[markest1973]

"we need to push back on the growing belief that they can eschew writing a business plan when they are too busy 'doing'"

How many startups change their business model when they realize something is not working? Most?

I suppose the only valid thing coming from a business plan is the recognition that you're not hitting your goals, you're running out of runway, and you better adjust course.

Other than that, guessing what your revenue will be 3 years from now and how many employees you'll need to satisfy those mythical customers seems to me to be a colossal waste of time when you could be busy "doing."

[wpietri]

I think it depends a lot on your kind of business.

For the kind of internet businesses VCs like, business plans were always BS. That's because the pivoting and the hockey-stick growth curves make mush out of them.

But I've watched friends start more normal businesses: 1-10 person service or manufacturing businesses. For them the business plan has been really useful in that it has forced them to think through the details. And in particular, made them work out the math.

That math is useless if you're planning on making the next Google; either you'll be buried in money or you'll be done. But margins on real-world businesses are modest, so it's really worth thinking through whether you can turn a profit.

[markest1973]

That's true. My post assumed a software-centric view of the world, where costs are very low and all that matters is a great product.

In most other businesses, it would be very important to know how many widgets you need to sell at what price to float the loan payments for production or to know all your overhead costs before taking on a consulting/service contract. Neither of those require long range planning, though, which I think are still guesses. The immediate budget and plan, however, is important.