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Ask YC: Writing a business plan?

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Re: Ask YC: Writing a business plan?

#21
I was recently talking to some VC's and asked what they thought of my one-page business plan concept. (We're not sending it out to VC's yet.) They loved the idea though. They also said that they believe that a well crafted business plan should be less than 9 pages.

They also distinguished between an operational plan and a business plan, saying most combine them. The "how" you are going to accomplish your goals can be in a separate document for later.

Here is more info on the one-page approach: http://www.mystealthstartup.com/2008/04/15/a-different-appro...

Here is what we used to model our business plan from: http://www.ftpress.com/articles/article.aspx?p=385536

Re: Ask YC: Writing a business plan?

#22
I've read over the comments and I absolutely don't agree with those saying a business plan should not be a priority. If you do it right and spend a lot of effort on it from the start, it's not just a documentation for possible investors but becomes a set of guidelines for your company. It forces you to sit down and really analyze your product, market and the goals of your startup.

Personally I've read my fare share of literature on business plans but must say the book "The Definitive Business Plan" by Richard Stutely stands far above all. It's not written with a specific focus for a Web 2.0 firm but will give you a really clear overview of what you would want to include.

I hope I have been able to be of some help.

Best regards,

Eiso Kant

Re: Ask YC: Writing a business plan?

#23
here you go guys...

a small business opportunity. allow people to post their redacted business/operational plans for funded/non-funded entities.

allow people who are looking for live plans to be able to search through abstracts/text of the plans to get a feel for what's there... charge people something small, like $10/year for the rights to access/view x number of plans.

charge them something less if they post their own plans...

also, have the ability to have plans (anonymously) reviewed by given trusted people within the site...

to deal with someone's fear that a given idea might be "stolen" the actual idea portion of the doc can be left out... for the purpose of this site, it wouldn't be that important/critical...

thoughts/comments...

if you want to build something like this, let me know.. i'd probably be willing to personally throw a few grand into something like this....

-bruce caliventures@yahoo.com

Re: Ask YC: Writing a business plan?

#24
here you go guys...

a small business opportunity. allow people to post their redacted business/operational plans for funded/non-funded entities.

allow people who are looking for live plans to be able to search through abstracts/text of the plans to get a feel for what's there... charge people something small, like $10/year for the rights to access/view x number of plans.

charge them something less if they post their own plans...

also, have the ability to have plans (anonymously) reviewed by given trusted people within the site...

to deal with someone's fear that a given idea might be "stolen" the actual idea portion of the doc can be left out... for the purpose of this site, it wouldn't be that important/critical...

thoughts/comments...

if you want to build something like this, let me know.. i'd probably be willing to personally throw a few grand into something like this....

-bruce caliventures@yahoo.com

Re: Ask YC: Writing a business plan?

#25
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Investors don't typically look at business plans. They look at your elevator pitch and about a 10 page PPT slide highlighting your main points: your technology, your team, and the market.

"Investors don't typically look at business plans." That's only going to be true if you're making something like a website where the market and the monetization strategy are limited to a few well-understood choices. If your business is something like, for example, selling handicapped-accessible home swimming pools to parents of children with disabilities then a business plan is key.

Yes, but the focus of YCN are Internet businesses for the most part.

Re: Ask YC: Writing a business plan?

#27
post #2

What do you expect to gain from a business plan? Keep working on your product, get a user base, and worry later about verbalizing the specifics of your projected market share and what day exactly you plan to go cash flow positive. Sure, a business plan will force you to really question what your value proposition is, and how you plan to differentiate your product, but that can all be done by creating a brief outline.…

we want something to show potential investors.

Customer testimonials and a business model.

Re: Ask YC: Writing a business plan?

#28
It's important to illustrate strong market potential in size ($$$) and scope (long term growth.) Your business plan should make a compelling argument that illustrates a strong understanding of your operating environment, market trends, and how your business will strategize to use these trends to your advantage.

It's also important to not overlook the risk analysis section. Go a step beyond a simple SWOT analysis and describe your most primary risks, how you will mitigate them, and what your contingency plan is. If you don't have this section in your business plan, investors will undoubtedly grill you with questions on how you plan to deal with risk.

Keep terms consistent and be sure to PROVIDE CITATION for sources used in your market analysis. Yes, it can be a pain, but it goes a long way in showing the reader that you've done your homework.

Following a template is not a sure-fire way to write a success business plan. The outline posted here is a very good starting point--take it and adapt it, add sections, and remove sections to make the plan more relevant to your business and its operating environment. Above all, avoid using business plan software. In any business plan, your primary goals are to illustrate that you know what you're doing (strong team, market and competitive analysis sections), you know how to deal with risk, and that you are passionate about what you're doing. When writing for investors, try to avoid coming across as desperate--give the impression that whether or not you receive money from them, this is what you're doing, the investment would just make things a little easier.

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