“If I’m an investor, I’m looking for someone who is smart and motivated,” said George Simmons, a partner with Derby Management in Boston. “You have to show me that you know what the customer really wants.”
And winning over investors starts with an effective business plan. On Feb. 15, Simmons shared his insights with more than 80 would-be entrepreneurs during a workshop he taught for the Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The workshop focused on producing an effective business plan. The 90-minute course was timed to benefit entrepreneurs interested in entering this year’s Rhode Island Business Plan Competition.
Contestants have until April 2 to enter the competition, which will award prizes worth more than $200,000 in May.
The competition is unique in that it is community-based and sponsored, maintaining an individual identity. It is supported by private businesses, colleges and universities, public entities and nonprofit organizations. It shares the same goals with the RI-CIE, to develop an entrepreneurial spirit in Rhode Island and help create or support growth companies that will increase local employment.
The competition has two levels of applicants; student and entrepreneur. Students must be in a graduate or undergraduate program in an accredited school. The entrepreneur category is open to anyone aged 18 or older. A special life sciences award will be given to applicants who propose to create a new life sciences business in Rhode Island with the potential to grow and create local jobs.
Workshop attendees ranged from students to established businesspeople, including some with little or no business experience.
Peter Lowy of Business Communication Strategies in Brookline, Mass., helps run the competition. “It’s interesting that this workshop draws a broad cross section of people and they are all very focused,” he said. “Similar workshops like this are held in cities throughout the Northeast and Canada, but they don’t draw as much as we do [in Providence].”
Lowy, however, says the number of workshop attendees doesn’t always match the number of contest applicants.
In both 2009 and 2010, the contest attracted 60 applicants. Last year that number increased to 103 contestants.
“It’s a learning experience that takes some time,” he said. “Some people will leave here and reassess where they stand and might not apply [for the competition] until next year. There is a gestation period involved in many of the applications we see,” Lowy said. “This course will open up a lot of eyes as to what [is] involved and some might not be prepared this year.”
“It has a patent pending, it took two-and-a-half years to hear back from the patent office, so hopefully it will be issued soon,” she said.
Loomis found the workshop helpful. “Obviously the better a presentation I can put on, the better my chances are to obtain funding,” she said. “I may or may not enter the competition but either way it has provided valuable information.”
Brown University graduate student Jincong Zheng was there with several friends, all part of a team in the school’s entrepreneurial program.
“It was interesting,” he said of the workshop. “It was also different than what we see in class, which is theoretic,” she said. “We are expected to make our own startup after this year. The program is a one-year program so that’s what we are working on now.”
Simmons was impressed by the turnout for the workshop and enthusiasm of those who attended.
“The people here tonight were very involved and had some great questions,” he said. “For Providence to get this many people in the room tonight, they must be doing something right.”
Simmons’ company provides professional advice to entrepreneurs, from nurturing an idea to advanced financial planning.
“We advise entrepreneurs to put together business plans, raise money and understand how to put together a sales plan,” he said. The company is a general consultant for new firms in the hi-tech arena, but demand was so great that Derby began to hold seminars and three-day “boot camps” to thoroughly teach entrepreneurs how to develop and market their potential business.
During the workshop he taught the basics required for any business plan but also used his personal experience to better assist entrepreneurs in impressing potential investors. He stressed the need for laying the groundwork, including pertinent research and customer validation. Future forecasts should be accurate and meaningful; data should be relevant but not overwhelming, he stressed.
“You’ve got to be willing to work hard, not something like eight hours a week,” he warned. “You also have to be coachable and willing to listen.” •
