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The Format: Summary Business Overview Product or Service Market Opportunity Management Team Operational Details Financial Analysis. Summary – What you need to ask yourself: What is special about it? What is this business about? Make me want to read on further….
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The Format: • Summary • Business Overview • Product or Service • Market Opportunity • Management Team • Operational Details • Financial Analysis
Summary – What you need to ask yourself: • What is special about it? • What is this business about? • Make me want to read on further…
Summary – What you should cover: • What is your business idea or concept? • What is your USP (your competitive advantage)? • What is your market? • Who are your target customers? • Estimated year of breakeven profitability • Three years of estimated revenues • Your funding requirements
Business Overview – What you need to ask yourself: • What is the ‘mechanism’ of your business? • How does it make money?
Business Overview - What you should cover: • Company description and business model • Value proposition – financial • Vision • Current status • Current of committed funding and all funding sources
Product or Service – What you need to ask yourself: • What problem are you solving for me? • Why should I buy your product/ service? • What features does the product have and why?
Product or Service – What you should cover: • Define and describe the problem (technical descriptions should go in the appendix) • How you will solve the problem • Why the product or service is unique or distinct • Description of a working model or prototype (if appropriate) • How the products or services will be developed (if appropriate) • Intellectual Property issues if applicable
Market Opportunity – What you need to ask yourself: • Who will buy the product? • Why will they buy it?
Market Opportunity – What you should cover: • Why this is a great idea • Brief survey of the competition (who are your competitors and why the problem is not being solved by them) • Market size, analysis and forecast • Industry analysis and forecast • Identification of customers • How will you sell and how will you establish a price?
Management Team – What you need to ask yourself: • Who are the key people? • Why do you need these skills?
Management Team – What you should cover: • Key management with details of industry experience, education etc. • Board of advisors (a critical point as this can augment team experience • If there are obvious weaknesses in your management how do you propose to deal with them
Operational Details – What you need to ask yourself: • What are the main functional parts of the business?
Operational Details – What you need to cover: • Where will the business be based? • What facilities will be needed? (equipment, IT etc.)
Financial Analysis – What you need to ask yourself: • What assumptions have you made? • How much money is needed? • How much money will be made? • Justify: where did you get these numbers from?
Financial Analysis – What you should cover: • Outline overall financial model with detailed projections through to Year 3 • Pro forma cash flow and budget analysis • Other analysis, as appropriate (i.e. break even analysis) • What are the principal risks which could affect your plans • Discuss assumptions and capital requirements including how you will use the prize money
Further Reading • The New Business Road Test • Mullins, J.W., Prentice Hall, 2003. • ISBN 0273 663569 • TSB Lloyds Small Business Guide • Williams, S., Vitesse Media plc. 2004. • ISBN 0 9545621 2 7