Posted: April 10th, 2015

Business Plan Executive Summary & Financial Requirements;

Business Plan Executive Summary & Financial Requirements;

You are required to write a 2,000 word report comprising three parts:
1.    Executive Summary of your Business Plan – approximately 1,300 words; accompanied by
2.    Financial Requirements of your enterprise – approximately 350 words; and
3.    Growth funding strategy – approximately 350 words.
The report you write should relate to the business you have chosen to set up identified earlier in this module.
Part 1:  Executive Summary (approximately. 1,300 words)
An executive summary is a document that could be presented to a potential investor.  It should summarise the purpose and uniqueness of the business, the details of the products or services the business will offer, the market opportunity and the strategies for pricing and distribution.  It should also include the marketing and sales strategy and any role played by the brand to enable the business to attract and keep customers and compete effectively in its sector.  It should also include competitor analysis and an explanation of the competitive advantage of your business as well as an explanation for why your chosen management team is the right one to ensure the success of this new venture.
Part 2:  Financial Requirements (approximately 350 words)
Finance is the life-blood of any business; it flows through the various operating areas of an enterprise and provides them with the sustenance to keep going.  It is also the most common way of measuring the health of an enterprise.  Financial measurements such as cash flow and profits tell us whether the enterprise is actually increasing in value.  Please provide answers to the following question:

Your plan should display and explain, in summary, the financial requirements of the business for setup (showing key setup and running costs) together with sales forecasts/projections for the first three years of operation.

You should also provide an explanation of these figures – expenditure and revenues – so the reader has a clear understanding of where sales are coming from and how costs are being incurred.

Part 3:  Growth funding strategy (approximately 350 words)
Your business should be scalable in order for it to attract investors seeking to make a good return on their investment.  In addition to profits that your business may be making, you are required to seek external funding to enable the business to grow to a higher level.  As such, you are required to:
a)    Identify the specific commercial banks/schemes, venture capital funds, business angels, grant institutions, etc. you intend to approach for financing the setup and growth phase of your venture.
b)    Explain your rationale for the funding choices you have made and how the investment capital will be used, e.g. opening new branches, developing new products, adding new services, etc.
If you choose debt funding you must detail the specific terms of borrowing/investment and explain why these are the right choice for the business using the correct professional/entrepreneurship terminology.
If you choose equity funding you must state the amount of equity you are prepared to offer investors in return for their investment, as well as your rationale for this amount.
IMPORTANT: the funding for your business (either setup and/or growth) MUST include at least one source of external debt or equity finance.  Although personal savings and/or family and friends funding may be included in your plans for setup and launch, they cannot be the sole source of funding and cannot be included in the growth phase.
Failing to include at least one specific source of debt or equity funding will automatically result in a FAIL for part three of this assignment.
Assessment Details
a)    This is an individual assignment.
b)    Official coursework hand-out: Week 5.
c)    Coursework Due Date: 28th April 2015 by 4:00pm.
d)    The word limit for this assignment is 2,000 words.  You must comply with the word count guidelines – any work which exceeds the 2,000 word limit will not be marked.  The word limit does not include title page, contents page, references, bibliography or appendices.  Tables (showing figures for financial requirements or forecasts) are not included in your word count but commentary on these figures is included.  (Any tables with excessive text will be viewed as an attempt to circumvent the word limit and marks will be deducted).
e)    This coursework assignment carries 100% weighting for your overall mark in the Entrepreneurship module.
f)    Submit your assignment by uploading your document via TURNITIN on the VLE.

The marking scheme below may guide you with the content of your report.  A separate guide will also be issued to you to help you with the structure and content of your report.
Marking Scheme
This marking scheme is based on the BPP Level 5 generic marking scheme which is included in your Handbook.
Please note that the coursework will be marked holistically and the below marking scheme is for guidance purposes only.
The coursework consists of three questions or three parts – 1) the executive summary plan, 2) the financial requirements and forecasts; and 3) the growth funding strategy.
ALL parts are compulsory. Please see below for more guidance on the allocation of the marks. The underlying assumption is that you are presenting a viable business idea to an investor who will judge your business credibility.

1. Executive Summary – Part 1 (approximately 1,300 words)            60 marks
2. Financial Requirements & Forecasts – Part 2 (approximately 350 words)      25 marks
3. Growth funding strategy – Part 3 (approximately 350 words)            15 marks

Total                                             100 Marks

Description/Criterion – Part 1    Marks
Guide only
Company introduction – purpose of the company and company differentials;
Mission statement – clear, engaging, motivating.    6
Team – contribution of each team member, background of key members    4
Market Opportunity – size, value and growth of market; description of the specific gap you’ve identified; ambition/market potential.    5
Value proposition & business model. – Differentiation & competitive advantage, revenue streams.    5
Customer/market problem – extensive personal research which has been thoroughly evaluated, clear analysis of the need for your business (if possible quantified in some way).

(This DOES NOT mean the product/service problem OR problems your business may face).    5
Solution – to the market/customer problem identified above.  Has the student demonstrated the ability in the use of information gathered to support the argument and the introduction of the business/products/services and the benefits of it?

(This does NOT mean the solution to and product/service problems or the solution to problems your business may face).    10
Technology – basic features of your technology, information about the nature, protection of knowledge (if applicable)    3
Marketing – overview of marketing mix (product, pricing, distribution/access and promotion – plus positioning, targeting, segmentation.  Tools or activities you would use to launch and grow the business and how they are integrated.    7
Sales strategy – clear expression of priority customers/clients and the approach/mechanisms/channels/resources you would use to close the B2B or B2C deal(s).     4
Competition – evidence of investigation conducted including competitive analysis;  use and protection of intellectual property    7
Overall Presentation – structure, presentation, use of language, clarity and precision in expression, references.    4

Description/ Criterion – Part 2
Financial requirements and forecasts – business credible information and understanding of financial requirements:
Accurate, realistic setup, capital and running costs
Accurate, realistic sales/revenue and profit projections for years 1-3.
Commentary on the above figures including explanation of financial highlights, risks and assumptions.  Investor exit options and figures    8
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9

Description/ Criterion – Part 2    Marks
Types of finance to be used for your venture – choices of debt and/or equity funding for setup and growth phases including the amounts required.

Evidence of aligning your business financial requirements with your choices of funding options based on type of industry, stage and size of venture, nature of the venture, growth plans and likelihood of being financed.  Explanation for use of funds.
Overall Presentation – structure, presentation, use of language, clarity and precision in expression, reference    5

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