Start with decisions, not chapters
Before writing, answer four questions: Who is the customer? What do they buy? How do you reach them? What must be true for cash to work? If those are fuzzy, more writing will not help.
Recommended structure
- Executive summary — one page, plain language
- Problem and customer
- Solution and offer
- Market and competition
- Go-to-market
- Operations and team
- Financial plan and funding need
- Risks and next milestones
Financials without fantasy
Build from unit economics upward: price, variable cost, contribution margin, expected volume, fixed costs, and cash timing. Show assumptions. Round numbers that pretend to be perfect usually reduce trust.
When to use AI
Use AI to draft structure and wording quickly, then replace assumptions with your research. On bizzplan.org, you can generate a full first document and edit from there instead of starting from a blank page.
Final checklist
- Can a stranger understand the customer in 60 seconds?
- Do revenue and channel math connect?
- Is the funding ask tied to milestones?
- Did you name the ugly risks?