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What to Do Before Your

Business Plan CourseJohn W. Mullins

London Business SchoolREE 2004

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The Problem:This Turkey Wont Fly!

Occurs for many student teams partwaythrough the courseToo late to turn back and write a planfor a better opportunityStudents are faced with convincing your panel of judges why their turkey will fly(when really it wont)

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The SolutionCreate a preceding course to focus onopportunity assessment anddevelopment Market, industry, team dimensions Deliverable: a feasibility study, based on

actual primary and secondary research Either conclusion is welcomedFeed the best into the business plancourse

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The Genesis of the CourseWh en a bus i ness wit h a repu t a ti on

for poor fundamen t a l s mee t s amanagemen t t eam wit h a

repu t a ti on for br illi ance, it s t h erepu t a ti on of t h e former t h a t

rema i ns i n t ac t. W arren Buffe tt

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Research Question

How do successful entrepreneurs

(and investors, too) assessmarket opportunities?

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Point of Confusion #1:The Market / Industry Distinction

Whats a market?Whats an industry?These are frequently confused!

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The Seven Domains of

Attractive OpportunitiesMarket Domains Industry DomainsMarket Attractiveness Industry Attractiveness

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Point of Confusion #2:The Macro / Micro Distinction

Large and growing markets areimportant, butStructurally attractive industries (in afive forces sense) are also important,but

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The Seven Domains of

Attractive Opportunities

MacroLevel

MicroLevel

Market Domains Industry Domains

Market Attractiveness

Target Segment Benefitsand Attractiveness

Industry Attractiveness

Sustainable Advantage

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Point of Confusion # 3 :

Whats Crucial aboutEntrepreneurs and Their

Teams

Its not found on their CVsNot simply about chemistry or

character or entrepreneurial drive

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The Seven Domains of

Attractive Opportunities

MacroLevel

MicroLevel

Market Domains Industry Domains

Mission, Ability to Aspirations, ExecutePropensity on CSFsfor Risk

Connectedness upand down Value Chain

TeamDomains

Market Attractiveness

Target Segment Benefitsand Attractiveness

Industry Attractiveness

Sustainable Advantage

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Putting the

Seven Domains to WorkNo opportunity is perfect all havesignificant question marks or negatives atthe outsetThus, the opportunity developmentchallenge: Reshape: turn question marks or minuses into

pluses (different market, industry, or team) Mitigate: weaknesses offset with compensating

strengths

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The Seven DomainsIdentify key weaknesses Questions to be answeredSuggest avenues for reshaping the

opportunityIdentify key strengths, jump-startbusiness planning Crucial in telling the story to resource

providersIntegrate and bring to life materialseen (learned?) in the core

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A Final NoteFor the seven domains Scores are not additive: summing the

scores across the seven domains ismeaningless

Strong scores at the micro level can

mitigate poor macro-level scores

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But dont just take it from meWh en a bus i ness wit h a repu t a ti on

for poor fundamen t a l s mee t s amanagemen t t eam wit h a

repu t a ti on for br illi ance, it s t h erepu t a ti on of t h e former t h a t

rema i ns i n t ac t. W arren Buffe tt

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If You Need a TextbookT h e Ne w Bus i ness Road T es t

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To Download Chapter 1 for Your

Business Plan Course:www.london.edu/faculty/jwmullins