Business Plan Starter Kit

[This is a repost from my now defunct blog]

As a first-time startup founder, it’s quite overwhelming when it comes to preparing the paperwork for your first round of funding. I wanted to share a simple kit that helped me while I was raising first and second round for my venture, nexlabs.

The Pitch Deck

This is what you bring to your 30-minute coffee meetings. You should have this with you at all times. You never know when you’d be bumping into a potential investor.

1. Problem
2. Solution (The product)
3. How it works
4. Market size
5. How do you make money?
6. Competitors
7. Unfair advantage
8. The team
9. What you’re looking for (Funding, co-founder(s), technical team, etc.)

Don’t be that long-winded person with your pitch deck. Make it short / sweet and memorable.

The Business Plan

Basically, this is the longer version of your pitch deck. Everything that’s related to your business should be covered.

1. Executive Summary — Company Overview, Vision, Mission, Team, Valuation, Exit Strategy
2. The Business — Problem, Solution, Target Audience, Market Size, Competitors, Roadmap
3. Team — Management, Advisors
4. Sales & Marketing — Pricing Model, Sales Channels, Projections, SWOT, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Channels
5. Operations — Org Chart, Recruitment Plan
6. Financing — Financial Plan, Funding Request, Exit Strategy

Use above as a guideline. Feel free to add or remove elements. There’s no standard format for pitch decks and business plans. I hope I have managed to help you in some way or another.

All the best to your startup!

Drop me an email or tweet me should you need help. I’d be happy to!

Ciao 👋!