The new business road test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

John Mullins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0273708058 | ISBN-13: 978-0273708056 | Publication Date: January 25, 2008 | Edition: 2

'You may have capital and a talented management team, but if you are fundamentally in a lousy business, you won't get the kind of results you would in a good business. All businesses aren't created equal.' William P.Egan II, veteran US venture capitalist No matter how talented you are, no matter how much capital you have, no matter how good your business plan is, if you're pursuing a lousy business' i.e. a fundamentally flawed opportunity you're on the fast-track to failure. The New Business Road Test shows you how to avoid the obvious mistakes that everyone else makes. It shows you how to assess market opportunities. It also shows entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial teams how to assess honestly the capabilities they themselves bring to the table. The new edition of this best-selling book will help you to road test your idea, making sure that the business you build is based on a winning concept. It will enable you to invest your time wisely and pitch to investors and customers with confidence. Building on lessons learned by real entrepreneurs some in start-ups, others in established firms, some who got it right and others who got it wrong, Mullins addresses the seven domains that characterize attractive, compelling opportunities. Mullins presents a model that helps you answer the live-or-die questions in assessing any new business opportunity. Road test your business idea first and get ahead of the game.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Aims to give would-be entrepreneurs a reality check." - New Business

'What a "Eureka" moment I had- we are a start-up here in Ontario Canada. Your comments and 7 domains just sharpened up our thinking several very large notches.  So I am contacting you to let you know how helpful your insights are ! very helpful work! Oh yes - I bought a copy ! Dave Sutherland, Retrievall Inc

From the Back Cover

Give your business the chance to be one of those that make it.

 

Got an idea for a new business? Take it for a road test to make sure it works before you invest valuable time and money in it. Most new businesses fail. Why? Because no matter how talented you are, no matter how much capital you have, no matter how good your business plan is, if you’re pursuing a ‘lousy business’ – a fundamentally flawed opportunity – you’re on the fast-track to failure. The new edition of this best-selling book will help you to road test your idea, making sure that the business you build is based on a winning concept. It will enable you to invest your time and money wisely and pitch to investors and customers with confidence.

 

“Mullins has hit the nail on the head. The New Business Road Test for the first time successfully defines the starting point for a business. He delivers a clear and concise road map for anyone wondering whether they have a good business idea and what to do about it. I wish it had been given to every entrepreneur who appeared before me on Dragon’s Den.”

Doug Richard, Dragon on Dragon’s Den

 

“Mullins’ New Business Road Test provides the entrepreneurial equivalent to the proverbial ‘sleeping policeman’ on the Sunday drive: the necessary jolt of reality for those hanging on to the belief that value is created on a computer spreadsheet or a fancy PowerPoint presentation. The business plan is the road map between idea and sustainable business, and John offers the most valuable journey planner available.”

Benoit Leleux, Professor of Entrepreneurship & Finance, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland

 

“We work with hundreds of CEOs reviewing their investor pitches. The truth is that all businesses, even those already funded, can improve their business models and their road show presentation to investors or strategic partners. Good entrepreneurs understand that their emerging business remains ‘work in progress’. Even on the road, they work the map. We recommend that all new entrepreneurs look at John's excellent new business road maps before hitting the ground.”

William Stevens, E-Unlimited

 

 

No budding entrepreneur should leave the day job or face an investor without having read this book.

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: FT Press; 2 edition (January 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0273708058
• ISBN-13: 978-0273708056
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Mullins, a veteran of several entrepreneurial ventures, teaches and studies entrepreneurship and the management and financing of rapidly growing businesses at the London Business School, where he is Associate Professor of Management Practice and Chair in Entrepreneurship. He holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Minnesota. Mullins formerly served as Walter K. Koch Chair in Entrepreneurship, and Director of Programs in Entrepreneurship and Venture Management at Daniels College of Business, University of Denver. He is also author of Getting to Plan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read before plunging into an Entrepreneurial lifestyl, March 23, 2005

By 

Chintan Thumar (Bombay, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (Paperback)

Everyone likes their own ideas and everyone believes that their own ideas are fool-proof. There's no way to check and grind your idea/business plan before going to actual VCs. Till now the only way to analyze your idea was by going through the 3Fs (Famliy, Friends and Fools).
Here is where 'The New Business Road Test' comes in as a savior. This book has all the ideas/ procedures/ questions/ & guidelines to review and grill your idea to perfection before plunging into the real venture. There are many books out there to tell you HOW to write a business plan, but none to actually analyze your business plan.
The presentation of the book is quite simple to understand and refer to in future. The 'Seven Domain Analysis' diagram really makes it simple to review any idea/plan and term it as feasible or not-feasible.
I read the book before going into my first venture and it made me look at my business plan in a whole different way. I was not only able to identify the loop holes but also the ways i could improve my business plans. Even today while I am lookin at a new venture, I find myself always going back and refering to this book.
Once Read, this book will make a place in your entrepreneurial life. This is a must-read book for entrepreneurs as well as VC aspirants.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the novice and expert alike...., November 9, 2004

By 

Kevin Conrad (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (Paperback)

Having launched several major ventures over the past decades, I have learned that careful advance planning and analysis cannot be over-emphasized. Through the years, I have struggled to develop a robust framework to analyze opportunities before investing time and money.

Mullins has beaten me to the task. Full of frameworks and anecdotes, theory and practice. Thorough, logical, insightful, and easy to follow. An excellent roadmap for the novice and expert alike. My three copies are already dog-eared.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the New Business Road Test, November 8, 2004

By 

Mikael Aberg "Mikael Aberg" (Brussels) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (Paperback)

As an aspiring entrepreneur you are so convinced that your great idea will work that you want to go straight to the business plan. This book gives you the framework and discipline to force yourself to cut your emotional ties with your idea and pick it apart. If your idea still stands after having gone through the rigorous scrutiny described in the book then you have a very strong foundation for taking your idea to the next stage.
An excellent book that I strongly recommend to anybody who has a great idea for a new business, product or service regardless of whether as an entrepreneur or business executive