Business Plan Expert #1: David Lee of SV Angel

What I learned from expert David Lee:

What I learned most from reading David Lee’s thoughts on what investors find important is that flowery language and great descriptive terms are more detrimental than helpful. Accredited investors, venture capitalists, angel investors, and all other types of lenders don’t care how well you put words together. (Phung, 2011)

Implementation:

In my own business plan I strive to critique each section to make it the most concise and poignant. The goal is to build belief in your idea, not your writing style and filling in all necessary sections with thought given to all aspects of a solid business model will use up enough words as it is. (Stelzner, 2011)

However, the story that has brought the business idea forward is very important. Make it brief, relevant, and inspiring. The key is to inspire with solid foundational concepts to showcase planning and passion. (Kawasaki, 2005)

Business Plan Expert #2: Guy Kawasaki of Apple

What I learned from Guy Kawasaki:

Again, concise, impactful, meaningful statements are the only sorts that make the final cut into any credible business plan. Guy Kawasaki not only champions this sentiment, but also lives by it as he reads through his own fair share of business proposals as an investor himself.

Consequently, after my first draft is written it will be edited to assure the 20-30 page rule is abided by to assure a full read given by all propositioned investors.

In conclusion, I feel the executive summary and financial portions of any business plan are the two things that bring an investor what he or she needs to make a sound business decision. These two pieces are the most important because all other business plan parts give these sections their proof.

Sources:

Kawasaki, G. (2005). Art of the start: trusting venture capitalists. Forbes.com.

Retrieved on September 24, 2011 from http://www.forbes.com/2005/06/16/entrepreneur-venture-capital-kawasaki-cx_gk_0616artofthestart.html

Phung, H. (2011). New investors helping to drive health tech innovation.

Practicefusion.com. Retrieved on September 24, 2011 from http://www.practicefusion.com/pages/pr/emr-sector-investment-round.html

Stelzner, M. (2011). The art of enchantment: how guy Kawasaki will change your

business. Socialmediaexaminer.com. Retrieved on September 23, 2011 from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/the-art-of-enchantment-how-guy-kawasaki-will-change-your-business/

Business Plan Expert #1: David Lee of SV Angel

Bio/Background

David Lee is considered an expert in business plan fundr
aising. In addition, he is a General Partner in SV Angel (venture capitalist firm) out of CA. SV Angel focuses on start up ventures that fuse technology development with entertainment. Mr. Lee’s background before joining SV Angel involves Google and StumbleUpon where he was involved with business development for both companies.

What is important in a BP to investors?

David Lee believes in substance over show. The information must make an impactful statement followed by hard evidence to prove and justify that statement to investors. Substance over show is imperative because the investor must know there is a solid plan in place and not just a great idea without a path to get to the destination. Moreover, it is my opinion that the sentiment discussed above is why Mr. Lee is quoted as saying, "[t] here are a bunch of rich people and firms subsidizing tech entrepreneurs, but this time the entrepreneurs are better”, within an article by Mark Lacter for LA Observed. (Lacter, 2011)

Also, Mr. Lee feels it is important for the backstory to be told for an investor to see the heart and passion necessary for a successful venture to move forward. If, the investor doesn’t see the business owner as excited for themselves as they are for others to jump onboard, then David Lee feels you are fighting a losing battle. Furthermore in a recent article by Sarah Lacy for Tech Crunch, Lee states an opinion for younger founders doing better than older company founders based off of desire to put in the work necessary to build the business from the ground up. (Lacy, 2011)

Business Plan Expert #2: Guy Kawasaki of Apple

Bio/Background

Guy Kawasaki is known from Apple computers where he began work in the early 1980’s. From Apple, Mr. Kawasaki started a few businesses that developed software later to return to A
pple in 1995. Later still, he left Apple to start his own company called Garage (matchmaker for angel investors and entrepreneurs). Guy Kawasaki has a B.A. from Stanford University, M.B.A. from UCLA, and is an Honorary Doctorate from Babson College.

What is important in a BP to investors?

Mr. Kawasaki believes there are certain parts to the business plan that stand out: Executive Summary, Management Team, Business Model, and Product being his top four. Furthermore, he believes a business plan developer should spend 80% of their time on the executive summary because this piece is typically first viewed by an investor and if not impressed the investor will not read further.

Subsequently, the size of the business plan should not be more than 20-30 pages in Guy Kawasaki’s opinion. He feels the plan loses its bite and effectiveness if too much information is provided. Furthermore, each section should begin with just one page per section and only augmented if absolutely necessary. In a recent article found on Artist House Music by George Howard, Mr. Kawasaki describes the power slide pitch to investors as being “…no more than 20 minutes” with 10 or so slides to succinctly get the business model concepts across to investors. (Howard, 2007)

Sources:

Howard, G. (2007). How to create a business plan. Artisthousemusic.com.

Retrieved on Septemeber 6, 2011 from

http://www.artistshousemusic.org/articles/how+to+create+a+business+

plan                               

Lacter, M. (2011). Gold rush is back in silicon valley. LAObserved.com. Retrieved

on September 5, 2011 from

http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2011/04/gold_rush_is_back_in.php

Lacy, S. (2011). David lee and ron Conway bust entrepreneur myths on stage at

disrupt. TechCrunch.com. Retrieved on Septemeber 6, 2011 from

http://techcrunch.com/tag/david-lee/