Session 1: Idea evaluation and value
proposition
Session 2: Market identification, analysis and competitive
strategy
Session 3: How will the business make money
In Session 4, we will focus on developing the ability of
participants to deliver a professional presentation of their
business plan to investors.
This real-life workshop will bring participants through the
full-cycle of transforming ideas into a complete, actionable
business plan. The sessions will feature intensive discussion,
specific feedback on the elements of the participants' business
plans, multiple presentations by the participants, one-on-one
and small group interaction.
After completing this workshop, participants should be well
on their way to being able to develop and present a professional-level
business plan to venture investors.
Pre-work
Participants should answer the following questions before
beginning the workshop:
- What is innovative about your idea?
- Who is your customer - what is the market for your product?
- What is your value proposition - what problem are you
solving?
- What is your sustainable competitive advantage - how
will you compete?
- How will your business make money - what is your business
model?
Session descriptions
Session
1 - Idea evaluation and value proposition
The value proposition should be the starting point
for any entrepreneur. It is the core of a business plan. One
way to look at the business plan is as a detailed elaboration
of the value proposition. Yet many entrepreneurs may not have
identified and may not be able to clearly elaborate their value
proposition. In this session, participants will identify their
value proposition and develop the ability to clearly and concisely
communicate it to customers, investors, team members, etc.
The value proposition we will develop in this session will
address several key questions:
- What is innovative about the product or service
- What problem are we solving for customers?
- What features of our product or service are important
to our customers
Session 2 - Market identification, analysis and competitive
strategy
It is widely understood that marketing is one of the
key success factors in starting a successful business. Yet many
entrepreneurs have quite a vague understanding of exactly what
marketing is and how to approach it. For example, many entrepreneurs
believe that marketing equals the four Ps - Promotion, Price,
Positioning and Place. However, the four Ps are only a small
part of the whole marketing process. In this session, participants
will learn to:
- Answer the question: who is our customer
- Selecting target markets and customers
- Analyze the market, including customers and competitors
- Develop and implement a marketing strategy
- Develop a product that suits customer's needs
- Position and differentiate one's products and services
from the competition
Entrepreneurs face a dilemma: if there is not a sufficient
market for their idea, their business will fail. If there
is a sufficient market for their idea, competitors will enter.
These competitors can be existing companies with substantial
resources, or new startups attempting to capitalize on the
opportunity identified by the entrepreneur. In this session,
participants will learn to:
- Create sustainable competitive advantage for their business
- Develop a competitive strategy
- Compete against both established companies and new startups
- Respond to competitive threats
Session 3 - How to make money
Money is the life-blood of any company and is especially
important for startup companies. Startup companies face many
financial challenges: they often require substantial funds in
the early stages of the business to develop the product, build
market share, attract and retain a high-quality team, etc. At
the same time, they often have limited cash flow in these same
early stages. Many startups which might have otherwise been
successful fail as a result of inadequate financial management
and understanding. In this session, participants will learn
to:
- Raise investment funds to support the growth of their
business
- Manage their finances and cash flow to avoid running
out of cash
- Forecast the financial performance of their business
and calculate the valuation of their company.
Session 4 - Business plan presentation workshop
It is difficult to over-emphasize the importance of
good presentation skills in entrepreneurship (and in business
in general). Excellent presentation skills can take you very
far; whereas poor presentation skills can doom your project
from the beginning.
Entrepreneurs are continually presenting: to potential customers,
partners, suppliers, and investors. Presentations to investors
are especially critical for start-up companies as these are
where company futures are decided.
This workshop will enable participants to create and deliver
effective presentations to investors, both written and verbal,
to investors, customers, partners and others.
In this session, participants will learn:
- What do investors look for in a business plan?
- What do investors look for in a presentation?
- How to avoid the most common mistakes
- How to get an investor to read your business plan
- Achieving legibility, readability, clarity
- Connecting with the audience
- Using anecdotes and illustrative examples
- How to interest your audience
- Practicing and testing
- Handling Q&A
Schedule
This workshop can
be conducted over 2, 3 or 4 days:
Workshop
Materials
Each participant will receive a complete set of workshop
materials covering the information and steps necessary to
create a professional-level business plan.
Continuing
support
Participants will qualify for on-going support for
their business plan development efforts.
For whom
This workshop will help participants develop a business
idea into a viable business plan.
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