A private stimulus plan for startups
Some people support Obama’ stimulus plan, while many others expressed their disagreements. If you’re not satisfied with the government’s response, what should you do? Well, Mark Cuban had an idea: create his own stimulus plan. This puts a whole new twist in the old saying, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
The billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks announced his intentions last month on his blog, and it’s still ongoing. Joining is simple: leave a comment on his blog, post your business plan, wait for a response. Almost 2000 comments have already been recorded as of this time. Unlike most VC projects, he aims to make his chosen startups profitable as quickly as possible, so your business model should reflect that. Interested? Follow these rules:
1. It can be an existing business or a start up.
2. It can not be a business that generates any revenue from advertising. Why ? Because I want this to be a business where you sell something and get paid for it. Thats the only way to get and stay profitable in such a short period of time.
3. It MUST BE CASH FLOW BREAK EVEN within 60 days
4. It must be profitable within 90 days.
5. Funding will be on a monthly basis. If you dont make your numbers, the funding stops
6. You must demonstrate as part of your plan that you sell your product or service for more than what it costs you to produce, fully encumbered
7. Everyone must work. The organization is completely flat. There are no employees reporting to managers. There is the founder/owners and everyone else
8. You must post your business plan here, or you can post it on slideshare.com , scribd.com or google docs, all completely public for anyone to see and/or download
9. I make no promises that if your business is profitable, that I will invest more money. Once you get the initial funding you are on your own
10. I will make no promises that I will be available to offer help. If I want to , I will. If not, I wont.
11. If you do get money, it goes into a bank that I specify, and I have the ability to watch the funds flow and the opportunity to require that I cosign any outflows.
12. In your business plan , make sure to specify how much equity I will receive or how I will get a return on my money.
13. No mult-level marketing programs.
Yesterday, he posted some of the early favorites to get funding, and it’s worth your while to study them to see what he’s looking for. The list was a mix of food and tech ventures, which might reflect Cuban’s own personality. If you have similarly brilliant ideas, go to the blog and leave a comment. Be sure to think it through and leave a short but compelling argument on why he should choose you.
Best of luck.
Share your thoughts!!!