By Kempton Coady
Someone has an idea for a business. They have done some research and now want to present it to others.
They want to interest people in learning about their new product or service idea. The entrepreneur wants to excite people about their idea. Their desire is to have them give feedback on the possibility for success.
The key is to provide answers to key questions the potential success of what they are doing. This information needs to be presented in a form that potential partners or funding sources can understand and relate to in terms of business measures.
The way the Pitch is written depends on whether the Company is a start-up or an existing Company that is expanding. There are a variety of formats that can be used.
Reference any LivePlan landing page on our InnovatorsLINK.com Website to access LivePlan and more information on the LivePlan Pitch and to register for LivePlan.
The LivePlan Approach to the Pitch
The Pitch will allow entrepreneurs and business owners to create a one-page infographic to visually represent your business opportunity. Once it is completed, the LivePlan Pitch can easily be shared with lenders, investors, and business partners.
LivePlan now offers 3 Lean Planning tools in 1 to help you:
- Create a one-page visual PITCH for your business.
- Write and manage your business PLAN.
- Improve your business PERFORMANCE by tracking your financials.
Introducing the LivePlan Pitch
The LivePlan Pitch is a single page highlighting the most important parts of your business plan, including:
- Short company description
- Target markets
- Market problem
- Business solution
- Competitive landscape
- Value proposition
- Top-level financials (backed by financial information and forecasts that can easily be supported by assumptions and measured.
- Key milestones
- Key team members.
Pitch Philosophy
The LivePlan Pitch feature is a core tenet of LivePlan’s Lean Planning™ methodology that combines elements of the Lean Startup movement and the best parts of the traditional business planning process.
Alternate Classic Ways of Looking at the Pitch
Business Opportunity Statement
The Business Opportunity Statement is a great way to think about your Pitch and contents. You want to communicate with investors and others in the way you will present your case.
Probably the most important action an entrepreneur can undertake before starting or expanding a business is to create a Business Growth Opportunity Statement. Several examples of well-done Opportunity Statements are presented below for your information and use. Note statement design varies somewhat between entrepreneurs, but design elements are the same.
Resolves a customer pain or fills a market need.
The Business Opportunity must be one that offers the customers something they need. That is, something for which they will pay money, barter, or in some way compensate the business to resolve a pain or need.
Offers a new product, service, market need or technology.
The product, service or technology must be unique or in some way fill a need in the market. Most of the time a “me-to” product or service is not enough,
Builds on a unique idea or something the company already does well.
In other words what is their unique selling proposition or reason the customers will buy?
Has the potential to be profitable.
Do a mini analysis of the sales and profit potential for the new product, service, technology or unique market offering.
Fits with the entrepreneur and what they personally want to do. (This is not presented to your audiences but is something the entrepreneur want to do to assure that the sacrifices of Family time and funding required are something the entrepreneur wants to do?)
For examples: (1.) Is the owner willing to work 100 plus hours a week to achieve their objectives? (2.) Is the owner willing to invest a substantial amount of their personal capital to make the business succeed?
Business Growth Opportunity can be implemented most quickly.
The excitement of most business opportunities is for those that can be implemented quickly. One that is going to take years to implement is often more costly and exposed to competition as first movers.
Business Opportunity can be financially forecasted/quantified.
Before even undertaking a new business, the entrepreneur should be able to intelligently estimate the market growth potential in units, sales, and profitability. In addition, they should be able to define the funds (capital or expenses required to start the business.
Value Proposition
Another format for Pitching a business is the Value Proposition.
Identify all the benefits your product or service offers.
Describe what makes these benefits valuable and/or unique.
Identify your customer’s main problem.
Connect this value to your buyer’s problem.
Differentiate yourself as the preferred provider of this value
Show financial and other metrics (real or estimated) sales, profit, customers (size and number), growth of customer acquisition, etc.
LivePlan Premium
LivePlan’s Premium services includes all these planning features and free online customer service to help you with your planning, pitch preparation, and creating dashboard metrics.
Benefits include:
- Step-By-Step Instructions
- One-Page Pitch Builder
- 500+ Sample Plans
- Full Financial Forecast
- Automatic Financial Statements
- Industry Benchmark Data
- LiveForecast
- Financial Forecast Scenarios
- Key Performance Indicators
- Syncs with Xero & QuickBooks
- Performance Dashboards
- Milestone Planner
This service includes samples of 500 plus business plan samples planning templates, financial modeling capabilities, numerous online instructions and much more. LivePlan also provides you with local, regional, national industry data to establish key performance indicators, metrics for your Company, and much more.
Knowledgeable Customer Service representatives are online during the weekdays to help you with any operating questions.
When you are ready the plan and financial modeling can be converted to a finished plan format with beautiful graphic capability.
As part of the InnovatorsLINK Bootcamp program, you receive access to LivePlan’s Premium services FREE OF CHARGE for six months. This includes all these planning features and free online customer service to help you with your planning, pitch preparation, and creating dashboard metrics. This is a $240 value.
InnovatorsLINK, Inc. General Manager and Chief Financial Officer
A SENIOR LEVEL EXECUTIVE with over 30 years successful, results-oriented domestic and international experience in the MEDICAL DEVICE BUSINESS. A Business Leader who created significant increases in profits and cash flow and/or raised money to expand enterprises. A Leader, who attracts and motivates the best talent to achieve the desired results. Board member for AMEX, NASDAQ, and London Stock Exchange companies. Significant international experience in Europe, Latin America, and Japan. Experience the last seven years has included Professorships at Goldman Sachs 10KSB program and University of Connecticut Graduate School of Business. Earned BS Bates College, MBA and MPS Cornell University.
