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Publications & ToolsWhy Business Plans Don't Get Funded Your business plan is very often the first impression potential investors get about your venture. But even if you have a great product, team, and customers, it could also be the last impression the investor gets if you make any of these avoidable mistakes. Ten Big Questions Potential investors want answers. In deciding whether or not they want to continue discussions, they generally want you to answer The Ten Big Questions. High Tech Startup Valuation Estimator Wondering what your pre-money valuation will be if a VC ever puts a term sheet on the table? Valuing a startup is intrinsically different from valuing established companies. Because of the high level of risk and often little or no revenues, traditional quantitative valuation methods like P/E comparables or discounting free cash flows are of little use. Startup valuations are largely determined based on qualitative attributes. How Often Should You Update Your Business Plan? After many hours of hard work, you've finally finished your business plan. It is well written and all the data is up to date. Will this still be true in 6 months? How often should you review and update your business plan, and while doing so, how do you make sure you keep track of all the changes and don't leave out anything important? Your First Pitch Unlike baseball, your first pitch isn't ceremonial. It really counts. It can be decisive in shaping the rest of your life. So, if you want to succeed at it, the following preparation strategies should help. Workshop: Preparing to Raise Capital in Today's Environment Slides to accompany a talk on the challenges in today's funding climate and practices to maximize your chances in the fund raising process. Workshop: Budgeting and Forecasting for Startups Slides to accompany a talk on the fundamentals of budgeting and forecasting for startups. Approaches to Writing a Business Plan
There are four basic types of business plans, each serving a different purpose. How you prepare your plan depends in part on the type you are preparing. Rising From the Dot-Com Ashes A startup consultant survives - and thrives - through five tough years, and shares some lessons learned. |