business plan and other communication tools - entrepreneurship 101 (2013/2014)

The  Business  Plan  and  Other  Strategic  Communica7on  Tools  

me  

– Venture  capital  – Founder  – Opera1ng  execu1ve  –  Investor  – Mentor  

The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.

- Peter Drucker

A  few  reasons  companies  fail  

•  Misunderstanding  what  customers  want  •  Underes1ma1ng  the  compe11on  •  Not  enough  differen1a1on  in  the  market  •  Underes1ma1ng  1me  and  effort  to  revenue  •  Lack  of  financial  planning  •  Poor  leadership  •  Bad  partners  

Business  Planning  Helps  Avoid  Failure  

Business  Planning  and  Communica7on  Tools  

•  Elevator  Pitch  •  Execu1ve  Summary  •  Financials  •  Business  Plan    

Principles  for  Business  Planning  and  Communica7on  

Factual  

Consistent,  concise,  clear  

Dynamic  

Visually  compelling  

Audience-­‐centric  

Easy  to  understand  

The  Elevator  Pitch    hMp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq0tan49rmc  

The  Execu7ve  Summary  

•  Most  important  part  of  a  business  plan  •  Write  it  last  •  1  –  2  pages  •  Tell  your  story!  •  Emphasize  the  business  opportunity  •  Capture  investor’s  imagina1on/interest  or  lose  them  forever  

Essen1al  Parts  of  the  Business  Plan  

Business  Plan  

Execu7ve  Summary  

Company  Overview  

Marke7ng  Plan  

Market  Analysis  

Compe77ve  Analysis  

Customer  Analysis  

Financials  &  

Projec7ons  

Team  

Opera7ons  Plan  

Company  Overview  

•  “About  Us”  •  Describe  clearly  and  concisely  •  Make  sure  the  reader  understands  what  your  company  does  

Market  Analysis  

Research  market  

Select  target  market  

Project  Write  market  analysis  

The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.

- Peter Drucker

Customer  Analysis  

Compe11ve  Analysis  

List  of  Compe1tors  

Compe1tor  Product  Summary  

Compe1tor  Strengths  

and  Weaknesses  

Compe1tor  Strategies  

and  Objec1ves  

Marke1ng  Plan  -­‐  The  Four  Ps  Corporate  Objec1ves  

Marke1ng  Strategy  

Product   Promo1on   Price   Place  

Partnerships  

Opera1ons  Plan  

Opera1ng  facili1es  and  equipment  

Produc1on  and  opera1ng  procedures  

Compliance  with  regula1ons  

Supplies,  prices,  terms,  condi1ons,  

alternates  

Inventory  management   Quality  control  

Customer  service   Web  hos1ng   Website  development  

Possible  Components  

The  Team  

Financials  

•  Don’t  ignore  financials  –  they  are  CRITICAL  •  It  isn’t  the  spreadsheet  that  is  important,  it  is  the  thinking  behind  it  

•  You  can’t  possibly  understand  your  business  poten1al  if  you  haven’t  forecasted  

•  Yes,  it’s  hard  to  forecast  for  an  early  stage  company  •  Yes,  they’re  going  to  be  wrong  •  Show  what  you  have  anyway  and  explain  your  assump1ons  

•  Be  able  to  explain  EVERY  number  instantaneously  

Financials  con7nued…  

•  Must  be  able  to  show:  –   expected  revenues  – Expenses  – How  much  funding  company  needs  – When  you  need  funding  – How  lenders  will  be  paid  pack/investors  will  receive  a  return  on  their  investment  

Things  you  ABSOLUTELY  MUST  REMEMBER  

Jane’s  Rule  #1:  It’s  NOT  All  About  the  Technology  

Jane’s  Rule  #2:  You  MUST  Understand  Your  Market  

Jane’s  Rule  #3:  Yes,  You  Have  Compe77on  

Jane’s  Rule  #4:  Think  Hard  About  Your  Exit  Strategy  

Jane’s  Rule  #5:  Realis7c  Valua7on  is  Important  

Jane’s  Rule  #6:  Don’t  Ignore  Milestones  

Jane’s  Rule  #7:  Keep  Your  Wri7ng  Clu]er-­‐Free  

Jane’s  Most  Important  Rule:  Tell  Your  Story!  

“If a story is not about the hearer, he will not listen. And

here I make a rule—a great and interesting story is

about everyone or it will not last.”

- John Steinbeck