Every business starts with a blinking cursor or blank sheet of paper. The best Founders are clear thinkers. They don’t need many words, charts, spreadsheets or slides to express their ideas. Many of them just used this simple outline.
Elements of Sustainable Companies
Start-ups with these characteristics have the best chance of becoming enduring companies. We like to partner with start-ups that have:
Clarity of Purpose
Summarize the company’s business on the back of a business card.
Large Markets
Address existing markets poised for rapid growth or change. A market on the path to a $1B potential allows for error and time for real margins to develop.
Rich Customers
Target customers who will move fast and pay a premium for a unique offering.
Focus
Customers will only buy a simple product with a singular value proposition.
Pain Killers
Pick the one thing that is of burning importance to the customer then delight them with a compelling solution.
Think Differently
Constantly challenge conventional wisdom. Take the contrarian route. Create novel solutions. Outwit the competition.
Team DNA
A company’s DNA is set in the first 90 days. All team members are the smartest or most clever in their domain. “A” level founders attract an “A” level team.
Agility
Stealth and speed will usually help beat-out large companies.
Frugality
Focus spending on what’s critical. Spend only on the priorities and maximize profitability.
Inferno
Start with only a little money. It forces discipline and focus. A huge market with customers yearning for a product developed by great engineers requires very little firepower.
Writing a Business Plan
We like business plans that present a lot of information in as few words as possible. The following business plan format, within 15–20 slides, is all that’s needed:
Company Purpose
- Define the company/business in a single declarative sentence.
Problem
- Describe the pain of the customer (or the customer’s customer).
- Outline how the customer addresses the issue today.
Solution
- Demonstrate your company’s value proposition to make the customer’s life better.
- Show where your product physically sits.
- Provide use cases.
Why Now
- Set-up the historical evolution of your category.
- Define recent trends that make your solution possible.
Market Size
- Identify/profile the customer you cater to.
- Calculate the TAM (top down), SAM (bottoms up) and SOM.
Competition
- List competitors
- List competitive advantages
Product
- Product line-up (form factor, functionality, features, architecture, intellectual property).
- Development roadmap.
Business Model
- Revenue model
- Pricing
- Average account size and/or lifetime value
- Sales & distribution model
- Customer/pipeline list
Team
- Founders & Management
- Board of Directors/Board of Advisors
Financials
- P&L
- Balance sheet
- Cash flow
- Cap table
- The deal
We encourage you to reach out to the partner you feel would be the best match for your business through email or LinkedIn.