The 1 Sentence Business Plan Mad-lib

Some very smart/experienced entrepreneur mentors and investors of mine have been pushing me to very succinctly define what we want to be at CrowdMob when we grow up.  I realized they were in-fact just being nice, and what they were really asking for was a version of our business plan that didn’t suck.

Together we came up with this madlib that all entrepreneurs should be able to fill-in to define their business plan:
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At COMPANY-NAME, we are the #1 ______[[product-category]]_______ in _____[[broad-vertical]]______; and ____[[product-category (again)]]___ is going to be the most important, fastest-growing niche because ______[[reason]]______.

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This sentence boils down to the heart of why the product you’re making will matter financially.  The rest of the business plan / pitch is simply supporting evidence for this.   Take every other part of a typical pitch:

• Team skill set & background - *Evidence that your team can make the #1 product?
  
  *
• Competitive landscape - *Evidence that the broader vertical is important,  whether or not you can be #1, and how your niche is better.
  
  *
• Marketing plan - *Evidence that you can be #1 in the minds of all your potential customers.
  
  *
• Pricing - *Evidence that your niche is the most important.
  
  *
• Operational plan & Staffing needs - *Evidence that you have a way to accomplish the vision.
  
  *
• Intellectual property plan - *Evidence you can maintain the #1 spot.
  
  *
• Current financing & Funding plan - Evidence that you’ll be around long enough and incentivized enough to accomplish the vision.

Hopefully that’s food for thought over the long holiday =)  Happy 4th, everyone!