Business Plan For A Tech Startup – Step By Step Guide
Table of Contents
A solid business plan is one of the crucial things that a tech start-up needs. The business plan is meant to provide clarity of vision, structure of operations, and increase the chances of attracting investors’ interest.
I will share a step-by-step guide on how a tech startup can write a business plan.
What Is A Business Plan
A business plan is a document that outlines a business idea, the goals, strategies and financial projections of the business. The plan serves as a guide or a road map for the business, with each section outlining how the business will function.
The step-by-step guide on how to write a business plan for a tech start-up includes the following sections.
- Executive Summary and Business Description
- The Problem The Business Idea Intends To Solve
- The Solution To The Problem
- Market Analysis
- The Business Model
- Marketing And Sales Strategy
- Competitive Analysis
- The Product Development
- The Team To Work With
- Financial Projections
- The Funds Needed
Now, let’s discuss how a tech start-up can create a business plan using this step-by-step guide.
Executive Summary and Business Description
The first step in writing a business plan is the executive summary of what the business is about. This section discusses the business’s purpose, the offerings it provides, and its objectives.
Here is an example:
XYZ is a cloud-based inventory and analytics tool that aims to solve problems for small e-commerce stores. XYZ intends to do this by integrating with other platforms. XYZ is designed to help online merchants track sales, automate restocking and gain more customer insights.
The mission behind XYZ is to empower 50,000 small businesses around the world to make smarter decisions.
The Problem The Business Idea Intends To Solve
The second step is the problem statement. In this section, you need to clearly state the problem you want to solve and how big it is.
Here is an example:
Lots of e-commerce merchants depend on manual spreadsheets for their work, and this has caused lots of inefficiencies in stock management, records, analytics and time wastage.
The Solution To The Problem
The third part is the solution you are bringing to the table. For this section, you need to clearly explain how your solution will solve the problem better than other alternatives in the field.
Here is an example;
XYZ wants to save e-commerce merchants the time and stress of manually making spreadsheets, stocks, records, etc, by integrating a system that converts multiple data sources into an easy-to-read and use format.
Market Analysis
This part is where you do a breakdown of what the market size, trends and customers for the business will look like.
Here is an example:
The market analysis for XYZ, based on the global analysis, projects that tools like XYZ in the e-commerce space will hit $50 billion by 2030, with over 28 million active small and medium online stores. XYZ, based on this analysis, targets independent businesses generating between $ 12,000 – $300 000 in sales monthly.
The Business Model
The sole aim of the business is to solve problems while making money. For this part, you need to clarify how the money will be made.
Here is an example
XYZ will use a subscription model to solve problems for customers. For basic functions, they will subscribe 25$ a month, for advanced functions, they will subscribe $50 a month and a higher value for a yearly plan.
Marketing And Sales Strategy
The only way to solve problems and make money is to find your customers. Not everyone but those who need your services and the solution you are offering.
Here is an example
To get customers, we’ll utilise paid ads content marketing through SEO and e-commerce platforms. Partner with other developers in the field, offer free trials to customers to earn their trust and partner with influencers to gain more attention.
Competitive Analysis
There have to be loopholes that the current tools in that field are not solving. And that’s your competitive advantage.
Here is an example:
I will use letters to represent the features and other competitors. The Table Aims To Compare What The competitors are Lacking That Your Product Wants To Solve
Features | XYZ | QRS | JKL |
BKL | Yes | No | yes |
CFG | Yes | Yes | no |
MNH | Yes | No | no |
The Product Development
The product development roadmap involves how you want to grow the product from the launch to expansion.
For example
A shoe-making company might want to partner with companies like Amazon and the like. To get more eyes on their product. It all depends on the kind of product.
The Team To Work With
Now, you have to include how your business will function. Who will be in your team, and what will be their roles and expertise?
For example
Our team would include a CEO, software engineers, etc., to get the job done faster.
Financial Projections
Your business should have a long-term goal, and that’s where financial projections come into the picture. You need to project the revenue and expenses of your business
For example
In one year, the business budgets $000,000 in revenue and $000 000 in expenses.
The Funds Needed
The last part is optional. This part is applicable to those who need investment. In this section, you need to state how much is needed and what it will be used for.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to write a business plan for a tech startup business, it is important to note that you can tailor this format or sections for any business plan you want to write on. And work on it to suit the purpose for which you want to use it.
It is important to keep in mind that your business plan needs to be written in a comprehensive way that is clear and easy to understand, and anyone can pick it up and use it. This is why you need to use realistic projections and simple grammar.