Business Plans That Win $$$: Lessons from the MIT Enterprise Forum [Paperback]

Stanley R. Rich (Author)

Book Description

Series: Perennial Library | Publication Date: February 18, 1987

If you're thinking of starting your own business -- or if you have a new idea that you want to convince your company to sell, build, or promote -- this book will provide you with all the information you need. Based on the expert approaches of the MIT Enterprise Forum, a nationwide clinic providing assistance to emerging growth companies, Business Plans That Win $$$ shows you how to write a business plan that sells you and your ideas. Enterprise Forum cofounder Stanley Rich and Inc. magazine editor David Gumpert use examples real business plans to answer the entrepreneur's most pressing questions about how to effectively present any product or service to potential investors to win their attention and financial support.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 2nd Edition edition (February 18, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060913916
• ISBN-13: 978-0060913915
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Business Plans

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a timeless book on business plans..., May 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Business Plans That Win $$$: Lessons from the MIT Enterprise Forum (Paperback)

This book was recommended to me by an executive with 30 years of experience and 8-digit net worth as the "bible" for starting a business. I have used this book twice during the past 6 years to assemble successful business plans. The lessons in the book are not industry specific or date specific, but rather the wisdom that applies to any business. Some of the insights in the book were later worth a lot of money to my companies. My compliments to the author for not just putting together templates or example plans, but rather teaching the entreprenuer how to think.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for the aspiring entrepreneur, January 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Business Plans That Win $$$: Lessons from the MIT Enterprise Forum (Paperback)

This book tells you, the aspiring entrepreneur, exactly what potential investors in your company are thinking and why. Furthermore, it tells you in clear , simple and direct prose exactly how you should be thinking in order to get their investment. The first chapter sends home the message that the business plan is your admission ticket to an audience which is not only rich, but also very secretive, selective, and more often than not, extremely conservative. Rich and Gumpert clearly tell you, the budding mogul, that you don't get something for nothing, and that you had better have something outstanding and tangible to put forward in order to woo the moneymen. They walk you through what investors look for and look out for, the best way to package your business plan, all the sections the financial spin doctors pay very close attention to, and finally, how to make the best possible oral pitch. Rich and Gumpert also do a very good job of sending the reader the message that the aspiring entrepreneur should have a solid idea of his/her own goals as well as his hopes for his/her company. However, the most important thing this dynamic duo imparts to the enterprising entrepreneur is the knowledge of the type of company(ies) which ultimately receive venture capital funding, and what the entrepreneur should be thinking and doing to become one of those chosen few companies. Even though the book was first printed a decade and a half ago, all of the information contained in it is not only accurate, but also very applicable to any start-up. Let no one fool you on this point: whenever you go hat in hand asking for someone to put up a pretty penny to back something new, unproven, untested, and unconventional that stands a good chance of going bust, expect them to be very wary and very, very conservative. Though some may see this book as outdated, I see this book as having a timeless quality. This is no fair-weather text; this book is a mainstay business reference which should be displayed prominently on one's bookshelf and referred to throughout every stage of the start-up process to maintain a good perspective and a sharp focus. My only regret is that no one gave me this book while I was a student at MIT. It would have saved me a lot of time and headaches.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding business advice, December 4, 1999

By 

Ray Salemi (Framingham, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Business Plans That Win $$$: Lessons from the MIT Enterprise Forum (Paperback)

I bought this book several years ago and I still refer to it whenever putting together a business plan. The book tells you what a business plan needs to convince investors to invest. In the course of doing that you will also learn whether your business is worth it for YOUR investment of time and money.

After working through all the issues in this book, you will have thought about all the issues that are essential to your business's success.