Dr. Dan Nathanson
Anderson Graduate School of Business UCLA

What is the difference between a start-up business plan and one for an ongoing business?

So you need to ask the question what's the difference between an on-going business and a start-up business. The start up business has to rely on assumptions, making assumptions about the market, the product, the customers, who will buy, when they'll buy, if they will buy. And you have to test these assumptions before you start. You have to present a convincing argument to potential investors, employees, partners and most of all to yourself… that this thing is going to work. That's why you need to do this market testing, product testing, and all before you get into it.

Knowing your business. And when investors look at it, they're going to look and see how credible you are. Not so much the idea, first is the management. Management, management, management. Those are the three things that are most important about starting and running a business. Then comes the idea. If you have a great idea and a crummy management team, you're finished. The investors wont even look at you. If you have an A management team and a B idea, that's ok because they know you'll work with it and make it happen.