About the Program

iStartX is 12 weeks accelerator program, developed based upon the principles of the heresy Lean Startup approach. The program selectively borrows the logic and pedagogic approach of the Lean LaunchPad taught at Standford University and many other institutions in US.

An experiential learning pedagogy, emphasizing discovery as the core of the learning process that help to develop the mindset, reflexes, agility, and resilience a founder needs to search for certainty in a chaotic world. Founders work in teams with the peer mentoring of local entrepreneurs and investors to develop a venture from the inception of an idea to the launch of a viable business. Relying upon Lean Startup approach, a combination of customer development methodololy and agile (Product) development concept, founders are urged to "Get out of the building" and undertake customer discovery and validation to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.

iStartX accelector is Internet-focused and sponsored by Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee via Department of Information and Communication.

Curriculum

The goal of iStartX accelerator program is to help startups discover and validate their customers and come up with a repeatable and scalable business model at the end of the program.

The Process used to organize and implement the search for the busines model is the Lean Startup, a combination of customer development and agile development, that is systematically conducted under the framework of business model canvas. The curriculum of iStartX is articulated around major elements of Customer Development, Agile Development and Business Model Canvas, supplemented by elements, such as startup team building, legal aspects and IP for startups, financing startups... that help Founders well prepare for transition to functional organization in the "Execution" stage (that is out of scope of iStartX accelerator program). The learning process is conducted through hands-on experiences, in a live environment, where the cases being analyzed are the actual projects being seriously evaluated by founders.