zen and the business plan
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Zen and the Business Plan
presented by
Scott Miller
Do you need a 50 page business
plan?
•"Rip it Out" Video
Why be Brief?
•Investors don’t read a long plan
•Hard to keep a long plan, current
•Poor tool for having a “conversation”
•Banks like them....but banks don’t like us
Why be Brief?
•A long plan does not guarantee success
•Most of you will go with “Plan B”
•Writing the plan should be joyous!
Why write a plan?
•Document our “Hypothesi”
•Speculate about the future
•Ground our assertions
•** Form a basis for a “conversation”, with investors, partners, employees, spouses
The Business Plan as a “living document”
•To be updated as we learn more
•Out with the old hypothesis, in with the new! Plan B.
Our plan should be
•A pleasure to write
•Easy and FAST to read
•Easy to update
•Easy to share
The “One Pager Plus”
•Economy of language
•Forces us to be “clear”
•Conversations are efficient and quick to start
•One Line Pitch
• Leaves them wanting more
•Business Summary
•Team
•Customer Problem
•Product / Service
Class shares........
•Target Market
•Sales / Marketing Strategy
•Business Model
•Competitors
•Competitive Advantage
Class shares........
Financials
•Many entrepreneurs suffer here
•Start simple
•Detail and form is business dependent
Financials Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Customers
Revenues
Avg. Sell Price
Website, LLC
Financials Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Revenues
Gross Profit
Net Profit
Service & Products, LLC
“Plus”
Competitive MatrixCincinnati Hamburgers
Convenience
* You determine the competitive axis
Taste
Terry’s
FlippDaddy’s
McDonald’s
Cash Flow Projection
Sales / Marketing Plan
•Calculate your Total Addressable Market (TAM)
•Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
•Lifetime Customer Value (LCV)
Customer Portrait
•Who are they?
•What is their problem?
•What are their aspirations?
•IAMS example
Team
•If you don’t have a lot to say, don’t.
Intellectual Property (IP)
•Don’t disclose too much. A bit of mystery is good.
•Your plan may fall into enemy hands!
Go for it!