Business Plan [insert company name] Prepared by [insert name] Add your logo here

Before you start - what makes a good plan Firstly make sure you have read our guidance notes which you can find on our website - https://www.merciatech.co.uk/news-media/insights Our top tips Balance plans between brevity and detail Make it visually engaging Remove any jargon and technical language Be realistic, but do…. ………Show ambition Play to your strengths Only highlight weaknesses by addressing them Don’t forget to delete this slide before you submit your plan to us - info@merciatech.co.uk

The Executive Summary This is the trailer... Tell the story There must be a hook Summary Write it at the end...but place it at the start

Swot analysis Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Example 1 SWOT analyses are easy to do and there’s lots of online tools to help you https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/swot.asp https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/swot-analysis

The market “If you build it they will come” – that’s not quite how it works! Always show you are addressing a market need Size of the market/addressable market Who are the main competitors? What is your differentiator? Barriers to entry Regulation Have you tested the market? Evidence of market acceptance?

Competitive advantage Here you need to Define the value proposition and ensure it is compelling Long term view Broad Measureable and significant Cost/benefit analysis to customers Not easily surpassable by competitors

Barriers to entry In this section you need to clearly articulate that there are sufficient barriers to entry to limit competition so explain your - Formal – patents, trademarks, contracts Informal – knowledge, expertise, designs Exploitation assessment – territories, licenses Freedom to operate How to protect possible infringements

The team Central to any investment opportunity is the management team – they will deliver the growth. In this section you need to include - Profiles of key individuals Track record Knowledge Experience Skills Are there any positions to be filled? Skin in the game? Alignment with investors

The financials Arguably one of the most important slides, if not the most important. Returns are the name of the game Try and use visual tools such as pie charts rather than complicated spreadsheets Reverse engineering – how have you formulated your numbers? Profit and loss, balance sheet, CASH FLOWS -3/+3 Sensitivity analysis Much of the decision will be made here

Funding requirements Here you need to be clear about the value you are seeking and your company valuations, please be realistic or you risk switching the investor off Be clear – how much is required? Timing - when is it required? Funding window – how long will it last? The funding window must connect two increments Use of funds Price – be realistic Co-investment

In summary Here you need to wrap everything up succinctly What is your ambition for the business? Where will it take you and what are your exit plans? Why do you want Mercia to be your investment partner?

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