than one owner, what percentage of the company does each own? If the company is incorporated, who owns the stock and in what amounts?
What trademarks, copyrights, or patents does the company hold?
What other important legal issues affect the company? (Distribution or licensing agreements? Major lawsuits? Regulatory concerns?)
Your company’s history and milestones may make up the bulk of the Company Description portion of your business plan. In this section, you present the history and progress of your company.
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Examples of Key Milestones
Incorporation
Prototype completed
First product shipped
Major customers secured
Key strategic partnerships secured
Significant sales level reached
First, indicate which phase of development your business is in. The basic stages are:
Seed company. The business concept is developed, but the product or service is not yet finalized. Not yet making sales.
Start-up. In the early stages of operation. Securing first customers.
Expanding. Established company adding new products, services, or branches. Rapidly increasing sales growth.
Stable. Established company with modest ongoing sales growth.
Retrenchment. Consolidating or repositioning product lines. Little or no sales growth.
Next, indicate the progress you’ve already made. Even if yours is a new business, you’ve almost certainly reached key milestones, such as developing a product prototype, securing seed financing, or finding office space. Be sure to include development details that indicate you’re off to a good start.
If your company is up and running, you already have some major accomplishments under your belt, such as reaching significant sales levels, securing major customers, or shipping products. Highlight these in this portion of your Company Description.
Company History, Milestones, and Development to Date
Founded in January 2013 by Scott E. Connors, ComputerEase began operation by providing software training at corporate customers’ offices.
Historical info
In March 2013, Susan Alexander became Vice President for Marketing. Ms. Alexander immediately began an extensive sales campaign, targeting 200 large companies in the Vespucci area.
In August 2013, ComputerEase opened its software Training Center at its present location in downtown Vespucci, enabling the company to significantly expand its offerings.
Identifies key milestone
Also in August 2013, ComputerEase released its first online training classes, accessible over the company’s website. Site licenses were offered to larger corporations with more extensive ongoing training needs.
In its first nine months of operation, the company conducted 184 training programs, and secured ongoing training contracts with 11 primary target corporate customers in its local geographic area. And despite investing very little in marketing its online programs during the first two months offering them, ComputerEase acquired three national accounts.
Key milestones reached
When was your company founded?
How would you describe your current phase of development? (Seed? Start-up? Expanding? Stable? Retrenchment?)
What are some of the highlights of your company’s history? What milestones have you reached so far?
Identify the specific types of products or services you sell. If you have a large product line or offer many services, you don’t need to list each one separately. Instead, list the general categories.
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Version 1.0
One concept that has taken hold in the development of certain products is the “Minimal Viable Product.” The idea is to quickly get a product to market, and later make improvements based on the experience of actual customers. Google’s product development mantra, for instance, is “Experiment, Expedite, Iterate.” In other words, the company tries a lot of new things, moves quickly, and refines and improves along the way.
Clearly you don’t want a minimally viable product for a medical device or automobile. But in some categories, such as online services, mobile apps, and personal electronics, consumers are willing—even eager—to pay for version 1.0.
For example, if you’re opening a new gardening center, you don’t need to list all the specific plants and products you’ll sell, just the general nature of your merchandise: “a full line of plants for the home gardener, garden tools, planters and containers, organic plant food and fertilizer, and a small selection of gardening books.”
When describing a product or service, provide just enough detail to give a clear picture of what it is or does. Too much detail makes this section cumbersome for your readers.
However, if you’re seeking financing for a new type of product or service, particularly one that is not immediately understandable to your readers, provide more information. A brief explanation of what you’ll be making or doing is appropriate here. Reserve detailed descriptions of production processes for the Appendix of your business plan.
If you are changing the nature of your products or services, or plan to make changes in the future, describe the changes you anticipate. Explain why you plan to make the change—perhaps a new production method will result in cost savings—and how you expect your product or service line to differ over time.
Services
ComputerEase offers training classes for users of all leading business software programs. The company also devises customer training programs for corporate clients. ComputerEase’s
