| . |
|
BUSINESS PLANS : Start-Up Founders Forget About Business Plans?This past summer, HubSpot Inc. received several offers from venture firms to invest in the marketing software start-up all without a formal business plan. The company wasn’t looking to raise funding yet - it still had about $5 million left from a $12 million Series B round in May 2008 - but rather than wait HubSpot decided in October to accept $16 million while it was still on the table. That was the third round for HubSpot, which has raised more than $30 million from venture firms in just two years. "No venture capitalist actually asked us for a business plan," HubSpot Chief Executive and founder Brian Halligan said last week at the Puerto Rico Venture Forum. Halligan believes "it’s a fool’s errand" for start-up founders to create a business plan. He knows a lot about raising capital, serving as a venture partner at Longworth Ventures before his current position. "When I was a venture capitalist investing in companies, I never actually read a business plan, so don’t even waste your time with a business plan," he said. Halligan said he and his team started building a business plan when he first established the company, but it took more time to update the documents than it did to build HubSpot. "Eventually we said, ‘Forget it, let’s not even build a business plan.’" Instead, Halligan says there are three documents that start-ups need when raising venture capital for the first time: 1) A PowerPoint presentation - "Ten slides long, that’s it, really simple," Halligan said. "If you want to learn how to build a great PowerPoint, watch Steve Jobs’ PowerPoint presentations. He builds very simple, elegant PowerPoint slides." 2) A one-page executive summary - "If it’s five pages people don’t want to read it," Halligan said. "Keep it simple, one page, kind of like a resume." 3) A "fictitious" pro forma income statement - Halligan says this with tongue in cheek. "It turns out [venture capitalists] actually want you to build this income statement and ask you questions about it," he said. "And that’s a qualifier when you’re talking to an investor…You hand them the hockey-stick curve, a fictitious thing, and they start asking you questions about assumptions in there, and you know your talking to the wrong person when they’re asking you questions about your fictitious pro forma." source: http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2009/12/13/should-start-up-founders-forget-about-business-plans/?mod=rss_WSJBlog Writing a Business DescriptionThe first thing you need to concentrate on when you write the business description is its structure. By structure we mean the type of operation....Business Plan DefinitionA business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals...Free Sample Business PlanRemember that your plan should be only as big as what you need to run your business. While everybody should plan a outline to help run a business, not everyone needs a complete formal business plan...Design Business Plans to Start a BusinessBusiness planning is about results. For every business plan, you need to make the contents of your plans match your purpose. Don't accept a standard outline just because it's there.Five Business Plan MistakesIf you are preparing to raise capital from either an investor or a bank, you’re probably writing a business plan. Here are five of the most common mistakes that I have seen as a result of my experience as a commercial banker and corporate-finance consultant...Do I Need a Business Plan for a Loan?Not everyone who is going to start a business begins with a business plan. It all depeneds on what size and kind of business. If you are a freelance designer or you are a one man show data entry business...Three key messages for designing business plansThree key messages for designing business plans you must clearly and convincingly communicate to your lender or investor...How to Write a Business PlanWriting a business plan can be ohat is worth doing, you need to take the time and aquire some information....Other related Articles: Start-Up Founders Forget About Business Plans? Dec 15, 2009This past summer, HubSpot Inc. received several offers from venture firms to invest in the marketing software start-up all without a formal business plan. ...Develop a business plan to make more money October 27, 2009It's time for you to develop a business plan, whether you're just starting up or are already running a company. ...Wow Investors : Web-Savvy Business Plan August 27, 2009As an online business owner or potential startup, one of the major documents you will need to get funds from potential investors is your business plan. ...Home Based Business Plans August 23, 2009Business school students spend a lot of time learning about different strategies to create a successful business plan. All businesses should have a fully ...How far will a business plan get you? June 30, 2009Business plans can be useful tools. But a new study finds that they do little to help entrepreneurs get financing. ...Why Business Plans Don’t Deliver June 30, 2009An economic downturn is a great time to start a business....and prepare a business plan? ...The business plan- who, what, when, where June 16, 2009Once you've decided you may want to start your own business, you need a business plan as well as two important milestones ...Business Plan Competitions Offer more then Money Apr 2 2009In a time when money is tight and funding is tougher than ever to get, winning a business plan competition could provide a nice boost in cash for a start-up. ... |
. |
