Business Plan Tips from the CoFounder of Hotmail

The story of hotmail: The idea for hotmail actually came about when Sabeer Bhathia and Jack Smith were working on their first startup idea; while holding down full-time jobs. During the process, they had become frustrated because their employer installed new firewall protection that prevented them from accessing their personal emails. They then realized that there were only two places they could access these emails: at home and at work. So they figured that if this was a problem for them, it most likely was a problem for others. They ditched their first idea and instead, went with an idea to create email accounts that could be assessed through a web browser. And the story of the famous Hotmail began to unfold.

Jessica Livingston, author of Founders at Work, interviewed Sabeer Bathia regarding his startup story. While reading the story, my jaw drops open because Bathia is asked to give advice to "anyone starting a startup" and he chooses to mention the B word: Business Plan.

Here is a shorter version of how the interview went:

Jessica Livingston: Is there any advice you would give to someone thinking of starting a startup?

Bathia: Get a business plan...a business plan will crystallize your thoughts to communicate your ideas with somebody else. Make sure that...you have somebody read and critique it and ask you questions. It doesn't have to be a cookie-cutter business plan with glossy pages and lots of information. Essentially it's a plan that says what the company is going to do, what problem it will solve, how big the market it, sources of revenue, exit strategy for your investors, what amount of money is required, how you are going to market it, what kind of people you need, what the technology risks are, marketing risks, execution risks...many people have it in their heads but don't write it down.

Sabeer Bathia, you could have chosen any advice to give to startups. Yet you chose the old cliche, so-called "boring" advice that is too seldom heard, often forgotten and yet so true! And you break it down in a such a meaningful and relatable way. Way to go man!



About the Author: Cheryl Isaac is the writer of this blog and a Startup Business Planner & Owner of Isaac Business Services; The Business Startup Company. She is also the Founder of the Internet Startup, The 12MonthBizPlan.com; the virtual way to plan a business at your own pace.