McCloskey Business Plan Competition

Round 1 - Venture Overview

The purpose of the Venture Overview is to provide a clear, concise summary of your vision for the proposed venture, including the business concept (idea), who you think your target customers are, what industry you plan to operate in, who you think your competition is, and how you plan to make money.

Remember that this year, social ventures will be competing in the McCloskey Competition as well. So even if you are planning to launch a “social venture” (whether for-profit or not-for-profit), and even if you plan to compete for the Klau Family Prize for Greatest Social Impact, you still need to be able to answer these questions.

The point of the exercise is to make sure that you are thinking about all of the elements of a complete venture plan, not to write one! You can’t cover much in two pages, so you will need perhaps one short paragraph that answers each (or most) the questions we’ve identified. We’ve added some explanatory text, to help you think about what we’ll be looking for. Here goes! . . . .

  1. Current Problem?

This is probably the SINGLE most important aspect of your plan, which is why we ask for it first. The PROBLEM is the source of the OPPORTUNITY. (Investors often call this the “market PAIN.”) What “pain” or PROBLEM does your idea solve? What current UNMET NEED does your idea/venture address? What difference are you making – how is the world a better place because of your new venture?

  1. Business Idea?

Now that you have identified the OPPORTUNITY, tell us what your IDEA is. Your idea is the proposed SOLUTION to the problem, and your challenge is to persuade us that (a) the problem exists, (b) you have a solution for it, (c) people will accept/buy your solution, and (d) you can successfully BUILD A VENTURE around that solution. Give a general non-technical overview of what the idea/venture is and what it does.

  1. Technical Feasibility? (If appropriate)

If your company/venture is based upon a new technology, please tell us briefly what it is. A solution’s no good if it can’t be built. Does it exist already? Have you (or has anyone else) built a functioning PROTOTYPE? Where did the idea come from? Is there any INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY on this idea/invention/technology - patents, licenses, etc.? There are at least two important issues to think about here: first, do you have the rights to this technology? (In other words, did YOU develop it, or did someone else?) And second, having protectable intellectual property may be a BARRIER TO ENTRY – or, be a way to minimize the competition.

  1. Target Customer? (Who needs it, and why?)

Who is the customer/client that is going to be attracted to your product? What is the size of your customer base?

Here’s a clincher: HOW DO YOU KNOW? (I.e., is this something you happen to think would be a nifty idea, or have you tested the market in any way, or done any research on it?) The more you can demonstrate you actually KNOW (as opposed to THINK) about your intended customer or client, the more credibility your plan and your venture will have with the judges.

  1. Primary Competitors and Competitive Advantage?

It’s rarely a simple matter of launching a business or providing a service. WHO is your competition? Is anyone already doing this? If yes, what makes your venture DIFFERENT or BETTER? If others have tried and failed, what makes you think you will succeed? If no one else is doing this, then what are your target customers/clients doing now in the absence of your product/service? How will you convince them to use your product or service?

  1. Marketing Strategy?

How are you going to market this new venture? How will your customers/clients hear about your product or service? How much will it cost? How do you know?

  1. Business/Operational Model? (How do you launch? How do you make money? How do you grow?)

Aspiring entrepreneurs love to talk about getting venture capital, but 99.97% of start-ups will never get venture capital, and the vast majority will never get equity investment at all. So where will you get the money to start and run this venture?-up monies will come from, how monies will be generated, and how the venture can survive over time. Include all assumptions. How much are people going to be willing to pay for this product/service? Do you save them money or create additional value, or both? Demonstrate reasonable business growth plans with significant margins that should improve through expansion.

  1. Management Credentials and Involvement (Why you?)

Investors and business plan competition judges often say they’d rather pick, “An ‘A’ team, with a ‘B’ idea, than a ‘B’ team with an ‘A’ idea.” Assuming that you can persuade the judges that (a) there is a problem, (b) you have a solution, (c) customers want your solution, and (d) you can build a venture around it, the last thing you have to present is why YOU have an ‘A’ team. Who is on your TEAM? What EXPERIENCE do you/they have in this area?