The ten sections
- Executive summary, written last: what the business does in one sentence, the problem and for whom in two, the solution and why it is different in two, the market opportunity in one sentence with a number, and what you are asking for.
- Company overview: legal name and structure, stage (idea, pre-revenue, early revenue, growing), mission statement, location and operating model, founding date.
- Problem and solution: who feels the problem, how often, what it costs them, with evidence; the before and after; what changed that makes this the right time.
- Market analysis: market size with sources, the top three trends, primary customer segments, target segment size and reachability.
- Competitive landscape: a table of competitor, strength, and where you win; your wedge, the table stakes you must match, the gaps you fill.
- Business and revenue model: channels, sales flow, revenue streams and pricing, a bottom-up year one projection with the math shown, unit economics.
- Operations plan: delivery, technology stack, key recurring processes, automation plan, the outsourcing trigger.
- Marketing and sales plan: positioning statement, the first two to three channels and why, content strategy, sales approach, acquisition targets and CAC budget.
- Financial projections: monthly for year one, quarterly for years two and three, every projection labelled conservative or optimistic, never a bare number with no math shown. Break-even, runway, cash flow timing risks.
- Risk assessment: a table of risk, likelihood, impact, mitigation.