without the right team, none of the other parts real-
ly matters.
I read the résumés of the venture’s team with a
list of questions in mind. (See the insert “Who Are
These People, Anyway?”) All these questions get at
the same three issues about the venture’s team
members: What do they know? Whom do they
know? and How well are they known?
What and whom they know are matters of insight
and experience. How familiar are the team mem-
bers with industry players and dynamics? Inves-
tors, not surprisingly, value managers who have
been around the block a few times. A business plan
should candidly describe each team member’s
knowledge of the new venture’s type of product or
service; its production processes; and the market it-
self, from competitors to customers. It also helps to
indicate whether the team members have worked
together before. Not played – as in roomed together
in college–but worked.
Investors also look favorably on a team that is
known because the real world often prefers not to
deal with start-ups. They’re too unpredictable.
That changes, however, when the new company is
run by people well known to suppliers, customers,
and employees. Their enterprise may be brand new,
but they aren’t. The surprise element of working
with a start-up is somewhat ameliorated.
Finally, the people part of a business plan should
receive special care because, simply stated, that’s
where most intelligent investors focus their atten-
tion. A typical professional venture-capital firm re-
