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Is there an online resource where first time entrepreneurs can go to peruse startup biz plans that went on to become successful companies? If it does not exist, do you think it is a viable possibility in the future?

I understand certain businesses may be hesitant to share certain aspects of their business, but an early startup stage business plan should not have too much confidential information in it, and if the business went on to become successful, it is likely that that first business plan is no longer relevant the business model any longer...

Thoughts?

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I don't think the significant factor on the success of the businesses was the business plan. I am not saying you should not write one, nor am I saying you have a better chance without one. My point it that it is not an indicator of success, and time spent working/polishing a business plan can be very distracting. – Tim♦ Feb 21 at 22:27

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Question: doesn't bplan.com work for you?

The resources are good, they have an annual competition that's fun to participate in (disclaimer: I won first place one year, so I'm biased) and tim berry's blog has good advice.

I'm not so certain companies are going to release their "winning" plans to the public (at the time, we were looking for funding and having a plan in public distribution didn't sit too well with some VC's - even though critical information was omitted.)

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The sites you mention look like sites hawking their own software and services more than anything else. I would be suspicious of anything on there, though perhaps I did not see enough of it. I was especially skeptical when I read "...and the quality of the writing" as a component in the judging. The links to scribd and business plan pro were the clinchers though. Just my opinion. – Tim♦ Feb 21 at 22:21
Writing a business plan to compete in a contest is also incredibly distracting. Instead of working on the product and idea, one is tricked into working on a document to impress people. – Tim♦ Feb 21 at 22:23
@tim To each their own - bplan.com and its owner blog is a resource for those who want samples business plands, and yes, they try to get you to subscribe. take it for what it is. What would you recommend? – jimg Feb 22 at 3:25
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 Being able to self fund with non dilute money is a pretty compelling reason to participate in these competitions - its what attracted us. My point of bringing it up is that contests come with risks - like one I faced with VCs - AND it relates to Erics question on distribution of "early stage business plans" and its impact going forward. I'll take the "impress people" comment without prejudice. – jimg Feb 22 at 3:43
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Regardless of whether or not a business plan equates to success (there's a lot of debate on this topic), I think this could be an interesting idea.

If you can't find a resource like this (I don't know of any), perhaps you could start one. I imagine you could get a fair amount of readers, maybe even some that will pay to view business plans ;-)

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