Business Plan Expert - Tim Berry and Kathleen Kennedy

Tim Berry is a not just a business plan expert, he is also a successful entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software, founder of bplans.com, and a co-founder of Borland International. With 2 graduates degrees, one a Stanford MBA degree and the other a MA in journalism with honors from the University of Oregon, he had obtained his BA in Literature magna cum lade from the University of Notre Dame. He has written several books on planning, including the plan-as-you-go Business Plan. He is the principal author of Business Plan pro and also the co-author of 3 weeks to startup. He also wrote Sales and Market Forecasting for Entrepreneurs and Hurdle: the book on Business Planning. Tim Berry has read and reviewed about 50 business plans per year as an investor member of the Willamette Angel Conference (WAC), which is a local angel investment group.

He mentioned a few key components that investors look for in a plan stating the fact that investors are not all the same. Investors look for the following: 

1.     A management team with a proven tract record

2.     A defensible product with a competitive advantage

3.     Reasonable valuation

4.     A clear statement of the investment offering

These are considered key because they are all important factors to investors. The suggestion that I am considering from Tim Berry is when he elaborated on reasonable valuation. He stated: Divide the amount you plan to take as investment by the percent of ownership you're offering to give in exchange. For example, offering 50 percent of a company for $5 million means you're valuing your company at $10 million. An outrageous valuation shows investors you may still have your head in the clouds. This is a big factor to consider when looking for investors.

Kathleen Kennedy is an American film producer who is known for her work on the 1982 film E.T the Extra –Terrestrial and the Jurassic Park franchise, the first two of which became two of the top ten highest-grossing films of the 1990’s. She is the co-founder of Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall. In 2012, she became the president of Lucasfilm, and the brand manager of the Star Wars franchise. Her work has included over 60 films, 120 Academy Award nominations and over 11 billion worldwide including three of the highest grossing films in motion picture history. According to nytimes.com, there are 5 things prospective investors are looking for in your business plan: your background in the industry with your business experience, the potential for a big success, your pricing and sales strategies, how you plan to be different from your competitors and a return on their investment. These are considered key because you are asking someone to invest on your project. Therefore, you must show your strategy on how both of you can make a profit out of it. The one suggestion that I am considering is to research your competition thoroughly. I believe this is one of the major factors to do when writing or starting a business plan. How can you stand out from the rest and make people want to do business with you.