1. Executive Summary.
A 2-3 page overview of the business plan. This is typically the first thing that venture capitalists turn to (the second is the section on the management team). The Executive Summary should outline what the company has done so far and what it plans to do in the future, and explain why this is important or valuable.
Areas to cover are what the product or service is, why it is in demand, who will pay money for it and how much, and how large the market is. Additionally it is important to note the progress the company has made in product development and in terms of revenues and other financial measures, the experience and background of the management team, the financing desired and the uses planned for it, and of course how to contact the company.
2. Industry & Market Analysis.
This section should explain the basis for the need for the company‘s product or service, how urgent the need is, and how large the need is.
Questions often covered are: Is the industry new or well-established? Is the need well recognized or still undiscovered? Who are customers: consumers, the government, or businesses? Who are the competitors, what are their abilities and weaknesses, why have they succeeded or failed, what is their market share, etc? Where will competitors be in 18 months in terms of market position and product capability?
Here a competitive matrix can be useful: comparing yourself to competitors in terms of financial performance & resources, target markets, product functionality, product pricing, areas of strength and weaknesses, key customers, and the like.
3. Target Market.
What is your target market and why? What are its dynamics, size, locale, etc? Is it stable or evolving rapidly? Who makes the purchasing decisions and how long is the typical sales cycle? How much of the market can you expect to gain with the resources that you plan to have? What is the competitive pricing situation? What are industry gross margins? What barriers to entry face players in the industry and what regulatory issues must be handled? (If this company is in a regulated industry such as medical or telecommunications, the regulatory section may need to be separate.) Are any customers critical, or do any account for a disproportionate share of your current or forecasted revenues?
4. The Company & Management.
This section should offer a brief history of the company, explain what business the company plans to be in, what the company does particularly well, and who it is that is doing so - i.e., the management, board, and ownership team.
The management team organization, summaries of each of key management team resumes (with complete resumes provided in the appendix), holes in the team that you plan to fill, all are placed here. Additionally, information on the board of directors is also useful. An ownership table showing all shareholders, the number and type of shares, their percent of ownership, and the options granted and available is another important part of this section. Also note how the company is organized, as an LLC, Sub-S, C Corporation, etc.
5. Product/Services Offered.
This is where you explain what you are selling or planning to sell. Do you have any "unfair" advantages such as patents, copyrights, and the like? Why should customers choose you over the competition, and have they so far? How long should this advantage last if you do nothing more? What will you need to do to create, maintain, or expand upon the advantages (R&D, sales team development, customer partnerships, law suits, etc)? What is the current R&D effort and what are its goals and milestones? What R&D efforts are underway at competitors.
6. Marketing & Sales Plan.
This section explains how you plan to reach your target customers.
How will you acquire customers, and how much will that cost? What distribution channels do you plan to use, and what methods of marketing communication make sense? Will you build an internal sales force, use independent reps, use telemarketing, etc., and how will you compensate each. What is your revenue and unit break-even, and how does that tie to your sales strategy?
7. Manufacturing/Operations/Logistics.
This section should cover how you design, develop, manufacture the product or provide the service(s).
Is this handled internally or by subcontractors? Who are key subcontractors and what is their expertise and background? How proprietary is the design and manufacturing component? Is ISO 9000/9001/GMP important to your organization, and if so, how do you manage the process? Is manufacturing capital-intensive or people-intensive? What is capacity utilization on average and at peak? What economies of scale are possible? Do you have critical suppliers?
8. Financial Data.
You should provide historical financial data such as income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements for the past 3-5 years if available, and note whether the results were audited, reviewed by an outside accountant, or compiled. Additionally, year-to-date results should also be provided. Also you should explain significant items in the results, and analyze the trends and key ratios.
The other major component of the financial section is the forecast. Here you should project the next 3-5 years (including the current year) of performance for the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and if appropriate, provide detail on capital expenditures. The projections should be done on both an annual as well as either quarterly or monthly basis, since cash needs during the year can often far exceed cash needs at the end of a year.
The major assumptions behind your projections should be explained. Changes in key ratios from historical results should also be explained. Often it is helpful to show some sensitivity analysis - the effect of changes in key variables such as growth, gross margins, sales cycle, and the like on the income statement and cash position. (Additionally it is useful to provide compensation history and projections on each member of the management team.)
9. Appendices.
Here you should include resumes of the key management members, any product literature or brochures, analyses of the market or industry, or relevant articles that would help an outsider understand the significance of your company and the need that you are meeting.
