Intro.
#Ten Clichés to Cut
| Cliché | Why it's a problem |
|---|---|
| Innovative | A subjective claim every company makes |
| AI-powered | Meaningless without an explanation of how the AI actually works |
| Advanced / upgraded | An abstract label with no specific feature behind it |
| Going global | A promise made before even winning the home market |
| Groundbreaking | Unsubstantiated self-praise |
| 'Many people do X' | A vague subject, with no data behind it |
| 'We plan to...' | Something you probably should have already started |
| Overwhelming / dominant | No comparison point or benchmark given |
| World's first | Unverifiable, a common exaggeration |
| 'The market grows X% every year' | Market growth isn't evidence that your specific problem is real |
02
#Rewrites — Turning Clichés into Quantified Language
| Cliché | Rewrite (quantified and specific) |
|---|---|
| 'An innovative solution' | 'Cuts processing time from 7 minutes to 1, compared to the existing method' |
| 'AI-powered' | Explain the model, the input, and the output — e.g., 'Analyzes the user's input text and returns [specific result]' |
| 'Advanced' | 'Changes from v1.2 to v2.0: added [feature], improved [performance metric]' |
| 'Going global' | 'Year 2: expansion into Japan and Southeast Asia (local partnership with [company] already confirmed)' |
| 'Many people' | '9 out of 12 office workers in their 30s (based on our own interviews)' |
| 'An overwhelming advantage' | 'Half the price of competitors, one-third the processing time, first to prioritize [target-language] support' |
| 'World's first' | 'First launch in this category in the Korean market (verifiable source cited)' |
TIP
Quantified language creates a verifiable claim. Verifiable claims build trust; unverifiable ones breed doubt.
03
#Dangerous Language Patterns
The pattern is more dangerous than any single word. Check your writing immediately if you spot any of these four patterns.
- Vague subjects — sentences that open with 'many,' 'most,' or 'generally'
- Unsourced comparisons — 'better than competitors' or 'above market average' with no citation
- Future-tense promises — nothing but repeated 'we will' and 'we plan to'
- Stacked abstract adjectives — three or more of 'innovative,' 'groundbreaking,' 'dominant' in a single paragraph
04
#A Cliché Business Plan vs. a Good One
| Cliché business plan | Good business plan |
|---|---|
| 'This service is an innovative, AI-powered healthcare solution that will expand into global markets and secure an overwhelming competitive advantage.' | 'A mobile app that solves the problem of office workers in their 30s spending an average of 7 minutes every week agonizing over what to eat for lunch, by recommending menus based on their diet and exercise data. 62 of our 80 beta users were still active after 4 weeks — a 78% retention rate.' |
TIP
The two passages are nearly the same length, but their credibility is worlds apart. Cutting five abstract adjectives and adding one piece of quantified data is what makes a business plan strong.
Summary.
#Self-Check Checklist
- Do words like 'innovative,' 'groundbreaking,' 'dominant,' or 'world's first' appear anywhere?
- Are there sentences that open with vague subjects like 'many,' 'most,' or 'generally'?
- Are 'AI-powered' or 'advanced' used without explaining the specific feature behind them?
- Have five or more future-tense promises ('we plan to...') piled up?
- Does every comparison cite a source or benchmark?
- Is 'going global' only mentioned after home-market traction is established?
CTA
OpenSeed's evaluation agent automatically detects cliché word frequency, abstract-language patterns, and sentences that lack quantified support. under the current payment terms shown on the analysis start screen.
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Automatically Detect Clichés in Your Business Plan
Our evaluation agent automatically flags abstract language, future-tense promises, and a lack of quantified support.
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