Beta Group Workshop (12/22/2010) presentation.

1. Business Plan
Best Practices
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2. What is the purpose of a business plan ?
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3. "Writing a business plan forces you into
disciplined thinking, if you do an intellectually
honest job. An idea may sound great, but when
you put down all the details and numbers, it
may fall apart.“
Eugene Kleiner, Venture Capitalist
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4. Why to write a business plan ?
1. To look at the idea in an objective way.
2. To study the feasibility of the idea
3. To check the business model
4. To understand the financial needs
5. To have an operational tool to start the business
6. To help the management
A business plan is
much more
than a financial plan !
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5. The business plan – content
There is no prescribed format, the following sections are usually included.
1. Executive summary
2. Mission
3. Problem
4. Solution
5. Technology
6. Market and industry analysis
7. Marketing and sales
8. Manufacturing and operations plan
9. Team: why you?
10. Financial plan
11. Sensitivity analysis
12. Status and timeline
13. Proposed investment
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6. Presenting to investors
 Investors are not familiar with the technology of your
product or the industry jargon.
 Describing your concept clearly and incisively is your goal.
 You must be able to convey the basic mechanics of your
business idea to an investor with credibility.
 There will be plenty of time at a later point for detailed
descriptions and exhaustive financial calculations.
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7. 1. Executive summary
 Mimics your pitch
 Should be very compelling and inviting to read the rest
 “Summary” -> try one page
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8. 2. Mission statement
 Define your business at the most basic level
 In less than 30 seconds, explain:
 Who your company is ?
 What you do ?
 What you stand for ?
 Why you do it ?
 Explain what business you are in, purpose, strategic goals and
business values.
SHORT !
3-4 sentences
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9. 3&4. From problem to solution
 SOLVE A PROBLEM!
 Show the problem and for whom this is a problem
 Why are incumbents (if they exist) not able to address this
problem?
 SOLUTION?
 What is it?
 Show it (sample, picture, demo, …)
 Why is it attractive?
 Is it durable?
 Is it timely ?
 Does it do something better? Does it create VALUE?
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10. 5. Technology
 How does it work?
 Does it work? Has it been successful elsewhere?
 Why has nobody else come up with it?
 Is it patented / licensed? Who owns the rights?
 Full detailed description in appendix
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11. 6a. Market and industry analysis
This section of the plan should include:
 A general description of your market
 The niche you plan on capitalizing on and why
 The size of the niche market. Include supporting documentation
 A statement and supporting documentation as to why you believe
there is a need for your product or offering by this market
 What percentage of the market do you project you can capture?
 What is the growth potential of the market? Include supporting
documentation
 Will your share of the market increase or decrease as the market
grows?
 How will you satisfy the growth of the market?
 How will you price your goods or services in the growing
competitive market?
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12. 6b. Competition
 Identify your closest competitors. Where are they located? What
are their revenues? How long have they been in business?
 Define their target market.
 What percentage of the market do they currently have?
 How do your operations differ from your competition? What do
they do well? Where is there room for improvement?
 In what ways is your business superior to the competition?
 How is their business doing? Is it growing? Is it scaling back?
 How are their operations similar to yours and how do they differ?
 Are there certain areas of the business where the competition
surpasses you? If so, what are those areas and how do you plan
on compensating?
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13. 7. Marketing and sales
 How will you make money?
 Who is your target customer?
 Mix (4 Ps):
 Product and production - can you provide what the
customer wants.
 Pricing policy - right price and quality (do you have
prove of willingness to pay?!!!!)
 Promotion - how do you communicate to your
potential customers.
 Place – where will you be selling.
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14. 8. Operations and production
 How are you going to produce the product or provide the
service at a profit?
 Manufacture or sub contract out.
 What resources are required?
 Infrastructure, staff, equipment
 Now/future?
 How do you ensure the right quality?
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15. 9. Team
 Often read the first!
 Why you?
 What is your history?
 What do you know?
 What are your skills?
 Whom do you know and who knows you?
 What is your reputation?
 How does the team profile fit with the opportunity, the context
and the deal struck?
 How committed are the people to the venture?
 Lacking or critical team members?
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16. 10. Financial plan
 Gross margins and operating margins
 Projection of the cash inflows and outflows of the business.
 Actual and expected revenues
 Actual variable and fixed costs
 Use benchmarks if possible
 Prepared monthly in year one (could be quarterly in years 2 to 5).
 Takes into account the timing of receipts and payments.
 Includes both capital and revenue income and expenditure.
 Shows the cash requirements of the business.
 Pro-forma P&L and balance sheets
 Pro-forma break-even chart
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17. 11. Sensitivity analysis
 Know your critical assumptions
 “Delhaize will love our green product because they focus a lot on
their environmentally friendly image”
 “Consumers will love our this new IT platform, because it is
cheaper”
 …
 Best case / worst case scenarios
 Identify risks in your business model
 What happens if the market changes, you run out of cash before
your first order, you don’t reach your targets…
 What will you do when that happens?
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18. 12. Status and timeline
Step #1 - Set Up the Outline for Your Timeline
Highlights of your business' projected growth and development
Step #2 - Research Your Points
Back up your predictions with viable research
Step #3 - Use Your Data to Refine Your Timeline
Step #4 - Add References to Your Business Timeline
How did you generated your data and predictions ?
Step #5 - Clean Up Your Business Timeline
Formatting the graphic so that it looks professional and easy to read
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19. 13. Proposed investment
Nature of the deal
What are you asking and offering?
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20. The 12 deadly sins in business plans
(Gordon Baty / Zero stage capital)
1. Too Long
2. Poor Writing: grammar, redundant, unpersuasive
3. Poor Layout: illogical, illegible, poor illustration
4. No Executive Summary
5. Unclear Product Features: jargon, proprietary features, current
development status
6. No Backup on Team
7. Unsupported Market Estimates / No Primary Research
8. Superficial Competitive Analysis
9. Creative Accounting Formats
10. Unfocused User Benefits: no Unique Selling Proposition
11. No Demonstrated Customer Knowledge
12. Lack of Compelling Reason to Invest Now
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21. Conclusion
 A business plan is a living story that demonstrates how an
opportunity can become a new venture, not just the writer’s
dreams and wishes
 Always use a pitch / business plan presentation as an
opportunity to learn. There is no better critic than an investor.
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22. Questions & Answers
Download this presentation and an example of Business Plan from Mc Kinsey:
http://www.slideshare.net/xaviercorman
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