I am always interested in investing in new venues. Few days back, I stumbled upon a bunch of entrepreneurs who wanted to develop a 3D action game. It looked like a freaky idea and I was all game for it. I asked them to put together a basic business plan. Nothing monstrous. Just a simple paper-napkin business plan.
I got back a business plan, which looks like this:
This is the most funny business plan I have ever seen. I could not help myself but share it with you all. I have removed the name of the company which was scribbled on top of this page!
Few things to notice:
- The plan talks about all expenses. It does not talk about revenue channel.
- The salaries of administrative staff = salaries of production staff.
- They want to start off with 3000-4000 sq feet space. I do not remember seeing many start-ups doing that. May be I am an old fashioned guy, but I think start-ups should work at shoestring budget to pull break-even point closer and to allow more space for experimentation.
- No cost for the game development engine. I have heard that this is one of the major costs in starting off a game development company.
- No breakup for administrative expenses which amounts to almost INR 1 million every month.
- Investment in 2.25 million pieces media for a product which has not been test-marketed.
- Approximating INR 75.425 million to INR 80 million. It clearly shows that they do not value money.
The business plan clearly shows:
- There is no plan.
- The team does not know about the business that they want to get into.
- They are non-committed.
It goes without saying that I will never associate myself with such a business.
Why don’t you write a brief note on how to write a business plan to educate the budding talent who cannot think beyond what they will get?
Good idea Arun! I will put together a template for writing a simple “paper-napkin business plan” for every one. Thank you for your push.
Abhishek