Venturepreneur

 

Venture Planning:

Venture Map to Financing

Venture Planning Checklist

Questions to Answer Before Starting Your Venture

By Venture Planning Associates. Used by permission.

Page 1     Page 2

1.    Compelling Interest of the Entrepreneur

  • Why do I want to start this business? If it is money, why and how much?

Be Different and Make a Difference!

  • What 'needs' will it satisfy for yourself? Acceptance, Freedom, Power, Recognition, Security, or Service to others?

  • If you need partners, what truly drives them?

  • Are you in agreement with them on goals and styles?

  • What type of venture do you want to start and why?

  • What information do you have that may have a bearing on the new venture?

    Estee Lauder: 15 Rules for Entrepreneurial Success

     

2.    Customer Opportunities

  • Is your venture based on a true marketplace need, not an idea from your family and friends? Do people really want this or do you think they need it? Want wins over need.

The Tao of Customer Value Creation

  • What do you really know about the marketplace? (Not just opinions, but real facts.)

  • What is happening in the marketplace to fill this need? What is in the pipeline of development?

  • What specific evidence do you have that the need really exists?

  • How long will the 'window of opportunity' be open? Based on what information?

  • Are there follow-on opportunities to allow a growing business and multiple products?

  • List all other customer needs and related backup data for your venture.

3.    Customers

  • Who specifically are your customers and how many of them currently exist?

  • Missionary marketing is not recommended. Creating a solution where no problem exists is a formula for failure!

  • How will you get information to those customers?

  • Will you sell directly or indirectly to your customers?

  • Will you be selling to businesses, end users or resellers?

  • Have you talked to potential customers about their needs and how to best satisfy them?

  • What are your observations and is there a universal theme or solution?

  • Identify each major customer group and identify four key traits.

  • Describe the market distribution channels you will use and how you can best reach them.

  • Will you have direct contact with your customers?

  • What is your best estimate of total market size versus the number of customers you can reach?

  • How many can you get in the first year? Based on what assumptions?

Customer Success 360

4.    Venture Models: How can you turn the idea into a viable business?

  • List all the possible customer/product concepts to meet the needs

  • Can you do this best by R&D with licensing, distribution, retail, or service company models?

Business Model: 1+6 Elements

  • Brainstorm and list all concepts. The last 20% will be the strongest ideas.

  • After listing and outlining all concepts, choose the best three that will serve your customers.

  • Next, ask yourself is it unique, can it be copied, and how can I make it competition proof?

  • Is there current competition and how will I gain a competitive edge over them?

  • How much time is needed for the pre-startup phase and how does it affect the window of opportunity?

     

  • How can you shorten the time frame or extend the market window? What factors control the time frame and how can it be impacted by others or outside events?

  • How can you control risk? Can you pre-sell or pre-qualify likely sales?

  • What are the major risks associated with the model and how can you reduce the risk?

  • Has anyone else started a similar venture? Do you know what their mission, experience and results were? How long did it take them to get started? What resources were required and what are the lessons learned from the venture?

  • What type of venture is this? Lifestyle, High Profit, or High Growth?

  • Compare the answers to all three of these models and evaluate the results.

8 Key Entrepreneurial Questions

5.    Financial Resources Required: Happiness is Positive Cash Flow!

  • Use a computer model (send e-mail to Venture Planning Associates to request a customized model for your business) in one of these areas: Research and Development, Manufacturing, Wholesale, Distribution, Retail, Services, Software, Real Estate, Consulting. Each area is an entirely different model. Note: Trying to go from R&D to Retail with one business is another formula for disaster.

    Venture Financing

    How to make your project attractive to investors

    Understanding the Venture Financing Chain

    Understanding Venture Capital Investors

    Step-by-step Guide to Raising Funds for Your Venture

    New-generation e-book + 40 Slides 

  • Make three models of assumptions for Good, Likely, and Worst Case Scenarios and solve for financial requirements.

    Venture Financing Process

  • Develop a decision matrix that compares profit, cash requirements, financial ratios, and break-even calculations to find the highest ROI with lowest capitalization.

  • How much money is needed to reach startup, the first year of operation, how much and when do you need it?

  • Do you have it? Where will it come from?

  • Will it be Debt or Equity? And, how much equity is required to obtain the financing?

  • Compare the answers to all three of these models and evaluate the results.

Venture Financing: Key Documents To Be Prepared

6.    Entrepreneurial Assessment: Do you have what it takes?

 
  • What would represent success to you? Outrageous success?

  • What would represent a fun way to achieve that success?

  • What critical skills are required of you to achieve that success?

  • Do you have those skills? If not, how will you acquire them?

  • Do you have direct experience related to the venture? Industry, entrepreneurial, other?

  • Number of full time ventures started as a founding team member?

  • What key contacts, skills, education or other attributes will help you with this venture?

  • Do you have contacts to help you objectively evaluate this venture?

  • Do you have contacts that will help you finance this venture?

  • Do you have contacts that will help you better understand your customers?

  • What personal benefit will this venture bring you?

  • Compare the answers to all three of these models (Good, Likely, and Worst Case Scenarios) and evaluate the results.

7.    Overall Venture Evaluation

  • Compare the three venture models using the Needs Analysis, Financial Resources Requirements, and the Entrepreneurial Assessment to gain an impartial rating of all your concepts and models.

  • There is no magic formula for business success. The venture planning process simply gives you relative values of the feasibility of your ideas.

  • Even with the identification of the best concepts to date, they still may be not good enough to proceed. A final REALITY CHECK is required...>>> Next page

 

 

Innovation Football for Startups

The best way to evaluate the viability of your business idea

 

 

  Ten3 Mini-Courses

Venturepreneur  (100 slides)

Venture Financing  (40 slides)

 

 

 

 

 

28 Ways to Finance Your Venture

These 7 reports tell you everything you need to know to fund your venture. Click here.

 

Would-Be Entrepreneur

Finding a New Business Idea

Top 10 List of “Easiest Businesses To Start”

Reality Check

Venture Planning

11 Keys To a Good First Venture

Selecting the Right Business Model for Your Startup Venture

Venture Planning Checklist: Reality Check

Entrepreneur

Do What You Love To Do and Make a Difference

Be a Negative Optimist

Small Business

Growth Categories of Small Firms

10 Deadly Small Business Mistakes

9 Super-Slick Secrets for Boosting Your Business Performance

Building a High-Growth Start-Up Firm

Growth Categories of Small Firms

High-Growth Business Development: 4 Stages

How To Succeed In Business

2 Rules for Business Start-Ups

Business Plan DOs and DON’Ts