business plan – n : a document that tells the story of your company; audiences include prospective investors, bankers, key hires and strategic partners. It should be a concise, organized, visually-impactful and easily-navigable document that is consistent with all other forms of communication used by your company to sell its message to both the outside world, and to employees and current investors in the company. A typical business plan includes: a concise company description including current status of company development (when founded, stage of development or growth, etc.); an analysis of the industry and the market; a description of the target end-user customers and the nature and extent of their unmet need; your business’s solution (product and/or service) to the customers’ unmet need and how it’s notably better/differentiated form current competitive offerings; an execution plan (how you are going to do what you do, including high-level tasks and key milestones and dates); a description of key managers and advisors; and a set of financial projections (typically 5 years).

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Adapted from "The CompanyCrafters Entrepreneur's Dictionary"
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