I Love Whiskey
I love whiskey. In fact, my wife says that I love whiskey and golf more than I love her, even though I have told her many times that I love…
Ten Questions Every Business Plan Must Answer
Are you getting ready to pitch investors? Then you need to make sure that your materials – your pitch deck, executive summary, and business plan – answer ten critical questions…
Buying Out Your Partner Can Be Difficult to Fund
An entrepreneur with a successful ethnic restaurant contacted us about writing a business plan that he intended to use to raise capital so he could buy out his partner. There…
Start Your Business with No Money
I’m a fairly active blogger and much of the stuff I write can be found right here on Hot Sauce. This is the first time I’ve ever written a title…
Get Uncle Sam to Fund Your R&D
Since 2006 I have had the pleasure of working, in a limited role, with the National Science Foundation. The NSF participates in the SBIR/STTR grant programs which are coordinated by…
The Software Startup CEO: The Prototyper in Chief
I’ve worked with many passionate entrepreneurs wanting to build a great new software company. As the new business-oriented CEO, they will almost always shy away from getting into the gritty…
Use Your Business Plan to Get on the Same Page
Most entrepreneurs think that business plans are only good for communicating with potential investors and lenders. Not true! Business plans are a very effective way for management teams to communicate with…
Ten Common Financial Model SNAFUs
I plan to publish a series of posts on mistakes I frequently see in financial forecasts (or pro-formas, or financial projections, or whatever you want to call them). I’ve segregated…
Protect Your Company from People Disasters
Every business, large and small realizes the necessity of protecting the business’s physical assets from disasters such as damage due to fire, weather, accidents, and theft. The way this is…
Management Conflict Can Kill Your Deal
Many entrepreneurs believe that completing a strategic transaction such as a sale of a business or a round of funding is as simple as writing a sophisticated, comprehensive business plan. …