Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

This book is aimed at those entrepreneurs who are seeking a substantial equity investment for their fledgling going concerns. The focus is the view from the perspective of the professional investor, the venture capital firm officials; the people who say yes or no about fairly large sums of money. These professionals are most responsive to management teams, teams which have a decent quantity of the right experience and which include members who cover the management and necessary technical disciplines well.

Business plans, however, are needed and should be used in many other business situations including sole proprietor startups as well as established companies aiming to launch special projects, new products or other ventures.

The good news about this book is that

It is easy to read

It has sound wisdom to impart to virtually all who are considering the preparation of a business plan

It steers the reader away from "forms" (fill in the blanks formats & software) as well as sample plans.

On this last point the authors write: "Sophisticated investors disagree strongly with such "cookie-cutter" approaches to writing business plans simply because the financiers believe that each business is unique, with its own special marketing, sales, production, and other issues." If the book convinces the reader of this key point it will have performed a great service.

From my perspective the content covers all of the important issues that make up the business planning process. The advice is very sound if you can make appropriate adjustments for your particular business situation. Conveniently each chapter is neatly and briefly summarized with the key points to be retained by the reader.

Virtually all entrepreneurs need to sell their business concept. It may be to family and friends, to key customers or suppliers, to potential partners, private investors or key employee prospects and to one or more lenders. All potential entrepreneurs should read the final chapter titled "And Now It's Show Biz". This chapter tells how to cap off an efficient and effective business plan with an equally effective oral presentation.

For the book's primary audience this post-plan interview procedure is critical in securing venture capital funding. The advice contained in this last chapter, however, can be applied by any entrepreneur talking to any important audience (with appropriate adjustments). This chapter is, as the saying goes, "worth the price of admission."

Highly recommended as the "one book" if you should limit your reading to just one.

I have tried to find other how-to-books on business plan writing but no other gives you the concise step-by-step instructions this one does. I have written plans for others as well as myself using this book. $$$ have been raised and compliments have been received on the no nonsense approach to business plan writing. I have used this book for over 15 years and have given them to others to use.

This is not a simple how-to book for writing a business plan. It goes beyond that and enters into a discussion of what you need to make your business succeed. Its real life examples, showing the thought processes of investors when considering business plans, give entrepreneurs needed insight into the evaluation process. This book is short enough that I read it on one sitting, but I soon found myself going back to it again and again for all of its help in marketing, sales, management, and the planning process. Ed Martin, Small Business Information

Although old, most of the tips in this book are bang on.
It is an easy and interesting read that is sure to improve your business and the business plan

This book was great at giving the investor's angle on what a winning plan should and shouldn't include. It will almost definitely make an existing plan better and guide you toward a great plan if you're just starting (as I was). Be careful of the opinions about financing liklihood based on it's prescribed ranking system. The book was first written in 1985 and the venture captial world today bears little resemblance. The book is outdatedly bearish on startup financing.

Neither a textbook not a novel but very well organized common (and not so common) sense advice how to prepare a winning business plan. I used the book while I wrote one myself and I couldn't finish reading - every few pages or so I returned to my PC and edited my business plan which I believe now has better chances for success thanks to Mr. Rich.

The book has great content on how to write business plans. It is very easy to read, just like a story.