Billions Burned - How Lean Startup + Patient Capital Set Impact Ventures Up to Fail — and What to Do About It.
How Lean Startup + Patient Capital Set Impact Ventures Up to Fail — and What to Do About It.
In the quarter century since the bottom of the pyramid concept gained widespread interest, hundreds of thousands of ventures and billions in impact investment have produced a mere handful of winners — mobile money being the most notable, and perhaps only true commercial success. It’s an extraordinary failure rate, even accounting for the inherent risk of new ventures. The culprit isn’t lack of effort, money, or startup ecosystems. It’s how impact startups are taught to design, test, and validate.
Lean startup bakes failure into impact ventures’ DNA, then traps them in long, costly, and potentially fruitless validation cycles. Patient capital acts as an enabler — propping up “zombie” ventures that will forever depend on concessionary funding to survive, let alone grow. There is a better way.
Sessions
Session 1 — The Problem: Why Lean Startup Undermines Impact Ventures
April 9, 2026, 10am ET to 11:15am ET
Unpacks how the lean startup approach undermines any venture’s path to profitability — and why the BOP context makes it especially damaging. Includes the financial mechanics that trap ventures in permanent dependency on concessionary capital.
Session 2 — FIT Startup: The Science of Robust Venture Design
April 23, 2026, 10am ET to 11:15am ET
Introduces FIT startup — an approach rooted in systems engineering that designs ventures to be profitable at launch, even when costs run higher and demand falls shorter than anticipated. A step-change alternative for builders and investors alike.
Presenters
Erik Simanis, PhD
Co-Director, Built to Hold Venture Design Lab · Cornell University, Half-Solved
30 years experience leading and guiding over two dozen ventures across a wide range of industries, including health, financial services, education, energy and mobility. Dr. Simanis’ work is published in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Wall Street Journal.
Patrick Donohue
Co-Director, Built to Hold Venture Design Lab · Half-Solved
Product and innovation leader with 20+ years at Facebook, Automattic, Rockwell, and mission-driven startups. A 0-to-1 venture builder, he’s led both corporate innovation and startups and coaches product and engineering leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Gusto, and beyond.
Teodora Berkova
Global GTM & Solutions Lead, Sustainability at Amazon Web Services
A change agent with extensive experience of leading global teams and programs in sustainability and social impact, purpose-led innovation, AI, and climate-tech. Prior to Amazon, she was Vice President of Global Sustainability and Innovation at at Pearson, one of the world’s largest learning companies, where she led Pearson’s strategy and investments in solutions for underserved markets.
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