How has the company been funded to date? How much have the company owners invested?
Has the company received funding from any other sources? If so, how much and on what terms?
What other major sources of funds has the company had?
How much money is the company seeking now and for what purposes?
The “Elevator Pitch”
In addition to the company description you’ll include in your business plan, you’ll also need to prepare an elevator pitch: a concise summary of your service, business, or product idea that can be delivered in one or two brief sentences. Before you attend your first networking event or trade show, approach a potential customer or investor, or speak with the press, you’ll need to develop this.
The term “elevator pitch” is based on the premise that sometimes you can only catch an influential or powerful person for a few minutes—let’s say in an elevator—and your pitch should be short enough for you to deliver it in the time it takes an elevator to go up a few floors. Since the typical elevator ride ranges from 30 to 60 seconds, keep your pitch to 100 to 150 words.
A good elevator pitch offers the following information:
What your business makes or does. This should be very brief: “My company manufactures water- and weather-proof, solar-powered outdoor lights.”
What market you serve. You should be very specific about this: “Males between the ages of 15 and 30 who daily play video games” or “Small businesses with five to 10 employees.”
How you plan to make money. Because investors will want to know how you will earn a profit, when pitching to them, you need to be very explicit about the business model you plan to employ. For example, “We will charge a monthly subscription ranging from $5 to $25 per user.”
How your business compares to other, familiar businesses. If you compare your business to other similar businesses, people may more easily understand what your product or service is all about. For example, a new social networking site for lawyers might be described as “Like Facebook for law-firm employees.”
Why you will succeed. What market conditions will make your idea a surefire success? You need to use all your powers of persuasion here. If you have hard numbers to back up your assertions, use them: “Census figures show that young families are moving into this area at a rapid pace (up 27% over the previous decade), and those families will require housing.”
Your ultimate goals for the business. Do you want to eventually run a multinational corporation, or do you want to keep it relatively small and contained? You should be prepared to articulate your vision for the business’s size and reach.
An elevator pitch is essential to marketing. So work on it carefully and practice it until you remember it and can repeat it easily.
Sample Elevator Pitch
ComputerEase trains individuals and employees of corporate clients in the leading business software programs and applications, whether based in the cloud or on-premise. We conduct our classes online nationally and in-person in the greater Vespucci area, in our Training Center or on the premises of our clients. Our training sessions average $1,000 per student. ComputerEase intends to take advantage of the absence of a clear market leader in the area of online software training, in order to become a major player in the field. Our cutting-edge and professionally developed teaching materials, extensive offerings of training programs, and experienced management and staff will enable us to seize a large piece of the growth opportunity in the online computer software and application training space.
My Company:
Named:
Does:
Serves Which Market:
Makes Money By:
Is Like What Other Companies:
Will Succeed Because It:
Aims to Achieve:
A concise Company Description serves as a clear and convenient summary of the basic details of your company. Your Company Description provides readers with the facts they need to know about your company before delving deeper into your plan.
Draw from the information you provided in the worksheets in this step to complete this final worksheet.
What is the name and location of your company? (See worksheet on page 15.)
Who owns the company and what is its legal status? (See worksheet on page 17.)
What is your company’s current phase of development, and what milestones have you reached to date? (See worksheet on page 19.)
What products and/or services do you offer? (See worksheet on page 21.)
What is the current health of your industry and what are the key trends? (See worksheet on page 23.)
How has your company been funded to date? If you’re looking for financing, how much money are you seeking and for what purposes? (See worksheet on page 25.)
3
STEP 5: Marketing and Sales Plan
Accomplishments
In this step you’ll:
Specify the geographic location and reach of your target market area