San Jose State University

Business Plan Resources

The following information is aimed at helping you write a business plan that could be submitted to the SVBPC or the UBPC. This information hopefully will extend the other parts of this web page and fill in some of the gaps about writing an actual business plan.


Sample Business Plans:

1.  The following is a sample business plan from the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers that shows what a good business plan looks like:

     PwC Sample Business Plan

2.  The following is a sample business plan provided by the University of Michigan that is aimed at providing for community needs, and so is an example of "social entrepreneurship":

     University of Michigan Sample Business Plan

3.  For examples of business plans that have won prizes in the Yale University Business Plan Competition, click on the following link:

     http://www.ventures.yale.edu/competition_winning_business_plans.asp

4.  MOOT CORP has been described as the Super Bowl of Business Plan Competitions, and the following link provides a look at its home page and its sample business plans:

     Moot Corp Business Plan Competition

     http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html

5. http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/moyes/bplan

6. http://www.lanl.gov/source/orgs/tt/entrep_resource.shtml



SVBPC Seminar and Workshop PowerPoint Presentations:


2006 Seminars and Workshops

1.  From the March 11, 2006 marketing workshop

Bob Goedjen-Marketing and Sales Presentation


2005 Seminars and Workshops

1.  From the March 24, 2005 seminar on angel investors and venture capitalists:

CJ Cornell-Angel Presentation

Sanjay Subhedar-Venture Capital Presentation


2.  From the March 12, 2005 seminar:

Rob Fernandez and Michael Solt - Forecasting Financial Statements

Forecasting Financial Statements Example

Forecasting Financial Statements - Excel File


3.  From the February 19, 2005 seminar

Joseph Giglierano-Market Research in New Venture Planning


4.  From the May 5, 2004 seminar:

Hector Franco-Intellectual Property Protection Guidelines


5.  From a presentation to Bus 276, New Venture Finance, by Attorney Michael Glenn on April 20, 2004:

Michael Glenn-Intellectual-Property-Protection


6.  From the March 25, 2004 Presentation to Small Business Finance (Bus 173C):

Tonee Picard-Market Research Presentation


7.  From the March 10, 2004 seminar:

Bill Paseman-Overview of Business Plans

Bill Tobin-Things to Consider When Writing a Business Plan


Other Useful Links:

1.  The final round of judging for our business plan competitions involve presentations made by each team.  In general, we suggest the teams follow the  presentation adhere to the ten-slide PowerPoint format described by Guy Kawasaki in his book, The Art of the Start.  The following links provide some hints and advice for making effective presentations.  The first is provided by SJSU Instructor Mike Splane and the second by Barbara Saxby, Founder and CEO of Accelent Marketing:

Mike Splane-Presentation Tips

Barbara Saxby-The Top Ten List on Pitching VCs

2.  Useful Files and Links From the PricewaterhouseCoopers' Vision to Reality Web Page:

PwC V2R - PricewaterhouseCoopers' Vision to Reality

3. The following is useful information for budding entrepreneurs provided by the Woodside Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm located in Silicon Valley and founded in 1983. They place importance on developing solid relationships that are built on trust – Woodside Fund regards entrepreneurs as equal partners. In that regard, their web page contains many articles that describe the steps that start-up entrepreneurs should take:

Woodside Fund Articles

4.  The following information can you learn what to do when starting a new business:

Small Business Administration

SBA - Business Plan Basics

For information and data about small businesses in the U.S., click on:

SBA - Advocate

5.  The New York Small Business Development Center offers an excellent online tutorial that is aimed at "Inspiring Young Adults to Think as Successful Entrepreneurs: Creative Solutions With a Practical Plan."  While developed for high schools, the tutorial is informative and useful:

EntreSkills I

6. American Express provides some advice for writing business plans, and this information can be accessed via the following link:

American Express Small Business

7.  The Bootstrapper's Bible is an excellent presentation/book written by Seth Godin, the former VP of Marketing at Yahoo.  Obtained during the free download period (we have a copy of the authorization to put it on our web page), it provides a wealth of information for the entrepreneur who is long on ideas and effort but short on cash. Bootstrapping means financing a start-up with one's own funds (like putting on your own boots by pulling up on the straps), so if this describes you, check out the following document:

The Bootstrapper's Bible