Business Plan Part I: Opportunity and Team The Need: how many $ have this problem. Our Solution: Value proposition, IP Market Opportunity: –customer –market (how many customers, how many $) Competitors The Team: management, advisors

Business Plan Part II: Strategy Marketing Plan Sales Plan Retention Plan Product Development Plan Organizational Development Plan Funding Plan Exit Strategy

Business Plan Part III: Financials –Actual Financials - If your business in already in operations and is generating revenue or significant expenses, provide the below documents. Otherwise skip this section. Profit and Loss [1 Page] Balance Sheet [1 Page] Cash Flow Statement [1 Page] –Projected Future Financials Financial Assumptions [2 Pages] - Detail the assumptions and formulas that underlie your projections. Profit and Loss [1 Page] Balance Sheet [1 Page] Cash Flow Statement [1 Page]

SBIR Proposal Part 1 (NSF; others similar) Identification and Significance of the Innovation. The first paragraph shall contain a clear and succinct statement specifying the research innovation proposed, and a brief explanation of how the innovation is relevant to meeting a need described in the subtopic narrative. The Need The Solution

SBIR Proposal Part 2 Background and Phase I Technical Objectives. List and explain the key objectives to be accomplished during the Phase I research, including the questions that must be answered to determine the technical and commercial feasibility of the proposed concept. It is important to show how potential customer needs will be met if the research is successful. Therefore, Phase I proposers are strongly encouraged to consider commercial potential as well as the technical challenges of their research. The Customer The Market Technical Objectives

SBIR Proposal Part 3 Phase I Research Plan. This section must provide a detailed description of the Phase I research approach. The description must include the following: –A technical discussion of the proposed concept, –What is planned and how the research will be carried out, –The plan to achieve each objective, and –The sequence of experiments, tests, and computations involved in the measurement of those objectives. Product Development Plan

SBIR Proposal Part 4 Commercial Potential. Proposals must describe a compelling business opportunity to be enabled by the proposed innovation. The information contained within the Commercial Potential section should convey the scope and nature of this business opportunity. This section should briefly describe the current as well as the anticipated market landscape and the resources required to address the opportunity. The goal of this section is to justify, from a market-opportunity perspective, why a Phase I feasibility study should be undertaken. Market Opportunity Marketing Plan Company/Team + Organizational Development Competition Financing/Revenue Model

SBIR Proposal Part 5 Consultants and Subawards/Subcontracts. Part of Team and Organizational Development Plan in Business Plan. SBIR Proposals require greater detail here: –Budget –Schedule –Scope of work –Etc.

Not in SBIR Proposal Exit –It’s a grant! Pro Forma Financials – It’s about the technology Sales and Retention Plans –More applicable to existing products

SBIR Company Setup 1.Business certificate from Amherst, $40 for 4 years. You need to have the signatures notarized, which costs $3 more per signature unless you have it done at your bank for free. 2.Employer ID number, IRS, free and immediate. 3.Bank account: BankNorth, no fees, $25 deposit to open. They required a copy of a partnership agreement, which we got from a lawyer-on-a-CD for $30. Free parking at the Triangle St. branch. 4.DUNS number $69.95 for one day, or free in about a month. Ours took 2 weeks for free. You get LOTS of spam from them. 5.CCR number: free from DOD central contractor registry, and the amount of spam is truly amazing. 6.Domain registration, forwarding, masking, and forwarding from GoDaddy.com (I did this first). $9/year for a.com, others cheaper.