The Course Reader is available to registered students on the MIT Steller website for the class. The reader includes the actual full business plan for Virtual Ink, a MIT $50K entrant which went on to launch its Mimio product which captures whiteboard drawings electronically. This Business Plan will be used throughout the course to illustrate concepts. Course Materials listed below without links are included in the Course Reader.

Session 1 -  Part 1:   Introduction to Business Plans

• Virtual Ink Executive Summary
• Virtual Ink Plan: Company and Product Sections
• Virtual Ink Plan: Market Section

Session 1 -  Part 2:   Refining and Presenting Your Venture Idea

• The 10-20-30 Rule for Presentations. Guy Kawasaki Video or Blog.
• PechaKucha, a presentation style imported from Japan that emphasizes speed and graphics. Speakers display 20 slides and spend 20 seconds on each. See, A PechaKucha about PechaKucha.

Session 2 -  Part 1:   Marketing and Sales

• Moore, Geoffrey A., Crossing the Chasm, Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers, HarperBusiness 1991, Chapters 1 and 2. (See Course Reader).
• Review the market and technology sections of the Virtual Ink Plan.

Session 2 -  Part 2:   Business Models

• Christensen, Clayton and Raynor, Michael, The Innovator's Solution, Harvard Business School Press, Chapter 2 "How Can We Beat Our Most Powerful Competitors" (See Course Reader).
• Although it is not included in the Course Reader, we recommend the book Business Model Generation as a useful framework for thinking about Business Models. For the class please review:
  • Busness Model Generation Preview
  • Business Model Canvas

Session 3 -  Part 1:   Financing Sources Panel

• "A Beginner's Guide to Venture Capital"  How is a Venture Capital Fund structured?  How are VCs compensated?  What does this mean for you?.
• Venture Capital Deal Terms  MIT Enterprise Forum presentation.
• "Thinking About Valuation"
• "Dilution – Here Is A Primer of Stock Vocabulary"
• "All Financing Sources Are Not Equal"
• "What Are the Terms? - Part 1: A Preferred Return"
• "What Are the Terms?- Part 2: Investors Need Some Control After Their Checks Are Cashed"
• "What Are the Terms?- Part 3: Run Don’t Walk To The Exit"
• Excerpts from: Venture Support Systems Project: Report on Angel Investors, MIT Entrepreneurship Center, 2000.
  The full report is also available: Full Angel Investor Report.

Session 3 -  Part 2:   Financial Projections

• Chapter 10, "Figuring Out Financials" and Chapter 11, "Forecasting and Budgeting" from Tiffany, Paul and Peterson, Steven, Business Plans for Dummies, IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. 1997.
• Review the financial projections in the Virtual Ink plan.
  • Manufacturing and Operations Section of Virtual Ink Plan
  • Financial Statement in Body of Virtual Ink Plan
  • Detailed Financial Statements in Appendices of Virtual Ink Plan
• Download a copy of the Financial Template to be shown in the lecture.

Session 4 -  Part 1:   Founder's Journey

Read the "Surprising facts from "The Founder's Dilemmas.." in the Course Reader. The full article is at The Founder's Dilemna, HBR Article by Noam Wasserman.

Session 4 -  Part 2:   Legal Issues

• Considerations for Founders: Issues in Structuring Relationships Among Members of the Founding Team
• "Steer Clear of the Tempest: A Start-Up Tragedy in Three Acts"
• "Ten Commandments Of How To Work Effectively With Lawyers"
• "Questions of Copyright: Another Weapon in Property Arsenal"
• "Of Kleenex and Cheez Whiz: Trademarks Are Nothing To Sneeze At"
• "The Importance of Patents: It Pays To Know Patent Regulations"

Session 5 -  Part 1:   Negotiation Skills

There are no assigned readings for this Session.

Session 5 -  Part 2:   Organizational and People Issues

Timmons, Jeffrey A., New Venture Creation- Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century, Chapter 7 "The New Venture Team".

Presentation Materials.
Presentation materials from speakers will be available on-line on the Course Stellar Web Site following each presentation.  The Web Site will also have other materials and references.  Please use nutsandbolts-ta@mit.edu for email.

Documents
Complete Virtual Ink Business Plan 8.1.97