Startup business plan checklist: what to include

A good first business plan does not need to be long. It needs to make your key decisions visible and show clearly what you still do not know. Use this checklist before you share your plan with anyone, whether that is an investor, lender, partner or your own team.

1. One-page summary

• Problem stated in one or two sentences
• Target customer named specifically
• Solution and the outcome it creates
• How you make money
• Traction or evidence to date
• What you need next (funding, partners, hires) and why

2. Customer and problem

• One clearly described primary customer
• The specific moment the problem shows up
• What they use or do today instead
• Evidence the problem matters: interviews, waitlist, pilots or direct experience

3. Solution

• What you offer, in plain language
• What changes for the customer
• Why now
• Current stage: idea, prototype, pilot or launched

4. Business model

• Who pays, how much and how often
• Cost to deliver for each customer
• Expected cost to acquire a customer
• Pricing assumptions labeled as assumptions

5. Market

• Bottom-up estimate: reachable customers multiplied by price
• Any outside figures cited with their source
• Where you will start and how you could expand

6. Go-to-market and operations

• Acquisition channels you will test first
• Sales motion: self-serve, direct sales, partners
• Fulfillment needs, tools and people
• The next 90 days with owners and milestones

7. Competition

• Direct competitors named
• Indirect alternatives, including doing nothing
• Where you are better, and where you are not

8. Financial view

• Revenue, costs and cash for at least the first year, ideally three
• Key assumptions listed next to the numbers
• Funding needed, what it pays for and how long it lasts
• Projections labeled as projections

9. Team

• Relevant experience described accurately
• Roles still to fill
• Advisors or partners, only with their permission

10. Risks and unknowns

• The three biggest uncertainties
• The evidence that would resolve each one
• The experiment you will run to learn more

Final checks before you send it

• A stranger can understand the summary in a minute
• Numbers match across every section
• Every statistic has a source
• No promises you cannot keep
• Format matches what the recipient asked for
• Someone you trust has read it

Next steps

If several boxes are empty, that is normal. It is your research list. For guidance on each section, read how to write a business plan for investors and the five biggest planning mistakes. A printable version of this checklist is available on our free founder resources page. If you would rather have help filling the gaps, see how Voice to Venture works.