Business Plan

SAMPLE FINANCIAL PLAN

Financial Overview

Business Model Description & Financial Targets

Our model projects that we will be cash-flow positive by our third year of operation. Our expenses will be driven mainly by web-development and personnel costs, and will gradually grow from $325,000 in year one to $650,000 in year six, as we double our headcount to accommodate increased web traffic and recruitment efforts. We will be financed mainly by grants and individual donations, and will slowly introduce additional revenue streams including advertising and corporate partnerships.

There are two key financial criteria to our mission: (1) that the application assistance always be provided free of charge to the Applicants, and (2) that we have a financially sustainable organization by year three of operation. Our projections achieve both of these goals.

Key Assumptions

Start-Up & Growth Expectations

We will roll out in four Stages:

Stage 1 (estimated time: 1 year). We will launch the program with 90 Applicants and 90 Mentors. We will recruit Campus Leaders from three colleges—Harvard University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of California, Berkeley. The Campus Leaders will be in charge of finding 25-35 Mentors in their school. Mentors will be trained using a curriculum designed specifically to assist the Applicants in the application process. We will partner with a handful of high schools to recruit our first 90 Applicants. Applicants and Mentors will interact using the web-based platform, with a back-end that will allow us to monitor the progress of each Applicant. Throughout Stage 1, we will solicit feedback from all 90 Mentors and Applicants on a bi-weekly basis to make continual improvements to the program based on real-time feedback.

Stage 2 (estimated time: 1 year). We will expand the program to 440 Applicants and 430 Mentors from ten universities. This Stage will require us to find new Campus Leaders, who will drive the increased requirement for Mentors. The website and curriculum will be adjusted and improved in response to feedback gathered in Stage 1.

Stage 3 (estimated time: 2-3 years). We will continue to grow, accepting many more Mentors and Applicants. This Stage will require significantly more resources to support nationwide recruiting. We will need to hire staff to manage the Campus Leaders and the Applicant/Mentor pairs, and ensure that each is fulfilling their obligations.

Stage 4 (estimated time: 2-3 years). We will scale further by creating compatible programs for high school juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, focusing more on college preparation (e.g., taking rigorous classes, participating in extracurricular activities, studying for the SAT and ACT). This will require significant curriculum development, with specific benchmarks and a different set of guidelines for each school year program.