Why is the management team such an important element of a ...

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Why is the management team such an important element of a business model?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Define elevator pitch and describe its key elements.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

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Answer to Question 1

A strong management team gives a model instant credibility to outside investors, immediate market-specific knowledge, and experience in implementing business plans. A strong management team may not be able to salvage a weak business model, but the team should be able to change the model and redefine the business as it becomes necessary.

Answer to Question 2

An elevator pitch is a short two-to-three-minute presentation aimed at convincing investors to invest. The key elements of an elevator pitch are an introduction, in which you state your name and position, your company's name and a tagline in which you compare what your company does to a well-known company; background, in which you state the origin of your idea, and the problem you are trying to solve, the industry size/market opportunity, in which you provide brief facts about the size of the market; revenue model/numbers/growth metrics, in which you provide insight into your company's revenue model and results thus far, how fast it is growing, and early adopters, if there are any; funding, in which you state the amount of funds you are seeking and what it will help you achieve; and finally exit strategy, in which you explain how your investors will achieve a return on their investment.