Here’s a link to blog 1…
Full Sail Instructor Steven Burhoe has comprised an great list of investors comparing their like and dislikes when it comes to business plans on his blog http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/.
Questions for this assignment…
1.)Describe how you intend to incorporate what you have learned from your own research on the experts profiled in the first posting into your own plan. What specific changes to your plan have you made based on the information provided by the experts.
2.)Which sections of your plan do you consider to be the most important to the investor reading your plan?
Answer for 1
I think the biggest thing we can learn from the Johnny Cupcakes' story is do not undersell a way to make money (http://shop.johnnycupcakes.com/story/). Of course, he had a band he was touring with, but in any case selling shirts out of a van doesn’t sound like the most common way to break in for aspiring fashion designers.
Moreover when considering Guy Kawasaki’s “focus on making meaning not money” and his related blogs, we can see that what sold Jonny Cupcakes was not simply t-shirts, but the idea that t-shirts meant something. (http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/04/the_art_of_the_.html#ixzz1R6nwHMBi)
For Johnny Cupcake’s that meaning may simply be categorized as form of expression.
“Our society relies on fashion as a form of expression; this is why designer clothing is so popular nowadays.”_Nigel M.
(http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/2/153/designer-clothing-makes-you-look-and-feel-confident1.asp)
In this sense, Johnny Cupcake took advantage of a normal trend, people want to express them selves. This being a need of a large demographic lead to sales. If the focus had been on money instead, I don’t think the brand itself would be as popular as it is today.
Expression is the base for all things related to art. To understand this is to understand why people buy art. Because of the Internet, “Art” is the easiest to disturb and build leads on. The Johnny Cupcake story will always leave me with this moral, “start small go big.
Answer for 2...
Well when I was fortunate to split a Cab with an entrepreneur from www.avantibp.com, I talked to about a month ago, stressed the importance of a SWOT analysis. Interested in what we were doing, he wanted to know more about the business. However, without a solid SWOT, we could not further the relationship. On the other hand, it showed having a SWOT ready at all times is more important than having a business card because it can send a clear message of what your trying to do and get you funding.
If not a SWOT, you should have at least a 3-4 page skeleton showing what your start-up can do and what you have to offer. In this sense, you can show off the idea, but not all the parts of the plan for someone else to just take.
The most important thing for our angel investor is the financials. In our initial talks it’s not how much, but more how will it be spent.
No comments:
Post a Comment