Startup consultants everywhere (well, at least here in Newburyport) probably sighed a collective sigh of relief after reading Derek Pilling’s “What We Have Here is a Failure to Plan.” His post outlines good reasons why you need a plan. Read it. Simple. After you’ve read, here are some further qualifications:
Does it have to be a big plan? No. It just states what you’re going to do and why. That way, post IPO, you can keep your job since your whole existence isn’t accidental. (Not that being accidental is a bad thing, it just gives people that much more confidence that you actually know what you’re doing.) The other huge reason is to get everyone on the same page. A simple concept.
Do you have to stick to the plan? No. But the whys or the drivers should be clear and if you’re wrong or if things change, you’re wrong and things changed. At least you can remember why you failed. (Seemed like a good idea at the time doesn’t sell very well.)
Why don’t VCs need business plans? Lots of answers here but boiling it down, they want the flexibility to suggest their own direction and have it you strongly consider it (that’s fair), most entrepreneurs need to get to business and quit overanalyzing, and/or most plans are wrong in the eyes of the VC and yet they definitely look at things significantly different than you do. In the final analysis, it is relationship overhead - they’re bringing you fresh money. Fresh and money are the the operative words here. Fresh as in their energy and experience and money as in something you don’t have.
You don’t fool me, you had a plan, didn’t you? You didn’t just stumble upon something cool did you? You had a plan, you had a vision, you figured out it might be popular or that people would pay you for it, right? Didn’t you plan various ways to show customers and have them pay for it? You backed execution up with a reason to do it. Didn’t you have a little timeline or did you do literally everything at once? That’s a plan. Accidents are cool. I just wouldn’t advise waiting for them.
A vision? The entrepreneurs I know say the same thing: Its the reason behind the things that keep you up at night evaluating ideas and ….. planning.
How about writing it down and thinking about it a bit? Maybe send it to your team and see if they agree or disagree. You can surprise some other time.
