Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. The most common failures are solutions looking for a problem, lack of a defined market, or an inadequate revenue model.

Business Model 256

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 256

Steve Blank

MAY 17, 2010

Last week one of the schools I teach at invited me to judge a business plan contest. I suggested that they first might want to read my post on why business plans are a poor planning and execution tool for startups. At best I think business plan competitions are a waste of time.

Business Plan 312

Business Plan Business Model Customer Development Deal Flow 312

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

Today, the virtual business model has a radically new relationship with employees. As such, it’s key that your remote team and working environment are now included as part of your business plan. First, do you need a business plan? No business plan = no outside investment.

Business Plan 138

Business Plan Startup Cloud Framework 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan. Just for clarification, I characterize a product plan as a formal description of your product or service, with a quick business description at the end for effect.

Business Plan 280

Business Plan Product Architecture Business Model 280

Up and Running

OCTOBER 16, 2019

Do you really need a business plan? Can’t you just wing it and skip the whole planning process? If you’re asking a bank, angel investor, or venture capitalist for funding, they’re going to want to know that you have a good handle on your small business’s trajectory. . The process of writing your plan is what’s important.

Business Plan 108

Business Plan Small Business Forecast Balance Sheet 108

Up and Running

OCTOBER 16, 2019

Do you really need a business plan? Can’t you just wing it and skip the whole planning process? If you’re asking a bank, angel investor, or venture capitalist for funding, they’re going to want to know that you have a good handle on your small business’s trajectory. . The process of writing your plan is what’s important.

Business Plan 108

Business Plan Small Business Forecast Balance Sheet 108

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2016

Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan. Just for clarification, I characterize a product plan as a formal description of your product or service, with a quick business description at the end for effect.

Business Plan 120

Business Plan Product Architecture Startup 120

Growthink Blog

DECEMBER 27, 2017

You need a good idea – and an excellent business plan. Business planning and raising venture capital go hand-in-hand. A business plan is required for attracting venture capital. But how exactly will your business plan persuade investors to sign a check? Hook them on the first page.

Venture Capital 129

Venture Capital Business Plan Technical Review Private Placement 129

Steve Blank

MARCH 3, 2015

Berkeley Haas Business School is a leader in entrepreneurship education. It has replaced how to write a business plan with hands-on Lean Startup methods. The final deliverable for that class was a 30-page business plan. We had multiple business plan competitions. The Business Plan is Dead.

Business Plan 120

Business Plan Silicon Valley Saudi Arabia Lean 120

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Startups with a solid business plan and great pitch deck have a far greater chance of gaining investment. In this essay by one of Mercia’s Fund Principals, Ian Wilson, Ian talks about the sorts of things he and the team are looking for when plans come to them for review. Writing a plan does not need to be a daunting task.

Business Plan 93

Business Plan Technical Review Initial Public Offering Due Diligence 93

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

After struggling to create your business plan for months, every entrepreneur likes to think that their document is inspirational and will reach someone who is smart enough to see the brilliance of the idea, intuitive enough to recognize their business acumen, and enthusiastic enough to offer the money required to make it happen.

Business Plan 242

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Technical Review .Net 242

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2017

Working out a business plan for your daycare center can be a challenge. As someone who owns eight successful daycares in the Chicago area, I know the strategies and approaches that work when it comes to developing a sound business plan for a daycare center. What is your business model? How will you grow?

Business Plan 93

Business Plan SBA Software Review Advisory Board 93

Up and Running

AUGUST 28, 2018

If you’re thinking about starting an outpatient medical practice, one of the first things you should do is write a business plan. There are a few different types of business plans , depending on how you intend to use it. There are a few different types of business plans , depending on how you intend to use it.

Business Plan 72

Business Plan Technical Review Exit Strategy Oregon 72

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Insights from market research enable you to spot both strengths and weaknesses in your planned business model – helping you steer clear of pitfalls while maximizing opportunities. Developing a Business Plan The findings from your market research should form the backbone of your comprehensive business plan.

Balance Sheet 108

Balance Sheet Technical Review Business Model Business Plan 108

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 13, 2023

A well-constructed business model is a foundational element of a business plan and strategy. It provides clarity on how a company plans to succeed in the marketplace and is essential for attracting investors, partners, and customers. Thanks to Jordan Adair, ShirtMax ! #2- Thanks to Rodney Warner, Connective ! #3-

Business Model 131

Business Model Affiliate Jordan B2C 131

Up and Running

AUGUST 8, 2018

This article, which originally appeared on our LivePlan Blog , is part of our “Business Planning Guide” —a curated list of our articles that will help you with the planning process! For us, business planning isn’t just a one-time or annual event. Most people think that meetings are a waste of time. They’re right.

Software Review 65

Software Review Business Plan Product Forecast 65

Up and Running

JANUARY 29, 2019

Though you may be tempted to immediately throw yourself into your new small business, don’t forget a crucial element: creating a business plan. Yes, the words “business plan” might trigger some dread about epic documents that take a ton of time to produce—but that’s not necessarily what a business plan needs to be.

Lean 64

Lean Business Plan Revenue Forecast 64

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan. A business plan is for you first, not investors. Even non-profits need a profitable business model to offset staff and operating costs.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2014

It has three parts: a business model canvas to frame hypotheses, customer development to get out of the building to test those hypotheses and agile engineering to build minimum viable products. If you’re familiar with the Lean Startup you know that the Business Model Canvas is the tool to frame all the hypotheses of your startup.

Business Model 335

Business Model Design Customer Development Lean 335

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

We recently had Tim Berry, Palo Alto Software founder and business planning expert, present our Bplans audience with his latest advice on lean business planning. It’s all about making your business life easier, doing what works best, getting the best results by tracking what works and always improving.

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Early in the relationship, every investor instinctively looks for some key indicators of the ability to get results, like the following: Communicates well in every business medium. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation. Message delivery must be customized for each investor.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Steve Blank

APRIL 8, 2010

He said, “After we graduated we took our great idea, holed up in my apartment and spent months researching and writing a business plan. We even entered it in the business plan competition. Why a business plan is different than a business model. A plan is static, a model is dynamic.

Business Model 328

Business Model Business Plan Customer Cap Table 328

The Next Web

DECEMBER 30, 2012

How do you monetize a unique business model based on users rather than selling an actual product? We have a very simple business model. We determined that we could best monetize the business by focusing on online marketing, particularly our pay-per-click services. Giving it away at Contently. “At

Business Model 133

Business Model Technical Review Advertising B2C 133

Steve Blank

APRIL 16, 2013

For decades this revered business magazine described management techniques that were developed in and were for large corporations – offering more efficient and creative ways to execute existing business models. The Four Steps drew the distinction that “startups are not smaller versions of large companies.”

Technical Review 327

Technical Review Lean Venture Capital Customer Development 327

The Entrepreneurial Mind

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Developing a sound business model is key to the successful launch of a business. But you should never assume the business modeling is finished once the business begins to grow. Keeping a business model current is critical for long-term success. All businesses experience changes over time.

Business Model 76

Business Model Charlotte Raleigh Technical Review 76

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

Most large companies manage three types of innovation: process innovation (making existing products incrementally better), continuous innovation (building on the strength of the company’s current business model but creating new elements) and disruptive innovation (creating products or services that did not exist before.).

Acquisition 332

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 332

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Others will work hard on a business plan, and then mail it indiscriminately to every potential investor they can find on the Internet. Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan. A business plan is for you first, not investors. Even non-profits need a profitable business model to offset staff and operating costs.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2013

First, he says, the focus of an established firm is to execute an existing business model — to make sure it operates efficiently and satisfies customers. In contrast, the main job of a start-up is to search for a workable business model, to find the right match between customer needs and what the company can profitably offer.

Business Model 332

Business Model Technical Review Business Plan Search 332

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 14, 2014

If you can’t see the video click here Filed under: Business Model versus Business Plan , Customer Development. Business Model versus Business Plan Customer Development'

Business Plan 317

Business Plan Customer Business Model Customer Development 317

Up and Running

MARCH 4, 2022

The number fluctuates from year to year with businesses coming and going. If you want to remain profitable and thrive, you must have a plan to move forward. . A business plan does far more than help secure venture capital when you’re starting out. You’ll use a strong business plan throughout the life of a company.

Business Plan 117

Business Plan Revenue Small Business Administration United States 117

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

You still start the process with a business plan, but then you look for a philanthropist rather than an investor. Some nonprofit entrepreneurs think they can skip the whole plan, rather than just the sections on valuation, equity offered, and exit strategy.

Angel Investor 327

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 327

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

Pre-Seed New businesses, often known as startups, have just entered the very first stage of the investment process. During the pre-seed fundraising stage, investors need a viable business plan to base their investments on. An investor can make two types of investments in a startup: direct and indirect.

Seed Stage 126

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

Steve Blank via Flickr by jdlasica I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Nail the business model. Money myth: Why having too much money leads to failure.

Startup 245

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 245

Business Plan Blog

JUNE 13, 2013

Read about How to Write a Business Plan. A business idea is not enough to build a successful business. Ideas are everywhere, but successful businesses are not. The difference lies in having a solid business model and business strategies around your great idea.

Business Plan 55

Business Plan Balance Sheet Restful Differentiation 55

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

Most people think of the business plan as a one-time event, something used to accomplish a specific goal—getting funded, usually. The business plan, in its many different formats, can be used for a variety of purposes, including validating an idea, getting funded, and managing a business successfully.

Business Plan 60

Business Plan Lean Forecast Balance Sheet 60