The Business Plan Experts…

For this blog post, I decided to analyze Maureen Burke and Robert Kibble. The two individuals are experts in the field of examining business plans and giving financial advice to major businesses and entrepreneurs around the globe. Both individuals have earned prestigious positions professionally in education and business.   

Maureen Burke is a faculty advisor at Yale School of Management and throughout her career has 20 years' experience in entrepreneurship and finance. She obtained her MBA in finance from Yale School of Management where she uses her degree as a lecturer at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and consultant for clients such as: Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation and Conti Enterprises, Inc. just to name a few. Throughout her professional career she has written business plans and consulted for numerous industries that evolve around technology, environment, and medicine.

“Since graduating from SOM in 1997, her focus has been advising entrepreneurs and technology-based start-up companies. She has consulted to and written business plans for a variety of entrepreneurs in emerging technology companies covering industries such as biotechnology, environmental technologies, and medical devices” (2012, Maureen Burke).

Robert Kibble is a “co-Founder and Managing Partner of Mission Ventures” (2007, Mission Venture Team). Mission Ventures is a venture capitalist company in San Diego, California that manages over $500 million in funds. Robert Kibble was a former Director of the National Venture Capital Association and currently represents Mission’s leadership role. In addition, He has worked as a founding General Partner of Paragon Venture Partners for a period of thirteen years as well as serving as Vice President of Citicorp’s Merchant and Citicorp Venture Capital. His career has taken him in several markets working in Wall Street, banking, and business analysis. He has a Master’s Degree from the Darden School, University of Virginia.

After looking at the biography of the two experts chosen in business plan analysis, we now examine the key components that investors and experts that analyze business plans, are looking for. They examine information in the following order: Executive Summary; Financials; Management; Exit Plan, and Terms of Deals. These five areas are crucial because they are the most commonly asked questions. Most importantly the three areas that must spark an interest in the reader are the Executive Summary, Financials, and Management. In addition, these key components spell out exactly what the business is and what it is capable of.    

“Three sections—the Executive Summary, the Financials, and the Management description—must speak enough interest and inspire sufficient confidence to make the reader decide it is worthwhile to spend additional time reading other sections of your plan.” (2010, Successful Business Plan, Rhonda Abrams)

Thus, when we look at the company Mission Ventures, we see that their practice of focus when investing in a business plan are: “Executive Summary Review, Pre-Investment Analysis and Due Diligence, Investment Decision, Deal Structuring, Extensive Value-Adding, Post-Investment Involvement, and Investment Liquidity Strategy” (2012, About Mission Ventures).

By, Troika K. Hanna

Work cited:

Kay Miranda, eHow Money (2012).

Retrieved June 26, 2012 from: http://www.ehow.com/about_5066207_key-components-business-plan.html  

Maureen Burke, (2012).

Retrieved June 26, 2012 from: http://mba.yale.edu/faculty/profiles/burke.shtml

Mission Ventures, Robert Kibble biography, (2007).

Retrieved June 26, 2012 from: http://www.missionventures.com/team/kibble.html

Rhonda Abrams,

Successful Business Plan. The Planning Shop, Palo Alto, California  (2010).

The Mobile Device

— Forecast For The Mobile Entertainment Market —

The mobile market is stated as one of the fastest growing trends in the entertainment and gaming industry.  Because of consumer demand and the advances in technology, the mobile market is seen as the next step for all industry markets. When we analyze the other markets we see that the mobile trends are what consumers are buying into and utilizing to conduct business and entertainment. The article, Mobile Entertainment Market – Global Industry Size, Market Share, Trends, Analysis, And Forecasts 2012 – 2018, states that, “Mobile gambling and social media are the fastest growing segments of the mobile entertainment industry.” This further explains the affect and influence mobile trends have on the industry. The article gives facts on gross earnings that are predicted in the year 2015 where the entertainment industry will earn an unconceivable amount of funds through streaming, video, games, and social media. The article states that due to consumer habits and the increase attention towards mobile devices that the entertainment industry would benefit in the years to come. Major brands and companies will begin to invest heavily in any area of entertainment that involves mobile devices such as: “mobile music, mobile gaming, mobile personalization, mobile content, and other premium content” (2012, Business Research Industry).

      Today mobile music is the leading niche that drives consumer spending in the entertainment industry and will continue you to be in the years to come. Since Apple, Inc. created the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, music downloads and, or Apps that are utilized to access music software have been the leading driving force. The article also states that because of this presence of mobile technology companies would not only benefit from consumer purchase, but app-advertising as well. There will be great demand for graphic and web designers, SEO development, and services that work through social media. This is because with the use of mobile devices, companies will be using more non-traditional methods of advertising. Some of the major key players in the entertainment industry that have already fully engaged in the usages of mobile devices are: Apple, AT & T, Android, Blackberry, Motorola Droid, and Vodafone just to name a few. These major companies have not only lead how entertainment is distributed to consumers, but have also altered and changed the consumer purchasing habit. This change in consumer purchasing habits is what will drive the entertainment industry to earning a “USD 54 billion over the year 2015” (2012, Business Research Industry).   

Work Cited:

Business Research Industry, (2012).

Mobile Entertainment Market – Global Industry Size, Market Share, Trends, Analysis, And Forecasts 2012 – 2018.  Retrieved June 12, 2012 from, http://www.businessresearchindustry.com/mobile-entertainment-market-global-industry-size-market-share-trends-analysis-and-forecasts-2012-2018/

What's New...

Watch Out Here Comes XBOX

When we look at the achievements and accomplishments of the XBOX, we see that the counsel is one of the leading counsels in the gaming and entertainment industry. The Xbox is listed in the top 3 gaming systems in the world: Xbox 360, Play Station, and Nintendo Wii. In the year 2013 and years to come, there is big talk about video games, television, and business focusing more on On-live and streaming systems. Just as we are able to analyze how Apple, Inc., affected the music industry Microsoft is now on the verge in following in the very same footstep. Apple, Inc. had introduced iTunes, the iPod, and the use of Mp3 files on mobile devices. This development caused record labels and consumers to rethink how music was produced, distributed, and consumed. Thus in the article 3 Ways the Next Xbox Could Change the Entertainment Industry Microsoft is engaging to focus on the areas of: Streaming TV, Television with a built-in gaming system, and having no use for used games. This means that the home entertainment would be more focused on live time experiences just as how the most watched TV programs are now reality shows. 

The article states that Microsoft through the use of the Xbox is working on building partnerships with Disney’s ESPN 3 channel, Verizon, and Comcast. The device would then be operational as how consumers are now able to use Netflix through their cable provider. Microsoft has already established a partnership with News Corp. of which offers Fox, Fox News, and the Wall Street Journal to the game counsel. In addition, through the use of streaming games would create a differentiation of sales with most distributors. For example when looking at GameStop, one of the world’s largest retailers for used games, it was stated that 50% of the company’s profit comes from used-game sales. “Retailers like GameStop (NYSE:GME) have built empires on reselling games—used game sales accounted for nearly 50% of GameStop’s profits, $292 million in its second quarter alone—while publishers and console makers like Microsoft never see a dime” (Anthony John Agnello, 2012). Thus we see that with changes in the gaming industry or “Xbox” will have a spiral affect in the entertainment industry. Home entertainment and major retailers that are involved in the gaming industry are all going to be affected as more and more company’s follow in the direction of Microsoft to compete.    

                       

Work Cited:

Anthony, John Agnello, 3 Ways the Next Xbox Could Change the Entertainment Industry, 2012.

Retrieved Thursday, May 31^st, 2012 from: http://www.investorplace.com/2012/02/3-ways-the-next-xbox-could-change-the-entertainment-industry-msft-aapl-ntdoy/

Picture courtesy: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/722291/xbox-360-successor-rumors-surface-christmas-2013-release-dual-gpus-more/