| CHAPTER 6 WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN 219 arrangements should be made prior to the meeting. The presentation should consist of plain talk and should avoid technical jargon. Start-up entrepreneurs may mistakenly spend too much time talking about the technology that will go into a new product or service and not enough time talking about the busi- ness itself. The most important issues to cover in the presentation and how to present them are shown in Table 6.5. This presentation format calls for the use of 12 slides. A common mistake entrepreneurs make is to prepare too many slides and then try to rush through them during a 20-minute presentation. TABLE 6.5 Twelve PowerPoint Slides to Include in an Investor Presentation Topic Explanation 1. Title slide 2. Problem Introduce the presentation with your company's name, the names of the founders, and the company logo if available. Briefly state the problem to be solved or the need to be filled. Explain how your firm will solve the problem or how it will satisfy the need to be filled. 3. Solution 4. Opportunity and target market Articulate your specific target market. Talk about business and environmental trends that are providing your target market momentum. 5. Technology This slide is optional but is normally included. Talk about your technology or any unusual aspects of your product or service. Don't talk in an overly technical manner. Make your descriptions easy to understand and interesting. Explain specifically the firm's competitive advantage in the marketplace and how it will compete against more established competitors. 6. Competition 7. Marketing and sales Describe your overall marketing strategy. Talk about your sales process. If you've conducted primary research regarding how people feel about your product, report the results here. 8. Management team Describe your existing management team. Explain how the team came together and how their backgrounds and expertise are keys to the success of your firm. If you have a board of advisors or board of directors, briefly mention the key individuals involved. If you have gaps in your team, explain how and when they will be filled. 9. Financial projections Briefly discuss the financials. Stress when the firm will achieve profitability, how much capital it will take to get there, and when its cash flow will break even. Use additional slides if needed to properly display your information, but don't go overboard. 10. Current status Describe the current status of your firm in the context of the milestones you've achieved to date. Don't diminish the value of your accomplishments. 11. Financing sought Lay out specifically how much financing you're seeking and how you'll use the money 12. Summary Bring the presentation to a close. Summarize the strongest points of your venture and your team. Solicit feedback from your audience. Source: B. Barringer, Preparing Effective Business Plans: An Entrepreneurial Approach, 2nd Edition, © 2015, 247-259. Adapted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. 206 1 PART 2 DEVELOPING SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS IDEAS sticking to its original business plan? Which company do you think will have the hardest time? Explain your selections. 3. Why do you think some start-ups find it difficult to change their business plan, even when presented with evidence that their current business plan isn't working? 4. Look at the "You Be the VC" features at the end of Chapter 5, which focus on Prynt and ZUTA Labs, and the "You Be the VC" features at the end of this chapter, which focus on Beyond Meat and Ava. From the infor- mation in the features and on each company's website, which company do you think will have the easiest time Sources: Songkick Homepage, www.songkick.com (accessed February 21, 2017); GrubHub Homepage, www.grubhub.com, (accessed February 21, 2017); Instagram Homepage, https:// instagram (accessed February 21, 2017); B. Barringer and R. D. Ireland, Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures 5th edition (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2016). plan on a section-by-section basis. The topics should be presented in the same order as they appear in the business plan. Two identical versions of the execu- tive summary should be prepared-one that is part of the business plan and one that is a stand-alone document. The stand-alone document should be used to accommodate people who ask to see the executive summary before they decide whether they want to see the full plan. Even though the executive summary appears at the beginning of the busi- ness plan, it should be written last. The plan itself will evolve as it is written, TABLE 6.2 Business Plan Outline Cover Page Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary II. Industry Analysis Industry Size, Growth Rate, and Sales Projections Industry Structure Nature of Participants Key Success Factors Industry Trends Long-Term Prospects III. Company Description Company History Mission Statement Products and Services Current Status Legal Status and Ownership Key Partnerships (if any) IV. Market Analysis Market Segmentation and Target Market Selection Buyer Behavior Competitor Analysis Estimates of Annual Sales and Market Share V. The Economics of the Business Revenue Drivers and Profit Margins Fixed and Variable Costs Operating Leverage and Its Implications Start-up Costs Break-Even Chart and Calculation VI. Marketing Plan Overall Marketing Strategy Product, Price, Promotions, and Distribution Sales Process (or Cycle) Sales Tactics VII. Design and Development Plan Development Status and Tasks Challenges and Risks Projected Development Costs Proprietary Issues (Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Licenses, Brand Namės) VIII. Operations Plan General Approach to Operations Business Location Facilities and Equipment IX. Management Team and Company Structure Management Team (Including a Skills Profile) Board of Directors Board of Advisors Company Structure X. Overall Schedule XI. Financial Projections Sources and Uses of Funds Statement Assumptions Sheet Pro Forma Income Statements Pro Forma Balance Sheets Pro Forma Cash Flows Ratio Analysis Appendices