| Class 1: Business Model Canvas | 6/17/2025 | 1:30 PM | – 3:30 PM (PDT) | |
| Class 2: Product Positioning & Value Proposition | 6/24/2025 | 1:30 PM | – 3:30 PM (PDT) | |
| Class 3: Customer Interviews | 7/1/2025 | 1:30 PM | – 3:30 PM (PDT) | |
| Class 4: Customer Interviews, Relationship, and MVP | 7/8/2025 | 1:30 PM | – 3:30 PM (PDT) | |
| Class 5: Market Research & TAM SAM SOM | 7/15/2025 | 1:30 PM | – 3:30 PM (PDT) | |
| Class 6: Finance | 7/22/2025 | 1:30 PM | – 3:30 PM (PDT) | |
| Class 7: Funnels, Channels, and Metrics | 7/29/2025 | 1:30 PM | – 3:30 PM (PDT) | |
| Class 8: Pitching & Mission & Vision | 8/5/2025 | 1:30 PM | – 3:30 PM (PDT) |
Open – 2 places remaining
6/17/2025 1:30 PM (PDT)
Online Meeting (Live)
Business Financing, Business Plan, Customer Relations
DESCRIPTION
The Lean Essentials Sprint (LES) is an accelerator designed to help founders starting innovative, scalable companies discover their customer, validate that customer, establish the value proposition, and work through many other key components needed to launch and scale a successful business. The course is designed to accomplish three basic objectives:
- Entrepreneurs must let go of their precious “ideas.” Ideas don’t make money, business models with customers make money, and teams that execute make money.
- The answers are outside the building. Entrepreneurs must go get primary data directly from potential customers and partners in order to truly get insights into the idea, the model, and the viability of the business.
- Business acumen matters. Startups must have a basic understanding of business models, pricing, costing, margins, market capacity, and product/service capacity in order to make good business decisions.
What to Expect:
Each week, the series will cover the following content, culminating in a final Demo Day for participants to practice their pitch in front of investors
INSTRUCTORS
Benton Moore
Benton Moore is an exited cleantech entrepreneur turned climate investor with over 150 investments via San Diego Angels, NuFund Ventures, and Sea Dragon Capital, a fund for early-stage, sustainability technologies. Benton is passionate about entrepreneurship and scaling startups in diverse industries. He also serves as a Lead Mentor for Techstars San Diego, a Technical Advisor for Southern California Energy Innovation Network, an Advisor for the NASDAQ Entrepreneur Exchange, and a Climate Ambassador for the MIT Sustainability Initiative. Benton earned his JD and MBA (New Venture Management) from University of San Diego as well as specialties in International Law from Trinity College, Dublin, Venture Capital from UC-Berkeley Law, and Strategic Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In an adventurous change-making career of deals, Benton’s proudest accomplishment is coaching his daughter’s undefeated soccer team. Outside the office, Benton is usually hiking, mountain biking, or downhill skiing.
Silvia Mah
Silvia Mah is deeply integrated into the start-up scene, not just in SanDiego, but internationally. She is a founding partner of Ad Astra Ventures, which aims to “get to even” for high achieving women. Focused on “Impact with Integrity,” Mah is also the Founder & Chairwoman of Stella Labs, an accelerator for women-owned businesses; founding member of Stella Angels, a female angel investment group; Investment Committee member of Next Wave Impact, a social impact venture fund; and an angel investor to over 40 startups who have diverse founders on the leadership team. She also produces a globally-recognized podcast, She Invests!, highlighting the investment journeys of female angel investors and venture capitalists.
COURSE FORMAT
This session is available as a Zoom. Upon sign-up you’ll receive a link to the recurring meeting. In order to comply with SBDC Confidentiality and AI policies, training event attendees will not be allowed to use AI meeting summary tools in training sessions.
Registration Policies:
Registration and Fees: Payment of seminar fees may be made by check, money order or credit card. Payment must be received to guarantee your space in an event.
Refund Policy: If you wish to request a refund, please contact the conference organizer listed above to discuss. You may also elect to send a substitute in your place. If the event is cancelled, all fees will be returned.
Special Accommodations: In accordance with the American Disabilities Act and state law, you may request accommodations due to a disability by contacting the event organizer listed above. Advance notice may be necessary for some accommodations. Registration must be paid prior to accommodation requests.
