Evan Carmichael Top Header about About About facebook Twitter YouTube Google+

The Twitter Lesson: No Business Plans Please



Free PDF Download
Sorry, You Can’t Be My Online Friend - By Paul Kedrosky

Name: Email:


Seeing that Twitter closed a funding round, and spotting the associated incredulity about Evan's company not having a business plan, reminded me of something: Whatever your feelings about Twitter, business plans are overrated, and profits perhaps even more so.

Why? Two reasons. First, because VCs are professional nit-pickers. Give them something to find fault with, and they'll do it with abandon. I generally tell people to come to pitch meetings with less information rather than more. Sure, you'll get pressed for more, but finesse it. Presenting a full and detailed plan is, nine times out of ten, a path to a "No" -- or at least more time-consuming than having said less.

Profits are a different issue. Being profitable too soon gives investors, rightly or wrongly, an idea of what the margins are on the business, as opposed to what they could be in some perfect world. As a result, it takes a mighty force for them to not start wading in with discounted present value worksheets, and the like, thus hammering your valuation and generally making funding much more complicated (and equity consuming) than if you were wildly unprofitable.


Related Articles

  An Indexing Filing System Software Will Help Professors and Teachers with Paper Files
  You're Addicted to Twitter If You..
  How Twitter can have a postive effect on your business
  Building a Large Audience on Twitter Ninja Tips
  Blogging, Articles and Twitter - A Powerful Marketing Combination
  Is Twitter For The Birds?
  Four Easy Twitter Tools to Supplement Your Marketing
  Why Twitter?
  Wanna Know How To Increase Twitter Followers?
  Avoid These 5 Twitter Mistakes
  Razban Golden Rule 3: Executive Coach's Game Plan
  How to Use Twitter for Business
  Who Is Your Proud Family?
  Twitter Tips: The Secrets You Should Know
  Twabulous Twitter Tools
  Writers Not Allowed to Use "Tweet" Word
  Utiziling Social Media is Smart Business
  Legal Marketing: Why use Twitter?
  Twitter Tools: The Definitive List of the Best Twitter Tools Ever
  Read On Book Review ~ twitter Revolution

Home > Entrepreneur-Advice > Paul Kedrosky > The Twitter Lesson No Business Plans Please >

Free PDF Download
Sorry, You Can’t Be My Online Friend - By Paul Kedrosky

Name: Email:

About the Author: Paul Kedrosky

RSS for Paul's articles - Visit Paul's website
Dr. Kedrosky is currently the Executive Director of the William J. von Liebig Center in San Diego, California. Using an innovative seed capital program, the Center catalyzes the commercialization of technologies from the internationally-ranked University of California, San Diego. Dr. Kedrosky is also a venture investor with Ventures West, Canada's largest institutional venture capital firm, where he is most active in consumer technologies and software. He is currently on the board of Marqui Corporation, a marketing automation software company.
Click here to visit Paul's website.
Dashed Line

Infectious Greed
More from Paul Kedrosky
10 Rules for Being a Great Panel Moderator
Peter Bernstein on Amaranth Better to be Wrong Than Too Right
Bees Nesting and Markets
Drunks A Wall Entrepreneurs and Jobs
The Temporal Dependence of a VCs No

Related Forum Posts

New Study - Women prepare better business plans New Study - Women prepare better business plans
Re: Twitter vs Facebook Re: Twitter vs Facebook
Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods
My entry My entry
Re: Using Twitter To Double Your Traffic? Re: Using Twitter To Double Your Traffic?

Share this article. Fund someone's dream.

Share this post and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
Share for a Cause
Featured Article



Worksheets
By: Evan Carmichael

8 Powerful Steps to Finding Your Passion

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Does your pitch suck?

Create a plan of attach to launch your new business.

8-Cover

Like this page? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Bottom Footer



Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

Why Use an Advertising Agency

Discovering Ideas On Working From Home

Coaching In The Workplace

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.