Richard Branson and Ken Davenport on Business Plans (Part I)

Posted: Monday, November 28, 2011 by Damian De Luca in Labels: , , , , ,
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Richard Branson is known for building one of the most prominent business empires of all times. The first Virgin company started in 1970 as a successful mail order record retailer as well as a record shop in Oxford Street, London. Shortly afterwards, Virgin expanded to become a promising record label representing groundbreaking artists such as Sex Pistols, Mike Oldfield, Culture Club, and the Rolling Stones. 
Richard Branson
Richard Branson’s vision of embracing bold and innovative musical styles, such as progressive rock and punk, helped Virgin Music flourish and become one of the top six record companies in the world. 
Since then, the Virgin Group has been continuously developing pioneering business ideas and creating thriving companies involved in leisure, travel, tourism, mobile, broadband, TV, radio, music festivals, finance and health.
Richard Branson has written many books and articles in which he shares his business experience and describes his approach to setting up new business ventures. On several occasions, Branson has expressed that entrepreneurs should pay special attention to one of the fundamental principles of business plans: to clearly and concisely convey a business idea. Many entrepreneurs fail to formulate an attractive business plan simply because they show a lack of commercial focus; “they get too far ahead of themselves and end up sprinting in many directions” (Branson, 2011), which eventually weakens and blurs the original vision.
Another valuable contribution that Richard Branson has shared with entrepreneurs who are trying to launch a new business is strictly related to the importance of carefully estimating the funds they will require. Branson stated that many business founders tend to “diminish their chances of success by undercapitalizing their start-ups” (Branson, 2011). 
In one of his online articles, Branson shared a great example of someone who was extremely confident about the start-up capital required to turn a unique vision into reality. He told his readers that when trying to establish Jet Blue, David Neeleman was asking for $160 million in start-up capital, an exceptionally high sum for a company trying to enter the airline industry featuring a low-cost strategy. However, Neeleman stuck to his original plan and strived to raise that particular amount. As a result, Jet Blue had a historical debut and was able to turn a profit in only six months after its launch.
Along with Richard Branson, there are other entrepreneurs that have relied on the entertainment world to introduce new business models and achieve success. Naturally, not all of them have managed to become billionaires. However, we can still learn from their business experiences and advices. For instance, Broadway producer and investor Ken Davenport has shared invaluable insights into the principles of raising funds for the start-up of theatrical productions. 
After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Ken Davenport soon became a respected manager for various renowned musicals such as My Fair Lady, Grease, Show Boat, Gypsy, Jekyll & Hyde, and Chicago. 
Ken Davenport
In 2010 and after ten years of managing several successful productions, Ken founded Davenport Theatrical Enterprises with which he produced Oleanna starring Bill Pullman, Speed-the-Plow starring Raul Esparza, Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America, Blithe Spirit starring Angela Lansbury, 13, Altar Boyz, My First Time, and other plays. 
Ken’s blog, TheProducersPerspective.com, has been featured in Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, and The Gothamist. He has written articles for Forbes, Mashable, Imedia and other online and print publications. In 2010, Ken received the 2010 Award of Distinction from the Musical Theatre Society 
Ken has given several seminars and written various articles exploring the world of investments in the Broadway community. As an active Broadway investor as well as a producer continually undertaking the responsibility of raising funds, Ken Davenport believes that a remarkable business plan should evidence the experience that the management team has in dealing with that particular type of project. Potential investors not only look for promising business ideas, but also for business plans that can effectively convey the entrepreneur’s knowledge, skills and devotion to the project. According to Ken Davenport, investors need to know “who will make the day-to-day decisions, what is their track record, where did they learn to do what they do, and how long have they been doing it” (Davenport, 2011). The answer to these questions will also help to determine how risky the business is.
Taking a closer look to your potential competition is another thing that shouldn’t be underestimated. Ken Davenport explains that investors want to thoroughly understand who your competitors are and what they are offering. Most importantly, they want to ensure that your project is capable of providing something valuable, unique, and innovative; something different that the market has not yet experienced. 
Even though business plans tend to be extended documents, it is important to understand that investors will initially read only a few key sentences before deciding to dig into the entire plan. Researching and understanding what the majority of investors like to read in an auspicious business plan, will increase your chances to raise the money you need to launch your business. 
Let me know if you find other experts of the entertainment world who are sharing their reflections on business plan development.



Sources:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220743
http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/richard-branson.html
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220199
http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/autobiography
http://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/2009/05/how-to-invest-in-a-broadway-show-part-ii.html
http://www.theproducersperspective.com/about.html
http://www.davenporttheatrical.com/company-history.html


Photos retrieved from:
http://assets.portfolio.com/images/site/editorial/lifestyle/2008/09/ken-davenport-slide.jpg
http://www.entmoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/richard-branson-picture-1.jpg

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