Business

I read around 2 new business plans per week – about 100 per year.  Some private equity investors I know read upwards of 10 per week – or about 500 per year.  When you are reviewing that many of anything, you get impatient.  That is why I encourage business owners writing plans for private equity investors or angel investor groups to be succinct. 

Get to the point.  What does your company do?  What pain are you solving in the market?  How will you do that at a profit?

Business summaries should avoid flowery language (e.g., “ABC will offer innovative products in a global market…”) – just say what the business does.  If you have pictures of the product or screen shots of the user interface for software, include it on page one.  Make the product and market opportunity simple to understand in a few sentences.

Clearly define your sources and uses – who are you targeting for investment and what will the funds be used for (not just expenses, but what scaling milestone will the funds help you achieve).

Your revenue projections should never be labeled as “conservative”.  Your projections should be based on what you expect to happen.  You should know within close certainty your expenses for the first couple of years (especially your fixed costs), and you should know enough about your market and target base that you should be able to make a good projection on revenue.  “Conservative” makes it look like you are guessing.