Is it Financial plan in Excel
Founders before starting their startups need to first validate there idea on its financial viability basis which is essential to have clarity on the amount required which is the most crucial component.
No matter how good the idea is or how good the strategy is the most important component is the financials to understand the revenue that needs to be generated and for generating the revenue how much amount needs to be infused and for what purpose.
Financial plan is the crucial and most important aspect, gone are the days where in investors would see napkin business plan or three page business plan these so called business plan have given nightmares to investors who invested in these companies which showed numbers to blownup proportions and investors took the gut feeling of investing.
Any company or any startup should generate revenue other wise it is good only for debate and discussion. For e.g. if you study then you have to pass the exam saying that I studied well but exam is not right way to judge my knowledge can only be debated and discussed.
When you go to interview for job its your marks which define your knowledge of the process on which job is given.
Financial plan gives complete clarity for both the founder and investor, the major hurdle which founder has to justify in the financial plan is bench marking of sales forecast as the same cannot be benchmarked with market size or the industry growth.
Also the strategy which founder wants to adopt to implement he should know the repcurssion of the strategy in terms of financial viability as we have all studied the great Thuglaq who shifted his capital with out understanding the financial viability and the problems faced there after.
Its like you want to travel from place A to B to enjoy the travel you need money to complete the journey you cannot say I will be taking lift from other vehicles and cover the journey.
The best way for founder to validate his idea is only through the excel to understand the financial viability