Startup 101

Guy Kawasaki gives a quick tutorial on start-ups in today's Forbes. He touches on some communication issues in the process. My favorite answer is the last line below (and it's true!)

Is there a business plan model that most VCs prefer?

Is this a trick question? Let's assume it's not. VCs want a 20 to 30 page document (including any appendices). It should cover these major areas:

Executive summary
Problem
Solution
Business model
Underlying magic
Marketing and sales
Competition
Team
Projections
Status and timeline

You should boil down your projections to one page. Include not only your "conservative" drug-induced financials but also the key metrics of your company such as the number of customers or installations. Frankly, of these 20 pages, only the executive summary counts.