SubscribeThe Whole Enchilada
Recently I've seen two business plans that were shooting for the moon with regard to the scope of their vision and the amount of capital needed.
The first required $70,000,000 for a generic service business. The second required $50,000,000 to launch a software application in the health care field. It's unfathomable to consider such financings occurring in Montana for start ups.
The companies had location and the following strikes against them: Lack of industry specific depth on the management team, Vague and generalized financials, Unclear marketing strategies And I could easily add to that list.
The thing is, why bother? I'm getting to that point, as mentioned in a previous post, where listing the reasons why a venture will not move forward, detailing those reasons and defending them, just isn't worth it. It's better to just state the big issues and walk away. Some may say that it's better to just nod and say "great, best of luck." That happens all the time but it really does a dis-service to the entrepreneur. Better to be blunt, let the entrepreneur figure out the reasons for your position and just leave it at that.
It's my need to redefine 'nice'. Nice used to mean rolling up my sleeves, digging into the plan and providing detailed analysis, third party support and an opinion on a path forward. But that takes way too much time if I am dealing with someone who is so far off the mark from the start, no amount of my effort is going to get him up to speed.
The first required $70,000,000 for a generic service business. The second required $50,000,000 to launch a software application in the health care field. It's unfathomable to consider such financings occurring in Montana for start ups.
The companies had location and the following strikes against them: Lack of industry specific depth on the management team, Vague and generalized financials, Unclear marketing strategies And I could easily add to that list.
The thing is, why bother? I'm getting to that point, as mentioned in a previous post, where listing the reasons why a venture will not move forward, detailing those reasons and defending them, just isn't worth it. It's better to just state the big issues and walk away. Some may say that it's better to just nod and say "great, best of luck." That happens all the time but it really does a dis-service to the entrepreneur. Better to be blunt, let the entrepreneur figure out the reasons for your position and just leave it at that.
It's my need to redefine 'nice'. Nice used to mean rolling up my sleeves, digging into the plan and providing detailed analysis, third party support and an opinion on a path forward. But that takes way too much time if I am dealing with someone who is so far off the mark from the start, no amount of my effort is going to get him up to speed.