This may be the first written business plan, but the first idea according to Founders at Work was to let art galleries get on the web.
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Viaweb/Paul Graham's First Business Plan
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Re: Viaweb/Paul Graham's First Business Plan
#12From what I've read, they got their first seed capital from an angel investor and friend Julian Weber, of about $15,000. He also happened to be a lawyer, so legal counsel was very accessible, if not free. This is somewhere in Paul's essays. Google around and you'll find more.
It was $10,000. Julian was the model for YC. He incorporated us, gave us $10k, and taught us how to raise more. We know that's enough, because it was for us.
Re: Viaweb/Paul Graham's First Business Plan
#13I love the very last line: "Spending some money on advertising might also be a good idea."
I love the paragraph stating the upcoming introduction of Java into Netscape will help the server generate the stores on a user's screen. Every programmer who've seen it, including Paul, must have laughed at that line later on. "Client-side Java taking load off the server? That's silly!" I believe Paul himself has said, in one of his other articles, that some startups failed during the dot com boom simply because the…
If you want to see "birth of the dot come era" business plans, check out http://www.businessplanarchive.org/
Re: Viaweb/Paul Graham's First Business Plan
#14"2. Secure server software ($5000). This does not seem to be an absolute necessity; there are a lot of sites on the web where you can send your credit card number unencrypted, and to date there have been no reports of the numbers being stolen. But catalog companies may believe that a secure link is necessary, and spending this $5000 would give Webgen a much more professional look."
When you feel like you've missed the gravy train for web startups, quotes like this remind you of all the good things about starting one in 2007.
Re: Viaweb/Paul Graham's First Business Plan
#15I love the very last line: "Spending some money on advertising might also be a good idea."
My, how things have changed. I love that entire section:
...A computer on which to develop software ($3000)...
...Secure server software ($5000). This does not seem to be an absolute necessity; there are a lot of sites on the web where you can send your credit card number unencrypted, and to date there have been no reports of the numbers being stolen. But catalog companies may believe that a secure link is necessary...
...At present Webgen has only a 28.8kb connection. This will serve in the initial stages, when we have few clients....