Resources

Writing Executive Summaries and Business Plans

These documents are copies of presentations given during previous year’s Y50K educational seminars and workshops.

How to Write a Business Plan -
Maureen Burke, Yale Lecturer
How to Communicate Your Story and Raise Capital -
Trautman Wasserman & Co.
Drafting Effective Business Plans: The Legal Issues -
A John Mancini & Charles Vander Burgh (LeBouef et al)

Summarizing Your Business Idea -
Halley S. Faust, MD, MPH (Jerome Capital, LLC)
Checklist for Writing a Business Plan -
Melissa Krinzman (Venture Architects)
Laboratory Record Keeping -
Todd Garagedian, PhD (Wiggin and Dana LLP)
Primer on Patent Law -
Todd Garagedian, PhD (Wiggin and Dana LLP)

Learn Entrepreneurship at the Yale School of Management

MGT 618: Entrepreneurial Business Planning — Yale SOM, 135 Prospect Street

Course Description

Entrepreneurship is all about starting and running one’s own business. In order to focus thinking and to help assemble the needed people and financial resources, many entrepreneurs write a business plan for their new venture. One of the best ways to learn how to write a business plan is to learn by doing — a real plan for a real new venture. The work will be “hands-on,” “learn by doing” in nature.

Entrepreneurs should be flexible thinkers and highly motivated, with a large capacity for work. They must be persistent and able to thrive in an unstructured environment.
Entrepreneurs should be confident self-starters with the ability to take the initiative, overcome obstacles, make things happen and get things done.

This course is for three teams of five students each, who want to write a business plan for their own real new startup company. Students will enter their plans in the Y50K Business Plan Contest sponsored by the Yale Entrepreneurial Society. The scope of the work will include: doing in-depth market, product and competitor research; creating a strategy for a sustainable business; and writing and presenting a professional quality plan (including a financial model and deal structure).


Course Topics

* Introduction and Entrepreneurship Basics

* Business Plans. Research. Teamwork.

* Death Traps and Secrets to Success
* Management and Financial Incentives
* Forms of Ownership. Sources of Finance
* The Executive Summary. Writing Style.
* Financial Projections. Spreadsheet Models.
* Custom Financial Models For Startups
* The Art of Equity Valuation
* Deal Structure. Investor Term Sheets.
* Negotiations. Legal Documentation.
* Oral Presentations. Using PowerPoint.

Course Notes

Outline - How to Write a Business Plan
Lecture 1 - Jargon
Lecture 2 - Basics
Lecture 3 - Creating a Business Plan
Lecture 4 - Research
Lecture 4B - Research Guide for Business Plans
Lecture 5 - Teamwork
Lecture 6 - Death Traps
Lecture 7 - Success Secrets
Lecture 8 - Management
Lecture 9 - Ownership Forms
Lecture 10 - Finance Sources
Lecture 11 - Writing Style and Summary
Lecture 11A - Perfect Executive Summary Example
Lecture 11B - CyberLinks Executive Summary
Lecture 11C - CEU Executive Summary

Professor David Cromwell

David Cromwell comes to the Yale School of Management with 30 years of work experience at JPMorgan & Co., Inc. on Wall Street as well as in London. His expertise includes international and domestic commercial banking, credit and financial analysis, international and U.S. securities research, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity investing. For six years, Professor Cromwell served as President and CEO of JPMorgan Capital Corporation, the bank’s private equity investment group. During his tenure, JPMorgan invested nearly $1 billion in the equity of over 80 private companies, with an annual realized internal rate of return of 32%. Professor Cromwell currently is advisor to the Yale SOM students who run Sachem Ventures, LLC, a $1.5 million venture capital fund that makes seed capital investments in startup companies located in greater New Haven.

General Resources for Entrepreneurs

  • 173 Resources For Your Small Business - This blog article from startupstudents.com offers many valuable tools for budding entrepreneurs from tips on how to write a business plan to guides on advertising.
  • Stern Fisher - Stern Fisher assists high-quality entrepreneurs in securing venture capital funding, and angel funding — arranging introductions with leading venture capitalists and angel investors. Business plan funding is perhaps one of the hardest aspects of starting a business. The inherent risk of a startup is great, but what makes getting startup capital, seed capital or angel capital harder is the lack of contacts, and the lack of know-how on positioning yourself. Our business analysts ensure that entrepreneurs position themselves in the best manner possible and get the seed capital they need.
  • Venture Voice - Podcasts on entrepreneurship, venture capital, and business.
  • Bizplanit.com - Offers a basic tutorial on writing each part of a business plan.
  • WhyNot.net - “Open source” initiative for solving everyday problems by sharing solutions with the public. Test out business ideas here.
  • entreworld.org - Wealth of information on tons of entrepreneurial startup issues - provides advice and guidelines from starting a business to helping it grow. Calendar of events, glossary, bookstore.
  • Wayne Brown Institute/VentureCapital.org - Provides venturing network, entrepreneurial assessment. Help with business planning, tools to raise capital, advice, startup prototypes. Allows new company submission for review.
  • WSJ Startup Journal - Offshoot of Wall Street Journal - focuses on small business entrepreneurship. Updated daily with business news. Database of business opportunities. Allows one to build first draft of business plan and get startup advice.
  • AngelDeals.com - Connects entrepreneurs with potential investors. Tips on pitching ideas.
  • WetFeet - The Wet Feet Press Guide to Social Entrepreneurship.
  • The Foundation Center - Locations in WAshington, DC and New York. (800) 424-9836. A great resource for the non-profit sector.
  • The Capital Connection - Links entrepreneurs to venture capital sources. Provides directories of professional services for small businesses.
  • smallbiztechnology.com - News and information on small businesses. Provides discussion group, product info, and list of consultants specializing in small businesses.
  • Making IT! TV - Discusses achievements of minority entrepreneurs; success stories, discussion forum, and other resources for small businesses.
  • Futuredex - Matches entrepreneurs with investors and other services. Link to competition where winner can win $1 Million in equity investment.
  • BizMiner - Provides industry data profiles on over 19,000 types of businesses - breaks down financial data, industry trends and survival rates.
  • Entrepreneur Source.com - Services, coaching, support and feedback for small business entrepreneurs.
  • Business EKG - Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership website provides free comprehensive assessment of a company’s financial vital signs.
  • CapitalVenue - Matches business ventures with potential investors. Lists programs for entrepreneurs, plus events and a newsletter.
  • biopartnering.com - E-network for bio-investing. Members have access to bioscience business intelligence.
  • Ernst & Young - Website helps companies identify and capitalize on business opportunities.

Publications

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