LSE Lean Launchpad*

Developing innovative ideas into businesses

The LSE Lean Launchpad is a virtual programme designed to help deliver commercial and social impact by developing promising ideas into spin-out companies, consultancies, and licensable innovations. The initiative offers entrepreneurship and commercialisation training for LSE researchers, students, and alumni.

The LSE Lean Launchpad offers support to solve real-world problems and create social impact

The LSE Lean Launchpad offers support to solve real-world problems and create social impact.

It selects 10 entrepreneurial teams to its 5-week training programme, which is designed to complement and optionally feed into the ARC accelerator programme run by Aspect (A Social Sciences Platform for Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Transformation).

Each selected team receives a grant of £2,000 for its venture activities, and has access to experienced industry mentors who help develop the team's idea. Admitted teams also compete for awards for the top three best performing prizes for a total of £5,000.

We will be announcing the 2021 Lean Launchpad soon and opening for applications in January 2021. If you have questions, please email innovation@lse.ac.uk.

*The Lean Accelerator has been renamed the Lean Launchpad.


Training

As the name implies, Lean Launchpad teaching is based on Lean Canvas, a unique methodology combining both Lean Startups and Business Canvas to assist early stage entrepreneurs to focus on market-driven validation of their business plans.

During the programme, you will attend the following series of core training webinars designed to give you the skills and experience to drive your idea forward: 

  • Mindset and communication
  • Market positioning and finance
  • Market identification and engagement
  • Due diligence, IP and other legal issues
  • Assessment, iteration, pivoting

Mentorship

You will be matched with one or more mentors who will draw from their deep business experience to offer advice and steer your path through a rigorous set of exercises to move your innovative ideas forward.


The winners of the 2020 Lean Accelerator

Of the 11 teams that completed the inaugural programme, the winners were:

Watch the Introduction Webinar

Intro Webinar - Lean Launchpad Intro Webinar - Lean Launchpad
Discover more about the Lean Launchpad and how it can benefit you.