applicability, and incubating new business, resulting in broader acceptance in the world. The derivative program focusing on technology commercialization, NSF I-Corps., works as mass production machine of turning technologies into businesses. In Japan, optimizing into local environment, the authors have been running the Lean Launchpad with high impact for entrepreneurship education. The program has been also applied to enterprises that need new business, resulting in creation of variety of new business.