Regardless of what you want your business plan to accomplish, every element of your plan should be built upon quality market intelligence. This requires that you complement your knowledge of the venture's target customers and products with reliable data from functional experts. Armed with such inside information, your products will be empowered to meet customer needs in ways that are difficult or impossible for your competitors to successfully replicate (competitive advantage).

In most cases, we have found that startups are inspired by one of three motivations: 1) Competitive knowledge of a product; 2) Competitive knowledge of a customer segment; or 3) Opportunistic insights. To complement these various perspectives, you should look to friends and associates who have first-hand knowledge in selling to your target customer, in buying from your competitors and, if possible, in investing in your competitors. Also, access to someone who has grown a similar type of venture in a comparable industry can add a great deal of value to your enterprise.