Tips for Writing a Venture Plan

1. Tell your story, tell it quickly, and tell the truth.
2. Make sure that on every page the reader gets the information you want them to get.
3. Creativity helps, but scale it back and be traditional with your headings and your formatting.
4. Use talking headings to send the reader in the desired direction.
5. Brand your pages; use appropriate colors; use images and charts and graphs to help reader understand key points; write short paragraphs; use headings that help the reader follow the story you are telling; caption your charts/graphs; use graphics to highlight your sentences and use sentences to explain the graphics. 
6. Avoid fluff.
7. Cite your sources. 
8. Every paragraph should represent a discrete chunk of information. Every paragraph needs a thesis sentence. This is normally the first sentence. The middle of the paragraph should add important information to elaborate on the main point. The last sentence of each paragraph should tie up the specific chunk of information and direct the reader to the next chunk of information in the next paragraph. The reader should know all of your main points by 'reading the first and last sentence of every paragraph.
9. When using bullets or other formatting maneuvers, decide what you want to emphasize, then use the appropriate marking words or graphics. To emphasize importance, for example, use words or phrases that indicate value; if you emphasize time, then use words that indicate chronology. Make sure that the mixture of bullets and numbers you choose conveys the right tone.
10. To proofread, print a copy and go through it out loud. Look for any place the reader stumbles out loud. Read it backwards if necessary. Have a friend outside of your team read it out loud and see where they get confused. Read slowly to catch basic errors. Allow adequate time to do all this ... it is time-consuming, so give yourself the time to become perfect.
11. When in doubt, check for rules of grammar and usage with a handbook. [Jim's 2 cents: Save Swing Jazz, Pelicans, and the Oxford Comma! ... Strunk and White, the Chicago Manual of Style, and the US Government agree!]

[Thank you, Randy Accetta]

[2.05]

An 18-slide Venture Plan Presentation

Slide 1: "Billboard"

Slide 2: Core Team ... who, what

Slide 3: Problem / Customer / Opportunity ... scale and scope of problem, SOM/SAM/TAM

Slide 4: Solution ... brochure

Slide 5: Value Proposition ... Customer NWD Profile, Benefits, FFFF

Slide 6: "Underlying Magic"... differentiation, competitive advantages, core competencies

Slide 7: Industry and Environment ... Who, What, SWOT

Slide 8: Competitive Analysis ... Who, What, SWOT

Slide 9: Business Model ... BM canvas

Slide 10: Go-to-Market Plan ... Strategies

Slide 11: Sales Plan ... Objectives

Slide 12: Operations ... Production, distribution, delivery, margin objectives

Slide 13: Growth Strategies ... Scale and Scope

Slide 14: Timeline ... What, when, where

Slide 15: Financial Objectives and Key Metrics ...

Slide 16: Use of Funds ...

Slide 17: Funding Proposal ... Equity, debt, grants, gifts

Slide 18: "Billboard"

---

Slides 19 to 100+ will have all the gory details!! Lists of 100: customers, prospective customers, target markets, competitors, prospective collaborators, suppliers, prospective investors, ...

These 18 slides also form the foundation for a formal written business plan and an executive summary.

How to Start a New Venture

Go on a DXpedition ...

The Desire Phase ...
Determine why you (and your teammates) want to start a new venture

The Discover Phase ...

Form initial core entrepreneurial team
Identify problems or opportunities

The Define Phase ...
Screen problems or opportunities

Define the value proposition

The Design Phase ...
Generate potential solutions
Create a business venture hypothesis
Design a business venture plan

The Deploy Phase ...
Acquire needed resources
Launch the venture

The Develop Phase ...
Test, validate, and refine the venture hypothesis
Develop and iterate the venture based on real customer experiences

Ten Legal-Issue Mistakes That Entrepreneurs Make

1. Failing to incorporate early enough.
2. Issuing founder shares without vesting.
3. Hiring a lawyer not experienced in dealing with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
4. Failing to make a timely Section 83(b) election.
5. Negotiating venture capital financing based solely on the valuation.
6. Waiting to consider international intellectual property protection.
7. Disclosing inventions without a nondisclosure agreement, or before the patent application is filed.
8. Starting a business while employed by a potential competitor, or hiring employees without first checking their agreements with the current employer and their knowledge of trade secrets.
9. Promising more in the business plan than can be delivered and failing to comply with state and federal securities laws.
10. Thinking any legal problems can be solved later.

[Thank you, Connie Bagley]

[4.95]

Perspectives on Corporate Entrepreneurship

1. Companies must constantly innovate ... without innovation they tend to do what they've always done and run the risk of getting stale and becoming competitively disadvantaged.
2. For a company to thrive, it must tap the individual initiative of its team members ... this must be a major area of focus.
3. On any initiative being pursued, team-member buy-in is absolutely essential for success.
4. If a company want its people to be intrapreneurial in their thinking, they must be kept well informed about the company's processes and visions, and the impact of these processes and visions on profit.
5. Leaders must give team members everything they need to be self-motivated and take the initiative to succeed.
6. Companies must reward the creativity of their people.
7. If a team member owns an initiative, he or she should be accountable for all aspects of its success.
8. Companies must encourage resourcefulness and out-of-the-box thinking.
9. All thought leaders must be constantly focused on customer needs and now to satisfy and exceed them.
10. Leaders and managers must work to maximize team-member involvement in all key initiatives to tap the collective intellect of the team.

[Thank you, The One Minute Entrepreneur]