This section of your business plan should briefly sum up your company’s history and how you got to where you are now. Explain how your management team and your business evolved, how much has been invested in the business to date and by whom, and what the ownership and legal structures are. You may also include your mission statement and value proposition here.
Company Description
This is your chance to impress potential investors with your important ideas and business savvy. Explain how your venture progressed from start-up to viable company with a bright future, using relevant numbers and facts to support your story. Make sure your description is credible – most businesses run into challenges along the way, so explain yours and how you overcame them.
Example:
iWidget was formed in 2003 and has grown rapidly along with the online gaming industry. The company’s first software product, iWidget Pro, is the only desktop publishing software focused exclusively on the online gaming industries. iWidget was introduced to the market in June 2004 and was met with great enthusiasm. First year sales were $19.7 million, and rose 32% in 2005 to $26 million. Two additional software products – iWidget Next and iWidget World – followed in December 2004 and March 2005, respectively, and have also experienced impressive sales growth. A fourth software product is now in testing and scheduled for market debut in December 2006.
iWidget received its first round of $2.6 million in funding in early 2003 from Blum Partners LLC, a Boston-based private investment firm specializing in new software ventures. In late 2004, iWidget received its second round of $3.5 million in funding from Morningside Partners LLC of New York, NY. Both rounds were given in exchange for a one percent ownership stake in the company.
iWidget Inc. is a Massachusetts “C” corporation, incorporated on January 1, 2003. Headquarters are located at 100 Maple Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 55555. The company may be contacted by phone: (555) 555-5555, fax: (555) 555-7777, or web: www.iwidget.net or email info@iwidget.net. Legal counsel for the firm is Big Law Firm, LLC. The company presently has nineteen full-time employees.
Mission Statement
This is a brief statement, usually in one sentence, that explains your company’s purpose and business principles.
Example:
iWidget is committed to ensuring customers’ success in their online gaming ventures by providing them with the most innovative and industry-adaptive desktop publishing software products.
Value Proposition
Your value proposition explains exactly what your product or service does for the customer. What problem do you solve for customers? What service do you provide them that your competitors don’t? The more clear and direct your value proposition, the better.
Example:
iWidget allows entrepreneurs to successfully integrate their gaming ideas with advanced, gaming-specific desktop publishing technologies. iWidget customers can create new games quickly and offer their customers an ever-changing variety of games with sophisticated graphic features.