SBE Conference 2026 · Breakout Session
The Number One Thing Every Business Has to Have: Customers
Friday, August 28, 2026
You cannot solve a problem for everyone. This session is about figuring out exactly who you are for.
Your speaker
Jeff Brown
President & Co-Founder, The Biz Foundry
Jeff is co-founder and President of The Biz Foundry, a Start Up: Business Bootcamp instructor, an I-Corps instructor, and a mentor and coach to founders across the region. Upper Cumberland native and Tennessee Tech grad. Thirty years of starting and running businesses — real estate, development, construction, mortgage, insurance and a VR training startup — and he helped build the regional micro-loan fund.
Take these with you
Session resources
Everything from the session, free to download. Tap to open, or save to your phone and print the worksheets later.
- WorksheetBusiness Model CanvasYour whole business on one page. Nine blocks: customer, problem, solution, value proposition, and how the money moves. This is the sheet we work through together.PDF · 1 page · print at 11x17 if you can
- WorksheetValue Proposition CanvasA closer look at one block of the canvas. Maps your customer's jobs, pains and gains against what you actually offer, so you can see where the two line up and where they do not.PDF · 1 page · Strategyzer
- BookThe Mom TestRob Fitzpatrick on how to talk to customers when everyone around you is being polite. The short version: stop pitching, ask about their life instead. Read this before you interview anybody.PDF · 108 pages · Rob Fitzpatrick
The Mom Test is © Rob Fitzpatrick, shared here under license for conference attendees. If it is useful, buy him a copy at momtestbook.com. The Value Proposition Canvas is by Strategyzer AG.
Filled out the canvas. Now what?
Coaching at The Biz Foundry is free, and Jeff does it himself. Bring the sheet you just filled in and we will work on the parts you left blank.
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Conference · Educate · Motivate · Elevate