Business plans provide direction for established companies targeting something new and for new companies aiming to become established.
Planning offers the opportunity to work through all of the facets of the new business or venture and to analyze the:
Company
Opportunity
Competitive Landscape
Customers
Financial Requirements
Threats to Success
Most sources of financing, be it from equity investors or a loan, require the business to have a business plan before even considering providing funding for the new venture. The biggest obstacle for crafting a good business plan is many times the large time-commitment. Therefore, Brightleaf tailors its services to your needs, time, and budgetary constraints.
Case Study – Business Plan and Model Development
The Situation:
The client was an angel funded start-up company located in Washington D.C. working to enter the renewable energy sector after identifying a gap in the existing market. After doing a great deal of planning and performing an initial round of market research, they believed that they had a good idea of where they needed to enter the market and a business model that could revolutionize the renewable energy industry.
Competition for their desired segment was limited and the potential returns appeared very promising. Although they knew they had a workable concept, they needed a strong business plan in order to obtain the funding required to initiate their plan. Timing was very important as parts of the business model were dependent upon state and federal initiatives that had firm expiration dates.
The Need:
In order to approach financial institutions for the necessary funding, the client needed assistance with defining and providing structure to their business and financial models. They also required market research to get an estimate of the size of the opportunity and to understand the strength of their competition.
The Solution:
Brightleaf took on a partnership role working closely with the client to expand upon their existing business model. After making several adjustments and additions, a fully functioning business model was created. The financial model was developed from the initial concept into a robust and viable working tool that proved accurate when tested.
Following the success of the completed business model, the client expanded the scope of the project and asked Brightleaf to create a new business plan based around the revised business and financial models. Brightleaf incorporated the new elements into the expanded plan and performed additional market research to better address the target markets and their competition. The business plan was completed within a tight 10 day schedule in order to be presented to potential investors during meetings with venture capital and major investment banks.
The Outcome:
The client’s completed business plan was presented to a number of large financial institutions and several smaller investment firms focused on the green energy market. A representative from Oppenheimer & Co. remarked that it was one of the top five best business plans that he had ever had presented to them. As of this writing our client is in the process of determining the best investment partner.