The Business Plan 281Development Timeline
A development timeline is a schedule that highlights major milestones and can
be used to monitor progress and make changes (see Exhibit 9.11). The timeline
helps entrepreneurs track major events and to schedule activities to best exe-
cute on those events.
Team (2–3 pages)
Georges Doriot, the father of venture capital and founder of American Re-
search and Development Corporation (the first modern venture capital firm),
said that he would rather “back an ‘A’ entrepreneur with a ‘B’ idea than a ‘B’
entrepreneur with an ‘A’ idea.” The team section of the business plan is often
the section that professional investors read after the executive summary. Thus,
it is critical that the plan depict the members responsible for key activities and
convey that they are exceptionally skilled.
Team Bios and Roles
The best place to start is by identifying the key team members and their titles.
Often, the lead entrepreneur assumes a CEO role. However, if you are young
and have limited business experience, it is usually more productive to state
that the company will seek a qualified CEO as it grows. The lead entrepreneur
may then assume the role of chief technology officer (if he develops the tech-
nolog y) or v ice president of business development. However, don’t let these op-
tions confine you. The key is to convince investors that you have assembled the
best team possible and that your team can execute on the brilliant concept you
are proposing.
Once responsibilities and titles have been defined, names and a short bio
should be filled in. The bios should demonstrate records of success. If you have
previously started a business (even if it failed), highlight the company’s accom-
plishments. If you have no previous entrepreneurial experience, discuss your
achievements within your last job. For example, bios often contain a descrip-
tion of the number of people the entrepreneur prev iously managed and, more
important, a measure of economic success, such as growing division sales by
20 +%. The bio should demonstrate your leadership capabilities. To comple-
ment this description, resumes are often included as an appendix.
Advisory Boards, Board of Directors, Strategic Partners,
External Members
To enhance the team’s credentials, many entrepreneurs find that they are more
attractive to investors if they have strong advisory boards. In building an advi-
sory board, identify individuals with relevant experience within your industry.