Category Archives: Planning

Salesforce Releases Tools to Help Businesses Reopen Safely

Salesforce Releases Tools to Help Businesses Reopen Safely.  Work.com is a set of tools to help businesses reopen workplaces and maintain employee safety.

Work.com includes tools to track employee health, make company-wide health announcements, manage shifts to reduce human density, and keep track of data and regulations. The data can be monitored in a command center.

Various services will be priced as separate add-ons for existing Salesforce subscriptions.

Salesforce perceives the pandemic as having three phases:

  • Crisis response

  • An extended period of recovery

  • A new normal.

All organizations will pass through all three phases

Remote Does Not Work For All Businesses

Many organizations are working remotely . Some will continue to do so for some time. Others cannot do this.

Those locations will need to enable and enforce social distancing at work, while monitoring employee health.

Companies must rethink some things once assumed as being normal. Examples of solutions include:

  • Bringing employees back into work-spaces in separate groups at different sequential times
  • Scheduling when certain categories of people can use elevators or narrow hallways, in order to maintain desired distancing.

The tools include courses and training to help people learn new ways of working together and how to understand and execute safety measures.

Salesforce assigned hundreds of employees to build these applications.  Previously, Salesforce:

  • Offered Salesforce Care, tools to help businesses stay in touch with employees and customers.

  • Created a group of companies to acquire personal protective equipment to donate to healthcare organizations.

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Update – Early Stage Business Plan White Paper

This Update – Early Stage Business Plan White Paper information is for the White Paper Startup Presentations To Angel/Seed Stage Investors and Partners Recommendations for Best Practices by John Gale.  This White Paper can be downloaded from our page Business Plans This Post provides updates to this White Paper. Several of my Editorial Review Board…Continue Reading

How to Avoid a Startup Financial Crisis

Startup CEOs need to know how to avoid a startup financial crisis. It is not enough to have an excellent product with sales ramping up and pleased customers. You must also have your finances under control. This is not just managing your “Burn Rate”. How to avoid a startup financial crisis. Financial records and administrative…Continue Reading

Startup CEO thinking too small

Are you as a startup CEO thinking too small and dooming your startup to failure?  You need to “size” your startup size ambitions in alignment with: Your experience and skill set Your co-founders The funds that you can raise within your ecosystem The support that your ecosystem can provide The size of the addressable markets…Continue Reading

Mission Statement Drifting

Is your Mission Statement Drifting? Every early stage startup has a mission statement and a set of employees with job titles and employment contracts (job descriptions usually come later). If you have an outsider ask each officer and key employee to describe the mission statement; how aligned are the responses? You really need to try…Continue Reading

List of Problems Shared by SMEs and Startups

SME Problems and Startup Problems are frequently similar.  SMEs tend to have more problems than established corporations.  Unfortunately some startups share these same types of problems. SME problems shared with many startups Insufficient credibility They are not known; so they are not trusted Inadequate financial resources This can cause management to choose cheap and inadequate…Continue Reading

List of governance issues for startups

All startups will encounter governance issues.  These can be addressed with a governance plan. While some founders of startups think they can manage without planning they will quickly find that the many “moving parts” of a startup begin to gain momentum and management without plans will be complex. There are a number of problems that can…Continue Reading

Government Relations For New Ventures

The importance of Government Relations for New Ventures varies from country to country.  Within a country it can vary from state to state (province to province). Corporate Growth Government programs, laws and regulations, and networking can strongly impact corporate growth of resident parent companies and/or their resident subsidiaries.   Relocation of Headquarters Government programs, laws…Continue Reading

Before You Launch a New Revenue Stream

Ground truth in a new venture within a company is different from ground truth within an unaffiliated startup. These corporate centric issues can be much more political than factual.  The more the new revenue stream is likely to be a new division; the more complex are these issues. What You Need To Know BeforeYou Launch a New…Continue Reading

Monthly Plan

Monthly plans are an important aspect of planning growth and of management control. Monthly Plan Format A 2-3 page Monthly Plan for an emerging revenue stream can include some or all of the following bullet style sections.  Please adapt this list to match your situation.  This format can be used by the CEO officers and…Continue Reading

Plans and Reports For New Ventures

For an emerging revenue stream (startup, new venture or new division), a One Year Plan is typically developed based on a Business Plan.  Weekly, Monthly; and other plans and reports should also be developed and used.  Those units that are a part of established entities likely have document/planning/reporting requirements that overlap with the suggestions in…Continue Reading

Monthly Report For A New Venture

The Monthly Report for a new venture is an important part of communications within a new venture. Monthly Report Components A one (1) page Monthly Report for an emerging revenue stream includes the following bullet style components.  Please adapt this list to match your situation. Title – Unit Name, location, contact information Executive Summary “Department”…Continue Reading

Negotiate With Strength

As an officer in a new venture of some kind you need to negotiate many things; with internal executives with outside stakeholders with suppliers customers and everybody else. Attitude for Negotiation Always Negotiate With Strength!  Never anticipate you will have to accept whatever the other side offers.  You always approach a negotiation with the attitude…Continue Reading

Focus and Setting Priorities

A new venture needs a laser sharp focus to survive and prosper. Setting priorities is important for any stage company.  It is especially important for new ventures and startups.  The successful CEO learns to set aside those tasks that are not important.  Further, he works to complete many important tasks before they become urgent. Extremely…Continue Reading

Early Stage Startup Desired Characteristics

At any given time here are thousands of new ventures and startups.  Many have high energy officers and exciting new ideas.  It can be difficult to separate out those with more likelihood of success. Early Stage Startup Desired Characteristics When you see an early stage startup with characteristics such as those listed below, they are…Continue Reading

Unique Information in Your Investor Presentation

Unique information in your investor presentation will help you to stand out. Each new venture needs to be unique.  So during Investor Presentation Development one needs to consider unique information that has not been addressed in other sections. Unique Information in Your Investor Presentation This section/slide of your presentation to investors should address information that does…Continue Reading

Investor Presentation Development – Fund Raising

Fund-raising is a subject the Company usually wants to discuss only with Investors. However, business partners and customers are also interested and in early days may insist on knowing about it. Business development executives and Investors prefer that the Company include valuation expectations. However, the Company is advised to be informed on this; but not…Continue Reading

Robust Business Model

A number of well informed executives feel that for an early stage new venture having developed a robust business model is more important than spending time on writing a good business plan. Robust Business Model The Business Model section/slide of an investor presentation should address: A robust description of the Company’s business model The best…Continue Reading

Investor Presentation Development – Technology and IP

For a first presentation, some technically focused strategic funds and some technology companies will wish to see much more technical information. For example, some in the semiconductor industry will prefer to see a one hour technical presentation at the block diagram level. Investor Presentation Development – Technology and IP This slide should address: What is…Continue Reading

Investor Presentation Development – Competition

  Investor Presentation Development – Competition This section/slide of your investor presentation should address: Who are the competitors? There is ALWAYS competition in the eyes of a prospect. Even if the potential customer is doing nothing, the Company must overcome the customer’s inertia and current allocation of money to unrelated products and services. What do…Continue Reading

Investor Presentations – Customers and Partners

For Investor Presentations – Customers and Partners are essential information.  Having real, paying customers who will talk to potential investors is a key asset for a startup in raising funds.  If you do succeed in raising funds before having paying customers, your valuation will be disadvantageous (terrible). Investor Presentations – Customers and Partners This section/slide…Continue Reading

Investor Presentation – Achievements and Assets

One important aspect of an Investor Presentation – Achievements and Assets.  This is compelling information as to what has been accomplished to date. Investor Presentation – Achievements and Assets This section/slide should address: Description of history or track record including a list of key achievements to date, probably in a timeline format. One example is FDA…Continue Reading

Board of Advisors

Board of Advisors A Board of Advisors is most valuable early; at the angel or seed stage, and less crucial later. This is because potential investors in early stage entities frequently like to see advisors in place.  A Board of Advisors typically includes Advisors of various types (business technological market etc.) as well as attorneys;…Continue Reading

Investor Presentation – Market Opportunity

Investor Presentation – Market Opportunity This section/slide should address: Target markets showing segmentation based on the Standard Industrial Classification Code (SIC Code) or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS Codes); or similar codes as used in your country.  How large is each, how are they growing?  What part of which segments are addressable and why?…Continue Reading

Investor Presentation – Strategy

For an Investor Presentation – Strategy is an essential part.  The overall Strategy by which the new venture will achieve its goals is very important. Investor Presentation – Strategy This section/slide should address: A high level discussion of how the company will accomplish its mission; with an emphasis on the next twelve months. It includes…Continue Reading

Mission Statement in Investor Presentation

Mission Statement The Mission Statement section/slide should address: What the company will do in the next 6-12 months. This should be quantified as much as possible (revenue, product features completed, achieving some level of distribution, or etc.).  As the startup evolves the Mission Statement will evolve into its traditional form.  Thus for a more mature…Continue Reading

Versions of the Business Plan PowerPoint

Versions of the Business Plan PowerPoint vary for several reasons.  In presenting to an Angel Investor Seed Stage Investor or to a potential Partner a new venture will hopefully make several presentations over the course of several meetings.  Thus agenda and presentations must be prepared for Meeting#1 Meeting #2 and so forth.  During the course…Continue Reading

Investor Presentation – Executive Summary

Prepare this section last. As a slide, a paragraph in your 1-2 page Executive Summary and as a section in your 20 page Business Plan; this section includes many of your compelling statements, your most compelling graphic and all of your key customer/partner logos. Investor Presentation – Executive Summary With only your Executive Summary slide,…Continue Reading

Investor Presentation Development

As you start developing your Investor Presentation for your early stage startup, you are really developing or modifying your Business Plan. Work through addressing the following Sections. This list may change slightly depending on your business.  Plan on a 20 minute presentation.  But be prepared to use only one slide to do a very short;…Continue Reading

Digital Life in 2025

This Pew Research Center market projection provides “15 Theses About the Digital Future” in 60 pages. The More-Hopeful Theses ”Information sharing over the Internet will be so effortlessly interwoven into daily life that it will become invisible, flowing like electricity, often through machine intermediaries.” page 23 ”The spread of the Internet will enhance global connectivity that fosters…Continue Reading

Financial Exit

The Financial Exit for a startup or new revenue stream is when the investors, co-founders, and any other equity owners receive cash or stock in an acquiring entity for their investment in the business. Types of Financial Exits Acquisition by a corporation or other investor.  This is the most common form of Financial Exit for…Continue Reading

Startup Business Focus

Concentrate on startup business focus while progressing through the corporate formation of a startup.  And again during all planning processes.  Your Angel and VC investors will especially appreciate your attention to these points: Investors and all other stakeholders want a startup to have a strong startup business focus.  It is good to have multiple future…Continue Reading

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