Finance
BfhBanan Alqethami,
Katherine Borlongan
Justin Mcpherson
Christina Weis
Professor Joel Morse
FIN 615 - Entrepreneurial Finance
25 April 2021
Go-Figure Inc. Case Study
1. As a starting point, look at some Internet sites on business plans and develop a brief outline of what you believe the major parts of the Go-Figure business plan should be.
I. Executive Summary
This will be an introduction and overview of our mission, company and leadership and will introduce our product and our competitive advantage. It will introduce the financing we are seeking, how it will be used and what we will accomplish with it. It will be constructed as a high-level summary, written in a clear and brief fashion as it is designed to grab the reader’s attention.
II. Company Description
This is where we will elaborate on our mission, philosophy, and goals. It will introduce the ownership structure and expand on the background and credentials of the leadership team.
III. Product
This section introduces what we sell, how it is used and what problem it solves. Highlights of its benefits and unique features and the competitive advantage it offers will be included. It will also highlight any significant or strategic partnerships that have been established and will contribute to our competitive advantage and growth.
IV. Marketing Plan
We will describe what we know about the market we are entering. For instance, the size and how it is doing. We will highlight the threats in the market and barriers to entry that we know to exist and include a SWOT analysis. Pricing, product placement and target customers will be covered.
V. Operational Plan
This explains what we envision in terms of the daily operations of our business and how we will handle production, quality control, inventory management and relevant legal issues (licenses, patents in process).
VI. Management and Organization
This explains the people behind our business and highlights any gaps we are looking to fill. It will touch on any advisory structure.
VII. Capital Requirements
This will outline the investment amount needed and how it will help the company grow. It will provide estimates of return on investment, exit strategy for investors (buyback, sale, etc.), percentage ownership offered (if applicable), reporting we will provide to the investors and milestones we are looking to meet.
VIII. Financial Plan
This includes our projections of profit and loss and should include any assumptions behind the numbers. It will also include projections based on the capital being sought, how it will be used and the financial results we are expecting from it.
Possible attachments:
1. Agreements (Leases, contracts, purchase orders, letters of intent, etc.)
1. Intellectual property (trademarks, licenses, patents, etc.)
1. Resumes of owners/key employees.
1. Advertising/marketing materials
1. Market research studies
3. After you have developed the outline, explain in which section(s) of the plan each of the following might be addressed.
I. Commitment of the entrepreneur
a. Executive Summary – further explains what is expected of the investor who will now be a shareholder in the company.
b. Company Description - sets up the hierarchy of important managers involved in the business.
i. List key managers in the company who are responsible for company advancement
ii. Creates the structure between managers, which is integral for efficient business operations
iii. Highlights important duties and responsibilities of each manager, and other key personnel
II. Present and future financial needs
a. Executive Summary - includes summarization of financial projections.
i. Offers a general idea regarding the monetary needs of the company, and for what purpose those funds will be used for
b. Capital Requirements - provides better insight into whether a business venture is practical and will be important in attracting investors.
i. Shareholders’ equity statement
ii. Exit strategy for inventors
c. Financial Plan – projections of profit and loss
i. Includes financial and income statements
ii. Cash Flow projections
iii. Balance sheet
iv. Financial projections with supporting data
III. Specifics of the opportunity
a. Product Section - this part will further explain how its innovation stands out as a solution to a problem that has been identified in the market.
i. Provides a deeper look into the product or service presented
ii. Illustrates product potential, and market attractiveness
iii. Lists development efforts put forth by the company to improve service or product
b. Marketing Plan - provides a more comprehensive look at the current market.
i. Will be informative in providing industry trends and consumer base make up
ii. Important in specifying market needs, size and growth potential
iii. Identify Barriers to Entry such as: brand loyalty, technological advances, regulatory requirement and number of competitions
IV. Significant risks
a. Assumptions and Risks - business assumptions are for the purpose of developing a strategy to mitigate but expect business uncertainty and risk.
i. Important to identity risks involved with the business, in order to be better prepared for detrimental outcomes
b. Marketing Plan
i. Determine the threats to the new venture by utilizing SWOT analysis
c. Operational Plan – determine how risks are mitigated in every day operations
i. Ensure that operations remain within appropriate regulations
V. Competition
a. Marketing Plan
i. Identify Barriers to Entry such as: brand loyalty, technological advances, regulatory requirement and number of competitions
ii. Recognize characteristics of competition to determine how the business venture can differentiate itself
b. Product Section – recognize and highlight how Go-Figure differs from the competition
VI. Sources of Competitive Advantage
a. Product Section - provides detail of different competitive factors such as: technological advancements, geography, talent acquisition, personnel experience
i. detailed description of what Go-Figure offers that its competition does not, and how it fits consumer needs and market trends.
VII. Capabilities of Management
a. Executive Summary - will be covered in the Company Overview section of the summary.
b. Company Description - lists management structure, and key duties and responsibilities
i. Provides insight into personnel qualifications, and experience
VIII. Harvesting
a. Financial Plan
i. Sales Forecast Section - lists detailed sales projections
b. Capital Requirements
i. Provides exit strategy for its investors