http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Dave+Lavinsky Business Management Dave Lavinsky Sat, 03 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=22046&ca=Business+Management Business plans continue to be an essential element of the capital-raising process. They must convince investors to take notice - investors that are shrewder today due to the ups-and-downs they have experienced over the past few years. Adding to the financing challenge is the plethora of high-quality... Business Dave Lavinsky Sat, 03 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=22047&ca=Business When a company decides that it must raise capital, a key question that must be answered is how much the company is worth. For example, if the business needs $500,000 to get started and/or grow, how much of the equity in that company should $500,000 command? Once this question is answered, the compan... Business Management Dave Lavinsky Wed, 23 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=20597&ca=Business+Management Most companies that are worthy of raising venture capital have proprietary Intellectual Property (IP). In fact, the quality of the IP and the management team are often the two most important aspects of a venture capitalist’s investment decision. The challenge that many ventures face, however, is tha... Business Dave Lavinsky Wed, 23 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=20598&ca=Business Many ventures are faced with the challenging task of raising venture capital. The first part of this process is finding the right venture capital firm (VC). While this may seem simple, it isn’t. There are thousands of venture capital firms in the United States alone, and going after the wrong ones i... Business Dave Lavinsky Mon, 14 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=18725&ca=Business Many investors skip straight to the financial section of the business plan. It is critical that the assumptions and projections in this section be realistic. Plans that show penetration, operating margin and revenues per employee figures that are poorly reasoned, internally inconsistent or simply un... Marketing Dave Lavinsky Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=18726&ca=Marketing The Marketing Plan section of the business plan demonstrates how a company will penetrate the market with its products and services. The Marketing Plan should include “the four P’s” – Product, Promotions, Price, and Place. Products and/or Services The first “P” stands for Product, but includes all p... Business Management Dave Lavinsky Sat, 29 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=16429&ca=Business+Management All investors greatly desire and are motivated by a clear picture of a company’s exit strategy, or the timing and method through which they can “cash in” on their investment. This picture best comes into focus when the key valuation and liquidity drivers of the company are clearly delineated. An exc... Business Management Dave Lavinsky Sat, 29 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=16430&ca=Business+Management When companies enter into negotiations with venture capital firms, there are several issues which need to be defined and agreed upon. This article describes the key issues. Valuation. Valuation is the most prominent negotiating issues. Valuation is the price of the company in which the venture capit... Gardening Dave Lavinsky Thu, 27 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=16745&ca=Gardening In the summer, the sun is shining and everything is vibrant. Even the summer flowers are brighter and bolder. No meek pastels or pasty whites here; summer flower bulbs are vivacious. While less hardy plants are dried, brown, and dying, summer flowers are bright, alive, and thriving. Summer flower bu... Business Management Dave Lavinsky Wed, 12 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=14589&ca=Business+Management In developing their business plans, companies of all sizes face the challenge of determining the size of their markets. To begin, companies must present the size of their “relevant market” in their plans. The relevant market equals the company's sales if it were to capture 100% of its specific niche...