| Business plans continue to be an essential element of | | | | investment failures from the past few years, continue |
| the capital-raising process. They must convince | | | | to surface and must be addressed by the |
| investors to take notice - investors that are shrewder | | | | management team in their business plans. |
| today due to the ups-and-downs they have | | | | Likewise the team must address what it is that makes |
| experienced over the past few years. | | | | them uniquely qualified to succeed. Does the team |
| Adding to the financing challenge is the plethora of | | | | have proprietary (and protectable) technology, |
| high-quality companies, both public and private, in which | | | | management talent, long-term strategic partners and |
| investors can choose to invest. In this environment, | | | | experience that competitors do not? Management |
| more and more investors are asking companies | | | | teams must prove to investors why they are unique |
| seeking capital the question "Why You, Why Now"? | | | | and why they will succeed. They can't just state how |
| The question seems simple at first, but has many | | | | wonderful they are - they need to prove it through |
| complexities. The management team must clearly | | | | detailing past successes and unique qualifications. |
| delineate what it is about the business opportunity that | | | | A business plan that fails to address the "Why You, |
| makes it such a good investment now. Should this | | | | Why Now" question, is most likely a business plan that |
| investment have been made a year ago to cement a | | | | will remain in the stack of "not now" business plans. |
| market leadership position? Or, is the venture before | | | | Business plans must present a compelling argument as |
| its time - will slow market adoption cause slow sales | | | | to why the investor should invest and in our |
| over the next few years, and as such, should the | | | | fast-paced world with unbelievable opportunities and |
| investment wait. Questions like these, based on | | | | opportunity costs, why investors should invest now. |