As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. People cite sources like this BusinessWeek story last year "Real Entrepreneurs Don't Write Business Plans," or even my own article a while back, "10 Reasons Not To Write A Business Plan First."
Let me be clear - business plans are never "required," they should never be written "just for investors," and if you sold your last startup for $800 million, most investors will not expect a plan document. On the other hand, if you are a first-time entrepreneur, the discipline of building a business plan will dramatically improve your success odds, and your odds of finding an investor.
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