Hi, I’m Kei from Chuetsu Life!
Celebrating its 8th year in Nagaoka City, “LLP Nagaoka” (Lean LaunchPad Program) is an entrepreneurship development program that has cultivated numerous founders and innovators.
In this exclusive 3-part series, we bring you a special interview with Takashi Tsutsumi, who introduced LLP to Japan and has guided countless students as the lead instructor in Nagaoka!
Guest Profile: Takashi Tsutsumi
CEO, Startup Brain Co., Ltd.
A business development professional with over 20 years of experience as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley and Japan. He translated Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur Steve Blank’s bestseller, The Four Steps to the Epiphany, into Japanese and established the framework for Japan’s Lean LaunchPad (LLP) program. He is actively dedicated to cultivating entrepreneurs in Nagaoka City and across Japan.
Lecture Slides & Presentation Materials:
👉 Takashi Tsutsumi’s Presentation Slides on SlideShare
In Part 1, we dive into Tsutsumi’s fateful encounter with LLP, the origins of the program in Nagaoka, and the true essence of “Customer Development”—breaking the common illusion that “a good product automatically sells itself.”
Encounter with a Destiny-Changing Book | Shattering the Myth That “Good Products Always Sell”
At the time, Tsutsumi had been involved in venture capital investment for about 15 years as a Venture Capitalist (VC).
Working closely with numerous entrepreneurs, he saw a major challenge in the industry.
Kei: “What originally sparked your interest in the Lean LaunchPad (LLP)?”
Tsutsumi: “Back when I was working as a VC, I felt that Japanese entrepreneurs relied too heavily on the assumption that ‘having a good idea or technology automatically leads to a successful business.'”
“But in reality, that is not the case. You must run a dual-track process: developing the product while simultaneously ‘finding your customers.'”
Around that time, Tsutsumi came across a book written by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Blank (The Four Steps to the Epiphany).
He found it truly remarkable and wanted Japanese entrepreneurs to read it as well.
However, he realized that a dense English business book might be a high barrier for local readers.
Driven by this thought, Tsutsumi contacted Steve Blank directly and ended up taking on the Japanese translation himself.
Tsutsumi: “I knew that simply reading a book wouldn’t turn someone into a successful entrepreneur; we needed a ‘hands-on practical program.'”
“Most entrepreneurship education only teaches how to write a business plan, but it doesn’t cover how to actually execute what was written.”
“That’s why, in 2011, Steve Blank created the ‘Lean LaunchPad (LLP)’—a program designed to put Customer Development into direct practice.”
Why Nagaoka? | The “Sprout of Entrepreneurship” Expanding from NUT to the Entire City
Kei: “What originally triggered the launch of LLP in Nagaoka?”
Tsutsumi: “It all started around 2018 when a professor from Nagaoka University of Technology (NUT) reached out, asking for help with content for an entrepreneurship course. Initially, it began simply as an academic course at the university.”
Things gained momentum when officials from the Nagaoka City Government visited to observe the university class.
Tsutsumi: “The city official in charge at the time showed great interest, saying, ‘It’s a waste to limit this to NUT. We should open it up to students from Nagaoka Institute of Design, Kosen (National Institute of Technology), and even local residents to boost the entrepreneurial spirit across all of Nagaoka.'”
“From there, it transitioned into an official city-sponsored project.”
Thus, around 2019, “LLP Nagaoka” officially launched at local community centers, creating a vibrant mix of students and working professionals learning together.
Unexpected Drama | Aspiring Researchers Transforming into Entrepreneurs!
Over years of running the program, Tsutsumi has witnessed inspiring and unexpected transformations.
Kei: “Looking at past participants, do you have any memorable stories of unexpected shifts or surprises?”
When running a program for Ph.D. students at Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology), some students initially insisted, “We plan to become academic researchers, so we have no intention of starting a business.”
Tsutsumi: “However, the moment they took their own research ideas out into the market to talk to real potential customers—and saw people genuinely excited about their product—their expressions completely transformed.”
“At the networking party after the final session, one student walked up and said, ‘I’ve decided to launch a company after all.’ He ultimately founded a startup and continues to run it successfully today.”
In Nagaoka as well, numerous cases have emerged where students from NUT shifted their mindsets through LLP, going on to launch and actively grow real startups.
Program Overview
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Name | Lean LaunchPad (LLP) Nagaoka |
| Hosted by | Nagaoka City (Niigata Prefecture) |
| Lecturer / Partner | Takashi Tsutsumi (CEO, Startup Brain Co., Ltd.) |
| Location | Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan |
| Methodology | Customer Development & Lean Startup (Steve Blank Model) |
| Target Audience | Entrepreneurs, Researchers, Students, and Business Innovators |
Conclusion
Discarding the myth that “a good product naturally sells itself,” and instead relentlessly moving forward by addressing true customer pain points—the philosophy of LLP taught by Tsutsumi offers the true essence of business creation, not only for aspiring entrepreneurs but for anyone driving innovation.
In Part 2, we will cover “Practice & Innovative Thinking: Human Creativity in the Era of AI.”
👉Read Part 2: Human Imagination Tested in the AI Era
Stay tuned as we dive into the characteristics of successful founders and how human imagination plays a critical role in the generative AI era!
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