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Business Planning 101 Curriculum | Opportunity Analysis | Plan Evaluations
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Opportunity Analysis Paper – we highly recommend student teams take advantage of receiving feedback from judges prior to writing their business plan by submitting the opportunity analysis paper. This paper is optional for students in the competition and does not impact your final score in any way.
The opportunity analysis paper briefly examines the business concept, product/service, industry, market/customer, the founding team, and finances that form the core of your business plan. These elements are often used to determine if “an opportunity” exists before writing a full business plan.
Teams who submit an opportunity analysis paper will get feedback on their idea from the same judges who will review your final plans. The feedback/score for the opportunity analysis evaluation does not count as part of your competition score. Teams can take the feedback received from this review and use it to improve/strengthen their plans.
Please limit this paper to 3 pages.
Opportunity Analysis Evaluation
Please evaluate this paper on the criteria listed below using the following ratings system: 1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = fair/average; 4 = good; 5 = very good.
When rating each topic area, please consider the following:
- Are the questions being asked answered in adequate detail?
- Does the paper show a clear understanding of the elements of a feasibility analysis that should be addressed as part of the business planning process?
- Are the assumptions, projections, and presentations realistic and reasonable?
- Remember: the score on this paper does not count toward the competition score. This paper is meant to provide students feedback on their idea to help tune their business plan.
Product/Service
1. Product/Service Benefits: What are the features and benefits of the product/service?
1 2 3 4 5
2. Product/Service Development: What product/service development tasks must be undertaken and what is the timeline for completion?
1 2 3 4 5
3. Product/Service IP Protection: Is the product/service unique? Is there potential for intellectual property protection?
1 2 3 4 5
4. Product/Service Differentiation: How is the product/service differentiated from others in the market? Is there a competitive advantage?
1 2 3 4 5
Industry
1. Scan of Industry: What are the demographics, trends, and life cycle stages of the industry?
1 2 3 4 5
2. Barriers to Entry: Are there any barriers to entry? If so, what are they? How will you overcome them?
1 2 3 4 5
3. Industry Profit Margin: What are typical profit margins in this industry? Can you be competitive?
1 2 3 4 5
4. Knowledge of Industry Players: Have you talked with distributors, competitors, retailers, etc? Do your findings support your business?
1 2 3 4 5
Market/Customer
1. Customer Demographics/Profile: What are the demographics of the target market?
1 2 3 4 5
2. Customer Understanding: Have you talked to customers? What did they tell you? Do you findings support your business idea?
1 2 3 4 5
3. Competitive Analysis: Who are your competitors? How will you compete?
1 2 3 4 5
4. Distribution: Which distribution channel alternatives are available and which customers will be served by them?
1 2 3 4 5
Founding Team
1. Founders Experience: What experience and expertise does the team have?
1 2 3 4 5
2. Team Gaps: What are the gaps and how will you fill them?
1 2 3 4 5
Financial Considerations
1. Start-up Capital: What are your start-up capital requirements?
1 2 3 4 5
2. Working Capital: What are your working capital requirements?
1 2 3 4 5
3. Fixed Costs: What are your fixed cost requirements?
1 2 3 4 5
4.Positive Cash Flow: How long will it take to achieve a positive cash flow?
1 2 3 4 5
5. Break-even: What is the break-even point for the business?
1 2 3 4 5
