THE BUSINESS PLAN

The inexperienced entrepreneur faces a dilemma: having a management team, directors, advisors, investors, and employees gives the startup credibility, but it is difficult to convince anyone to be first to join. To short-circuit the Catch 22, an entrepreneur needs:

• A thorough, polished business plan,
• 1-2 page executive summary, and
• A 30 second/~60 word Elevator Pitch (i.e. short enough to say during an elevator ride).

The business plan or summary will be the first thing that most people ask for if they are interested in your pitch and are important to the process of building a startup. Also, the experience of forming and communicating a compelling strategy make the effort of researching and putting the plan together worthwhile.

The questions posed in the preceding chapter provided a general framework for thinking through a business concept. The many similar questions posed in this chapter are intended to guide the composition of a clear and comprehensive business plan that will help convince others to support you.