Does this image seem familiar? If you are a student who has competed in a business plan competition, it probably does. It does to me; I’ve been there. And at the time, I really struggled with the idea of committing my plan to paper and with how to share the grand vision I had in my head.
Over the last month, I’ve had opportunity to sit on the other side of the table, judging social innovation business plan competitions at a couple of local universities. In the process, I was exposed to dozens of summaries and pitches – most of them during a single 24-hour period – from students like the ones above. And, very quickly, I realized that the plans we need or use to help guide our own activities are sometimes different from the plans that judges expect to see.
Going through a significant number of plans that close together in time makes you appreciate a few things. First, you realize – at least I did - that plans should be informative, but also interesting. Secondly, there are an incredible number of good ideas in the world and ways of realizing them. And finally, a plan that helps judges, and, ultimately, investors, team members, and supporters, grasp both the vision and the nuts and bolts of how your business will work is ideal.
Here are a handful of my takeaways from the judges table – you may have others – that stood out as I read the plans of and listened to these aspiring entrepreneurs.
General Business Plan Tips
Business plans tend to follow similar formats; the structure not only helps remind student entrepreneurs to include key information and think through assumptions, but makes it easier for people reviewing your plan to review it. The thing is, plans are useful in breaking things down, but they don’t always tell a story that engages the reader in your vision and how you will achieve it. Write and speak about your plan in a way that connects the dots and helps your audience want to support you and to see that you understand what needs to be done.
Passion and enthusiasm for your idea are essential for a successful entrepreneur, but there is also power in persuading your audience that you know your stuff. What does this mean? Team members should have appropriate experience, logical assumptions, as well as understand the moving parts of the business idea, the numbers, and the potential for the idea to work. This information should be shared both in your written plan and in your pitch.
Use words and numbers strategically. Use them to draw attention to critical aspects of your plan, such as realistic and relevant demand and market sizing, a clear problem and solution, benefits, impact, financials, etc.
Share whether you’ve tested your product/service, held focus groups, or started selling, as quickly as possible in your plan. It demonstrates progress, real-world feedback, and the practicality of your idea. Judges (and investors, lenders, and other supporters) will assess your plan in a different light. Plans and assumptions are great, but nothing beats taking first steps to see if your idea is going to work.
Be realistic about where you will get your start-up funding – friends and family are the typical go-to sources; banks and angels have more stringent and particular requirements. Consider creative ways that you can self-finance – a job, relevant consulting services, etc. – while getting your core business started.
Addressing Social Impact Issues
If your business has a social component, be very clear about how your business activity and social impact activity relate to each other. Are you simply donating a percentage of money? Or are your product, your branding, your charitable partnerships, and your impact and business models integrated, supportive, logical, and sustainable?
If you are creating a nonprofit that engages in business activity to support your efforts, be very clear about your business model and how it supports your broader mission in both practical and financial terms. Again, work towards impact and business models that are integrated, supportive, logical, and sustainable.
Be able to describe the impact that your efforts will have on the population or issue you are trying to help through your activities.
Paying Attention to the Details
Make sure your plan is complete and stands on it’s own. Do not assume that judges will go to your website or contact references for more information if you ask them to. Expect the plan to be skimmed for critical details – if those details are elsewhere, it makes your plan seem incomplete.
Proofread, proofread, proofread. Misspellings, inconsistencies in assumptions and numbers, and illogical flow are sloppy and can detract from the good work that you’ve done.
Spell things out. Acronyms and jargon you use that are relevant to your business may not be familiar to judges.
Practice. If you are going to pitch, be sure to do a dry run so you can go through your slides, are familiar with the technology , and can practice what you will say. If possible, ask a trusted mentor to listen in and provide feedback that will help you share your pitch in the best way possible.
Know that you can’t know everything. You do the best you can to put your plan together, but there will always be something you forget, don’t consider, or haven’t had the experience to understand – that’s OK. If you are asked a question about it during a pitch, just don’t try to bluff your way through a response. Being willing to say you don’t know something and staying open to feedback can work in your favor – during the competition and even afterwards.
I’m curious to hear about your experience with business plan competitions – either as a judge or a student. What do you think makes a winning business plan or pitch?
Photo Credit: Business plan presentation – The Team by Lance Shields flikr
Great post Stormy … and very relevant to me. I’ve been there as a MBA student, but more recently I have also been working on a business plan for our nonprofit foundation. All of the advice you have given here is excellent, but I think your advice about telling a story is something that I have been missing from my current effort. I will go back to the plan and use the ideas you have suggested here.
Thank you for yet another interesting and useful post.
- Bibhuti
Hi Bibhuti, Story seems to be a big buzzword lately, and I can’t say it’s bad thing. Stories have plots and details, characters and challenges, and they are designed to connect – these are things we can relate to, feel, and visualize. It can only be helpful to think of your plan as a story, with all of the typical business plan details there as supportive of what you are trying to achieve. Good luck!
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for your comment and for sharing the post. Ambiguity is interesting; no one expects you to have all of the answers, and if you act like you do, it makes me wonder if you really know what you are talking about or just trying to appear confident in your plans. I think as judges, we hope that students will talk about how they came to the conclusions they have, whether they still have questions, and how they hope to obtain better information. And, we enjoy being able to help if we can. Thanks, again, for dropping by.
Hi Stormy.. I can certainly appreciate and understand your perspective. It’s certainly similar to the experience of the professor sitting on the other side of the table from the MBA student, knowing he/she has been in those shoes before. I’ve taught small business management, entrepreneurship, or new venture creation at the undergrad or grad level about 20 times over about 15 years. Each one of those classes has the same requirement which is one you know about… everyone has to write a business plan.. it’s a daunting effort at best. As a thinking thinker thinking thoughtful thoughts, I’ve always wondered what the variance surrounding predictions actually is and what the basis for cash flow statement projections actually are. Take insurance for example, would an insurance company actually send an underwriter for a presumably fictitious or projected business? Do bank and credit card fees actually resemble the amounts charged by the majors as well as the banks? In social ent, do projections for RFP and MOU resemble reality. After all, when we write our first memorandum of understanding (MOU) aren’t we very likely to be surprised we’re in that place to begin? Now comes a point I want to make – it seems to be a very different view can be taken. It not one on the B-plan that linearly makes intuitive sense in a projected forward manner, but rather it is the projection of the minimizing of failure and the control of extrinsic variance that shows the plan will shoot straight and true. Another proposal for study – do judges and professors teaching subjects like this one (strategic management anyone?) choose because things look rationally good (think-do), do they choose because they maximize their satisfaction with that particular choice (think – feel – do), or do they minimize their regret through choosing one that doesn’t have the highest chance of succeeding, but has the lowest chance of failing (feel, think, do), There’s also the chance that judges choose because the plan looks good on paper after a skim, but we all know professionals wouldn’t do that (do – feel – think). Some food for thought from me and from decision theory.
Hi Dr. Peterson, thank you for your comments and for pointing out the importance of planning to proactively manage risk (on the entrepreneur’s part) and to think through the rationale for a selection decision (on the part of a judge or professor – as the case may be). Interestingly, in a situation with multiple judges, each bringing their own biases and experience to bear, I believe the decision about a plan’s likelihood of success (or potential to fail), is moderated. In particular, when a student group is given opportunity to describe and defend their plan in person (considering that the success of a plan has as much to do with them as the numbers and assumptions on the page) Each of the viewpoints you described emerges in conversation and has opportunity to be questioned or challenged by those who have different views and expertise. It is my hope that, while the potential for positive bias (do-feel-think) towards a plan exists, that multiple view points actually lead to a more realistic and thoughtful choice. Thank you, again, for sharing your thoughts on this subject.