The New Business Road Test
The New Business Road Test, authored by John Mullins, is a fantastic resource for anyone who is thinking about starting a business one day. The method it suggests is extremely simple, and powerful. The aim is to help entrepreneurs and executives to assess a business idea before writting a full business plan. The method John suggests assesses the key areas which make the difference between successful and failing businesses.
‘You may have capital and a talented management team, but if you are fundamentally in a lousy business, you won’t get the kind of results you would in a good business. All businesses aren’t created equal.’ William P.Egan II, veteran US venture capitalist
No matter how talented you are, no matter how much capital you have, no matter how good your business plan is, if you’re pursuing a ‘lousy business’ – i.e. a fundamentally flawed opportunity – you’re on the fast-track to failure.
The New Business Road Test shows you how to avoid the obvious mistakes that everyone else makes. It shows you how to assess market opportunities. It also shows entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial teams how to assess honestly the capabilities they themselves bring to the table. The new edition of this best-selling book will help you to road test your idea, making sure that the business you build is based on a winning concept. It will enable you to invest your time wisely and pitch to investors and customers with confidence.
Building on lessons learned by real entrepreneurs – some in start-ups, others in established firms, some who got it right and others who got it wrong, Mullins addresses the seven domains that characterize attractive, compelling opportunities. Mullins presents a model that helps you answer the live-or-die questions in assessing any new business opportunity. Road test your business idea first and get ahead of the game.
John Mullins is Associate Professor of Management Practice at London Business School, where he heads the school’s entrepreneurship faculty.