The No. 1 Reason Most Business Ideas Fail (and How to Avoid It)

Most entrepreneurs don’t fail because they lack passion. They fail because they build something customers don’t actually want. In this interactive workshop, UCLA alumna and Business Strategist Sami Toussi ’11 will introduce the Lean Canvas framework and walk through the key questions every founder should answer to build a stronger business. You’ll learn how to identify your ideal customer, uncover unmet needs, evaluate growth opportunities, and strengthen your business model. Through guided exercises and real-world examples, you’ll begin applying these concepts to your own business during the session. Whether you’re exploring a side hustle, consulting practice, freelance business, startup, or new business idea, you’ll leave with greater clarity, practical tools, and actionable next steps.

You’ll learn how to:

• Define your ideal customer
• Understand customer pain points and unmet needs
• Clarify what makes your solution different
• Evaluate your business idea and business model using the Lean Canvas framework
• Identify opportunities to turn your skills, expertise, and ideas into income
• Use AI as a tool while avoiding common founder blind spots

About the Speaker

Sami Toussi ’11, Board Certified Coach (BCC), is a career strategist and owner of Toussi International, a consultancy that helps individuals tap into their purpose to benefit the world. Toussi’s business encompasses more than 10 years of business and psychology experience, where she earned over six figures by her mid-twenties leading an international sales team. Despite Toussi’s early success her experience caused her to question the fullness and purpose of her life. Seeking answers, Toussi further delved into the coaching world and gained board certification in 2016. Toussi then founded Toussi International, a global consulting practice with clients ranging from business owners to professionals to multinational corporations. To date, Toussi has run over 70 workshops on topics such as career building, leadership, time management and work-life balance. She’s also coached more than 300 clients worldwide with specific measurable results, including some of the following: increasing monthly business revenue by 400%, promotions from manager to director, negotiating salary increase by 30%, enhancing employee engagement by 95%, and helping clients increase confidence and improve presentation skills.

LinkedIn and Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samitoussi/ | https://www.samitoussi.com/