We love the University summer break, not just because the sun is shining (and it’s done plenty of that this year!) but because this is when we run Launchpad; London Met’s flagship business startup programme: our most intensive, hands-on, practical and exciting 12 weeks of the year.
We are now four weeks into the Launchpad programme and our 2018 cohort, 13 teams made up of London Met students and alumni, have been making astounding progress in relation to researching customers, testing assumptions and ultimately, the viability of their ideas. We teach lean startup methods so our cohort can test cheap and fail fast, instead of wasting time and money on an idea only to find nobody wants to buy a service or product.
Someone liking your idea is not the same as someone purchasing your product and so over the next few weeks we’ll be moving onto more practical testing; validating the demand by engaging with customers through the creation and use of landing pages and social media advertising, as well as some more lo-fi methods such as leaflets and posters.
Our 2018 cohort is made up of a very diverse group and their ideas range from luxury vegan confectionary, a subscription box for organic sanitary products, an online platform for creative learning and a boxing programme for individuals facing mental health issues (just to name just a few!).
Watch this space as we will update our blog again soon with how the testing has gone and who has found paying customers!