Business plans

Today’s Conversation Starter comes from guest columnist David S. Evans, founder of Market Platform Dynamics and coauthor of Catalyst Code: The Strategies Behind the World’s Most Dynamic Companies. Google is the exit strategy for many new web ventures these days. The Web 1.0 strategy that led so many eager entrepreneurs like lemmings to slaughter involved […]

Four research-backed principles to help you determine what's right for your company.

Tony Tjan, managing partner of Cue Ball, outlines the key components on which entrepreneurial executives must focus.

Don't write a plan before you understand your customer.

Traditionally, the most reliable way for a firm to find its next wave of growth was to apply the capabilities of its core business in an adjacent market....

When Roger Brown and Linda Mason decided to start a child care and early-education company 15 years ago, they knew about the challenges inherent in the...

The current high level of venture capital investment is driving enormous innovation in business. About 40% of the growth in the U.S. GDP is coming out...

Every seasoned investor knows that detailed financial projections for a new company are an act of imagination. Nevertheless, most business plans pour...

Be clear about your intentions.

Shortly after Jim Hackett became CEO of Steelcase in 1994, the office furniture manufacturer introduced two products. The Leap chair was a great success....

Entrepreneurs can play a central role in finding solutions to the world's toughest social problems. The failure rate for start-ups, however, is high....

Organizations need to understand how the pandemic is changing behaviors and habits.

It's not all about experience and industry knowledge.

When a mature company fails to endure over the long term, it's often due to the "Horizon 2 vacuum," argues Geoffrey Moore, author of "Crossing the Chasm"...

A business plan that asks -- and answers -- the right questions is a powerful tool.

Why the compensation plan and pricing plan trump everything else.

People make business plans for all sorts of reasons - to attract funding, evaluate future growth, build partnerships, or guide development. Unfortunately,...

You want to start a business. So you need a plan, right? No. Not really. As part of the research for a book I'm co-authoring - Heart, Smarts, Guts, and...

A well-conceived business plan is essential to the success of an enterprise. Whether you are starting up a venture, seeking additional capital for an...

Glossy descriptions of fantasy markets should not be confused with real customers.