2. Business Planning (10%)

Question 1

Art of the Start- 5 things an entrepreneur must accomplish

by Guy Kawasaki

Answer 1

1. Make meaning
2. Make mantra
3. Get going
4. Define a business model
5. Weave a MAT (milestones, assumptions, tasks)

Question 2

Make meaning

Answer 2

Businesses strive to create value.

• what’s your gift to the world
• what drives you to pursue this? (where’s the passion coming from?)
• “if this organization never existed the world would be worse off because”

Question 3

Make Mantra

Answer 3

what do you do at the core? you should be able to chant this
-not a mission statement
-“Akin to a motto… it is concise, repeatable, and core to a company’s existence”
-raising marks, raising money, raising roofs
i’m batman

Question 4

Get going

Answer 4

• don’t wait to perfect your idea, product, or service
• refine later, good is good enough
• it’s not about how great you start, it’s about how great you end up

Question 5

Define a business model

Answer 5

-clearly communicate the business model: how you will make money
-“Who has your money in their pockets? How are you
going to get it into your pocket

Question 6

Weave a MAT

Answer 6

-understand the scope of what you’re undertaking
(finish prototype, reach breakeven, raise capital)
-test assumptions
(market size, gross margin, conversion rate)
-develop a method to fix flaws
(renting space, finding suppliers, filing legal papers)

Question 7

Why write a business plan?

Answer 7

4

1. due diligence stage of courting an investor
2. forces the founding team to work together
3. makes team consider issues it glossed over in the euphoria
4. uncover holes in the founding team
5. provides entrepreneurs with clearer understanding of best way to proceed

Question 8

in a business plan, what’s more important?

Answer 8

the process is more important than the destination

Question 9

write deliberately

Answer 9

write with emphasis on the future and forecasts

• speak about growth opportunities
• write like you know exactly what you’re doing even if you don’t

Question 10

actual execution of plan:

Answer 10

act emergently

• flexible and fast moving
• you should be changing as you learn

Question 11

Read Chapter 2: Writing an effective business plan (multiple choice)

Answer 11

X