UMass EI – The UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative Students turning ideas into businesses
www.umassei.org
Business Plan Template
Title Page [1 page] Company name Name, affiliation, and contact information for the team leader and all members. Version date - the date this version of the plan was completed. Table of Contents [1 page] Executive Summary [2 pages] Part I: The Opportunity and Team The Need [1/2 page] Our Solution [1/2 page] ■ Value Proposition - Explain how your product or service UNIQUELY addresses the need. How does the customer use the product or service? Focus on what you deliver and not how you deliver it. ■ Intellectual Property - Briefly explain if your solution is patented (or patentable) or otherwise protectable by law in a way that will create barriers to potential competitors. Who are the inventors and who are the owners of the intellectual property? Market Opportunity [2 pages] ■ The Customer - Who is the customer? If you have a consumer product or service, provide demographics. If you provide an enterprise product or service, what is the title and role of user, and who are the purchase decision-makers and influencers, etc. ■ The Market - How many potential customers are there (current available market) and how many more are there likely to be over the next two to three years (total available market)? Briefly describe the logic you used to derive these numbers. What are the top two or three drivers of market growth over the next two to three years? Competition [1 page] ■ Competitors - Describe your competitors, both generally and with 2-3 specific examples. ■ Competitive Advantages - Why are you better than the competition and why will you win? Are there any unique "barriers to entry" your company possesses such as strong patents, most of the world's experts in the desired field already work for you, etc.? The Team [2 pages] - Who is going to execute this plan and why should we believe in them? Names are not generally important here (unless someone on your team is named Gates…). What is important is to stress what core skills your team has, what credibility they bring to the table, what skills/people you know you still need, and how you will find them and attract them to work with you.
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UMass EI – The UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative Students turning ideas into businesses
www.umassei.org
Management - Who are the company’s key management team members and what relevant experience do they bring to the company? What is their stake in success? ■ Board - Who is or who will be on your board? What relevant experience and connections do they bring to the company? What have they invested in the company? Part II: Strategy Part II: Strategy Marketing Plan [1 page] ■ Objectives - What 1 or 2 things do you most need to accomplish to inform potential customers of your existence? What 1 or 2 metrics will you use to measure you progress towards these objectives? ■ Tactics - What will you do, and in what order, to achieve your objectives in a measurable way? Which promotion channels will you be using and how. What will it cost? Sales Plan [1 page] ■ Objectives - What 1 or 2 things do you most need to accomplish in order to convert someone who has learned of you into a paying customer? What 1 or 2 metrics will you use to measure you progress towards the objectives? ■ Tactics - What will you do, and in what order, to achieve your objectives in a measurable way? Describe your business model and price-point. Describe how the customer will actually take possession of your product (purchase it at a store, download it from the Internet, find it bundled with something else they bought, have it shipped directly to their door, etc.) Retention Plan [1 page] ■ Objectives - Once someone is your customer, what 1 or 2 things do you most need to accomplish to keep them? What 1 or 2 metrics will you use to measure you progress towards the objectives? ■ Tactics - What will you do, and in what order, to achieve your objectives in a measurable way? How does the customer purchase and receive new, up-to-date versions of the product or service? How does the customer receive support? Product Development Plan [1 page] ■ Product Roadmap - What new products does the company expect the customer will need over the next two to three years? ■ Production/Development - How do/will you manufacture/produce/develop your products? Will you require any special equipment, space, or permits? ■ Intellectual Property - If your product is proprietary in some way, explain what aspects of it are and why. Explain your company intellectual property strategy. Organizational Development Plan [1 page] ■ Management - What expertise/experience is missing from your management team? How and when will you recruit them?
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UMass EI – The UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative Students turning ideas into businesses
www.umassei.org
Employees - What additional people will you need to hire in the next year or two? Where will you find them and how will you attract them to work with you? Is their compensation and benefits fully budgeted in the funding plan? ■ Partners - What relationships with suppliers and vendors or distributors do you have now and what do you need to develop? How will you develop these and what will be the impact on your financial plan? Funding Plan [1 Page] ■ What are the company's capital requirements over the next two to three years? Few companies can raise all they need at the start. They usually have to raise multiple rounds of funding, often from different sources from round to round. Present a time line that shows us all of round of funding you anticipate you will need. For each round tell us: ■ How much funding you will need ■ Who you will approach to secure this funding (some possibilities: personal funds, the Technology Innovation Challenge prize, an SBIR/STTR grant, Friends and Family, Angels, Venture Capitalists, etc.) ■ What major milestones you will accomplish with the funding ■ Approximately when will the round take place (example: Q3 2008) Exit Strategy [1 Page] ■ Method - How will investors be paid back their investment plus a healthy profit? For example, will you sell the company or do you plan to share profits with your investors? ■ ROI - What Return on Investment (ROI) do you project that investors will receive and over what time? Please articulate this as a multiple. Example: “After the sale of the company in 7 years investors will receive 20 dollars for every dollar invested.” Refer to Part III for details. Part III: Financials [5 pages] Actual Financials - If your business in already in operations and is generating revenue or significant expenses, provide the below documents. Otherwise skip this section. ■ Profit and Loss [1 Page] ■ Balance Sheet [1 Page] ■ Cash Flow Statement [1 Page] Projected Future Financials ■ Financial Assumptions [2 Pages] - Detail the assumptions and formulas that underlie your projections. ■ Profit and Loss [1 Page] ■ Balance Sheet [1 Page] ■ Cash Flow Statement [1 Page]
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