Generate interest

The goal of your business plan should be to generate enough interest to make someone want to set up a follow-up meeting.

Venture capitalists routinely have stacks of business plans to review. Yours needs to stand out by delivering a strong message in the executive summary.

Components of your plan

Your executive summary should:
  • Be no more than three to five pages.
  • Answer succinctly the basic "who, what, why and how" questions.
    • Who is on the team?
    • What do you sell and to whom?
    • Why do your customers buy your products or services?
    • How much money is required?
Your business plan should include:
  • Executive summary
  • Brief history of the company
  • Description of products or services (including detailed value proposition)
  • Market overview (including trends and competitive analysis)
  • Business model (including evidence to support critical assumptions)
  • Operations overview and strategy
  • Product development and delivery
  • Distribution channels
  • Organizational charts and management resumes
  • Historical and projected financial statements (including cash flows)
  • Description of short and long-term financing requirements
Ironically, our experience has shown that the shorter the plan, the higher the likelihood of success. The concise articulation of a simple but powerful concept is the hallmark of a good business plan.