What NOT to write in your business plan…

Some phrases that are immediately negatively flagged by VC’s:

“because of our innovative technology, we have no competitors.”

“the next Google.”

“the next Facebook.”

“adoption will mimic that of the iPod.”

Random and seemingly baseless statistics like, “we plan on getting 1% of the market.”

WHY?
There are ALWAYS competitors and alternatives to the product/service. Even if it is a disruptive technology, customers are currently doing something to fulfill the need. What is it and why is yours so good, it will make them switch?

Google and Facebook didn’t even know they were going to be Google and Facebook- neither do you.

Distribution and adoption are some of the most difficult things to do. It is extremely important to say exactly how it will be done, especially if it is a hardware solution.

Although financials are estimates, try to work from the bottom up and give reasons rather than just random numbers.