Eureka. You’ve just come up with the better mouse trap, the widget the world has been waiting for, the key to cold fusion. All you need to do now is get it to market. How do you do it? 

Randy Thompson, novaNAIT’s entrepreneur in residence (and the guy on the right in the photo), knows how. Rather than a classroom-style, formally documented business plan, his method of choice is what he calls a work plan: seven practical steps that transform an idea into a great deal for investors. 

As Thompson points out, these tips are “the freebies.” Like any smart business person, he isn’t about to give away the goods. They’ll get you started, but for the full story, you might consider enlisting in novaNAIT’s Business Planning Bootcamp. 

Following the seminars, success stories and lots of hands-on practise, two participants will be chosen to pitch their ideas to the investors of the VentureAlberta Forum, of which Thompson is president. 

It’s hard work, he warns of the two-and-a-half day event, but he hopes it’s also enlightening. “There’s also a ‘spiritual’ component of the bootcamp,” he says, which comes from a question it encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to consider: “who do you want to be when we’re done this exercise?” 

If the answer bears any resemblance to “widget tycoon,” try these steps to start following through on your own eureka moment. 

1. The pitch. With few exceptions, entrepreneurial success hinges upon what Thompson identifies as three fundamental questions: “What is it that I’m actually doing? What is it that I’m actually selling? And, who cares?” The answers to these form the core of your pitch.
   
   Whether it’s the 30-second elevator variety or a more elaborate show-and-tell, the pitch tells the story of your business. It’s smart and compelling, leaving people wanting more for all the right reasons. Most importantly, should you make it to a room full of potential investors flush with funds but short on time, “It gives everybody clarity as to why we’re here,” says Thompson.
   
   
2. Valuating the idea. “We call this step ‘vitamins or valium’,” says Thompson.
   
   Here’s how that slightly unsettling metaphor works: does your product fulfill some basic but persistent need, or speaking figuratively, of course, “have you got morphine or valium, where people get addicted to it, sell their spouses and children to get their hands on it?”
   
   This is where the market research comes in. Knowing the strength of demand for your product or service will guide you through this process.
   
   
3. Planning your marketplace entrance. “Even if you’re sitting on the cure for cancer but you only have $1,000 in the bank, there are only so many things you can do,” says Thompson.
   
   You will need an entrance and marketing strategy – one that’s innovative and effective but doesn’t break the bank. (Got a handle on free social media, for example? If not, get savvy.) Make the best of the resources at hand to avoid being hamstrung by unnecessary expense.
   
   
4. Self-evaluation. “If I’m a marketing and sales person, that means I’m probably not so good at managing the bank account,” says Thompson. “I’ve been doing this close to 20 years and I still have trouble putting the expenses in the right box. My bookkeeper hates me.”
   
   The key message is that he has a bookkeeper: he has identified a weakness and compensated with someone else’s strength. Take a good, hard look at yourself. What does your skill set lack? You can never be all things to all people, especially in business, so look for experienced advisers, management, even board members.
   
   
5. The ask. Appealing to those with the means to help requires that you've done your homework. You’ll need to do some basic financial modelling: product costs, profit margins, distributors and logistics, sales projects, and so on. Anticipate an investor’s questions and be ready to produce spreadsheets.
   
   Have confidence in your numbers, says Thompson, and, just as importantly, in yourself. Actually, confident doesn’t quite capture the attitude you’ll need.
   
   “I say to people, ‘You are Moses. You are looking me in the eye and asking me for my money’,” says Thompson. “‘You’re telling me you will part the Red Sea, walk across on dry land and, when you get to the other side, you will close the sea’,” thus annihilating the competition.
   
   In short, you need to believe you’re the closest thing to being a miracle-worker.
   
   
6. The deal. If you get this far, consider this the counterpart of Step 5, the ask. Making the deal involves knowing what your company is worth, then having thought about how much of it you’re willing to give up and in what form, which also casts pack to those financial projections. Sorting out who gets what, and when, will likely require you to be flexible.
   
   “Somebody once called me a broken-field runner,” recalls Thompson. “I thought that was a good analogy. You’ve got to be nimble.”
   
   
7. Practice. Put the previous six steps together and impose upon anyone who will hear your story: your spouse, an objective friend, or, ideally, someone who has already been through the startup wringer. Take all the feedback you can get, and be careful not to take it personally.
   
   “If they go, ‘Oh, you’ve got to be kidding’,” says Thompson, “you change it.”