Executive Summary

1. Executive Summary • Activity – Speech competition • Introduction to B-plan outline • Discussion of Executive Summary

2. Speech Competition • Divide into four groups by last name • A-L in lower three rows, M-Z in upper three rows • Prepare 1 minute persuasive speech on: “Identity theft is a serious problem in the U.S.” • Left side – in support • Right side – in opposition (not a problem) • Prepare for 5 minutes – accept stats as truth • Vote who has most convincing speech

3. Voting • Allocate three points within your group • Any combination – (1,1,1), (1,2), (3)

4. Navigating the class • Comments on blog • Upcoming events – where to look • http://www.unlv.edu/calendar • http://ticketcake.com/events • http://downtownspeakerseries.com/

5. Back to the Speeches • Write down everything you can remember from the speeches • What did you remember? • Why?

6. Telling a story • We’re worth your time (Exec Summary) • There’s this compelling problem, and we have a unique solution(Company description) • Customers will buy our product(target market, market analysis) • We can win (Industry and Competitive Analysis) • We can sell our products(marketing) • We can execute (operations, management) • This is worth pursuing(financials) • We’ve done our homework (appendices)

7. Executive Summary This is the SNBPC template • Overview – basics you want them to remember • Problem – short story that shows the pain • Solution – Concise description of your pain reliever • Opportunity – Illustrating the possibilities • Competitive advantages – show how solution is better • Business model – how do you make money? • Team – you can execute • Financials – numbers work • Funding required – how much you need, where you’ll spend it 2 pages, 1.5-spaced – this is shorter than SNBPC submission guidelines

8. Making your argument Executive Summary Mostly just Background and Claims Background -the problem, question, context of the claim • Reasons • Major premise • Logic underlying claim • Grounds • Evidence • Minor premise • Data backing reason • Warrants • Claim • Proposition • Hypothesis • Qualifiers • When claim holds • assumptions • boundary conditions • contingencies • Reservations • Limitations (grounds for rebuttal) • Logical refutations (validity) • Empirical refutations (truth) • Cogency of argument (persuasiveness) Stephen Toulmin, The Uses of Argument, Update Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003 – (Thanks to Andy Van de Ven for this citation)

9. Claim • What you are trying to convince your audience to believe. • It needs to be stated directly, clearly, and succinctly. • If you cannot explain it in one paragraph, it’s too long. • There can be sub-claims- each part of the business plan is a sub-claim • Suspense is good in novels, NOT in business communication. • Don’t bury the lead - State your claim up front • Negating alternative claims may be necessary.

10. Reasons Reasons • Logic underlying claim explaining why it is true/correct. • Plausible alternatives need to be discussed • Judged on logical validity of inference • http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/fallacies.html • Ex. “Our proprietary database will solve a major need of clinical research organizations that is currently unsolved.”

11. Evidence • Data, facts, examples, stats • Judged on quality/integrity of sources • Address any lack of evidence - otherwise it is a red flag. • Ex. “According to X1, there are 45 pharmaceutical companies working on cancer drugs as shown on Figure 4”

12. Qualifiers • What are the assumptions that you are making? Acknowledge that your claim will only hold true if these assumptions are true. • Lends legitimacy to your story • Your audience is skeptical. • It’s a balance with optimism. • “This estimate of sales is based on achieving 30 sales per employee in year 1. If employees only make 20 sales, the estimate will be reduced to X”

13. Reservations • You recognize potential problems • Opportunity to refute counterclaims before a knowledgeable reader gives up on reading more. • Helps to detect and repair flaws in argument. • Ex. “We don’t have a lot of experience. However, we are able to gain knowledge of this market with low costs because we are in school. We have also used Carlson’s contacts to convince John Smith to be an advisor for the startup.”

14. Audience matters • Each part of an argument makes assumptions about the audience • Assume too much, and no one understands • Assume too little, people are bored • Your audience - More knowledgeable • More qualifiers and reservations to show that you have thought about possible weaknesses

15. Your Audience • Who are they? • Have seen a lot of plans • Have little time to review • Make it compelling • Get to the point – filler is NOT good • Include informative/persuasive figures, charts • Proof-read it – (is anything unnecessary here) • Don’t include anything else

16. Sources for Business Plans • Always helpful to see what others have done • Cannot copy • May be a different format • http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/moyes/html/resources.htm • Following our format • http://www.launchlab.org/UNLV_Bplan/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Zenity-Tea-HouseLLC-Business-Plan_redacted.pdf

17. Recap • Make arguments a SUCCESs • Get ready to pitch an idea • Read the Abrams chapters 1, 4, 5