Guy Kawasaki Business Plan Example
Your Logo Name of your company
Your Name
Title
Company Name
Mailing address
Email address
Direct dial number
Executive Summary The executive summary is the most important part of the business plan because if it doesn’t “wow” readers, they will stop—or at least “tune out”—at this point. My suggested format is: * Paragraph 1: Explain what your company does in very simple but seductive terms. * Paragraph 2: Explain the “magic sauce” that your company has that provides a believable competitive advantage. * Paragraph 3: Explain your current status, milestones reached, and milestones soon to be achieved. Your plan is going to live or die, be read or be tossed, based on this section. It is 80% of what matters in a business plan. Note: You can read my blog post for more information.
Problem/Opportunity The purpose of this section is to create an awareness that the problem you solve or opportunity you address is financially attractive. Most entrepreneurs rely on consulting studies, but this is ineffective because everyone makes similar statements: “According to Jupiter, the market for avocado farming software will grow to $20 billion by 2015.” As a rule of thumb, the more citations you use, the less believable the opportunity. The better method is to catalyze fantasy so readers make their own market estimate. For example, if your product appeals to teenagers, you’d like the reader to be thinking, “My kids and all their friends would love this. The market will be huge.”
Unfair Advantage This section has to answer the very simple question: “Why you?” In other words, what makes your company so special that you will succeed where others will fail? Each company can have a different answer to this question: * Leading-edge PhD research * High visibility and powerful connections in the industry * Exclusive, perpetual intellectual property license
Your Name
Title
Company Name
Mailing address
Email address
Direct dial number
Executive Summary The executive summary is the most important part of the business plan because if it doesn’t “wow” readers, they will stop—or at least “tune out”—at this point. My suggested format is: * Paragraph 1: Explain what your company does in very simple but seductive terms. * Paragraph 2: Explain the “magic sauce” that your company has that provides a believable competitive advantage. * Paragraph 3: Explain your current status, milestones reached, and milestones soon to be achieved. Your plan is going to live or die, be read or be tossed, based on this section. It is 80% of what matters in a business plan. Note: You can read my blog post for more information.
Problem/Opportunity The purpose of this section is to create an awareness that the problem you solve or opportunity you address is financially attractive. Most entrepreneurs rely on consulting studies, but this is ineffective because everyone makes similar statements: “According to Jupiter, the market for avocado farming software will grow to $20 billion by 2015.” As a rule of thumb, the more citations you use, the less believable the opportunity. The better method is to catalyze fantasy so readers make their own market estimate. For example, if your product appeals to teenagers, you’d like the reader to be thinking, “My kids and all their friends would love this. The market will be huge.”
Unfair Advantage This section has to answer the very simple question: “Why you?” In other words, what makes your company so special that you will succeed where others will fail? Each company can have a different answer to this question: * Leading-edge PhD research * High visibility and powerful connections in the industry * Exclusive, perpetual intellectual property license