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HBD Venture Capital: Do’s and Don’ts of the Business Plan

By   »  Business Plan Advice  »  November 12, 2009

Venture capital expert Keet van Zyl of HBD Venture Capital offers this advice to individuals writing a business plan in order to get funding.

HBDAdvice
  1. Ultimately view the business plan as a motivation for you to continue. You need to convince yourself that this will work and a business plan is one way to do this
  2. Write your business plan yourself. No-one knows your business better than you. There are various business plan templates available on the internet. However, the areas where you need help – make sure you get it. Use consultants and experts where necessary but don’t outsource the whole process
  3. Spend significant time on the business plan
  4. Business plan must be clear, well arranged and not too long. Supporting info can be presented in the appendix
  5. Write a good one-page executive summary. There is a good chance that the potential funder won’t even read any further if this is not compelling
  6. Clearly identify your target market
  7. Clearly identify the need for this product/ service
  8. Use facts and figures where possible, specifically in the Industry Analysis
  9. Don’t over-emphasize the technical aspects of the current product or concept. Make it easy to understand and focus on the future growth strategies and implementation
  10. Polish your oral pitch to dovetail with your business plan
  11. Never make false claims or misrepresentations
  12. Do a ‘due diligence’ on your funder and tailor-make specific elements of your business plan to their needs. Go to their website; study their investment criteria; understand their investment process; look at their investment portfolio; read some press releases and articles; ask around if anyone you know has dealt with them before
  13. Contact the potential funder before just sending off a business plan to someone’s inbox. A personal referral is even better
  14. Update your business plan regularly as your thoughts, business activities and market insights evolve
  15. Have a clear ‘shopping list’ of what you want to do with the funding, and the timelines involved
  16. Let someone who you trust read through the business plan for feedback and advice
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Entrepreneur Magazine, South Africa.

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