How to Write a Business Plan — 7 Traits Every Winning Business Plan Shares

#Problem Definition — You Should Be Able to State It in One Sentence

The first thing reviewers and investors check is whether the problem you're solving is real. A good problem statement is short and specific — you should be able to explain who experiences the problem, where, when, and why, in a single sentence.

Specific numbers like these come from your own interviews and surveys. When there's no external statistic available, data you collected yourself is more compelling anyway.

#Market Size — TAM/SAM/SOM Is the Standard

Present market size as a single number (e.g., 'the market is worth ₩5T') and your credibility drops immediately. Break it into three tiers — TAM (total addressable market) → SAM (serviceable addressable market) → SOM (serviceable obtainable market) — and state the source and derivation for each figure.

#Competitive Analysis — 'No Competitors' Is Your Biggest Weakness

Writing 'we have no competitors' gets read one of two ways: either the market is too small to matter, or you haven't researched it thoroughly enough. Every business has direct competitors, indirect competitors, and substitutes.

• Direct competitors — same solution, targeting the same customer
• Indirect competitors — solving the same problem a different way (e.g., a diet app's indirect competitor is a personal trainer)
• Substitutes — what the customer chooses when they decide not to solve the problem at all (e.g., just living with it)

A positioning map (a 2x2 matrix) with differentiation variables on the X and Y axes gets your differentiation across visually, at a glance. Just make sure the axes are variables customers actually use to make their decision — not ones that flatter you.

#Business Model — Six Elements in One Paragraph

Your business model should explain, in a single paragraph, who buys what, when, at what price, and how. Check that it includes all six of the following elements.

1. Target customer (Who) — one or two specific personas
2. Value delivered (What) — the outcome, time saved, or cost reduced for the customer
3. Revenue model (How) — subscription, transaction fee, advertising, licensing
4. Price — the basis for that price point (market rate, cost-based, value-based)
5. Purchase trigger (When) — the exact moment a customer decides to pay
6. Distribution channel — how you reach the customer

Government grant reviewers weigh commercial viability heavily, which makes your pricing rationale especially important. Don't just write '₩9,900/month' — show your reasoning, e.g., 'competitor average is ₩12,000; this service applies a 17% discount as an ad-free model.'

#Team — Answer 'Why Can We Do This'

Simply listing names, degrees, and job titles in your team section wastes the biggest opportunity you have. Describe how each team member has the capability this business actually needs, across three lenses: domain expertise, execution experience, and network.

A founder who's personally lived the problem, or spent years working in the field, is the strongest differentiator a team can have. This is what's known as Founder-Market Fit — one of the single most important things investors and reviewers look for.

#Revenue Projections — Bottom-Up, With a Formula

The most common mistake in revenue projections is calculating top-down — market size × some percentage. That gets flagged as suspicious immediately. Build it bottom-up instead: customer count × price × conversion rate × repeat purchase rate, with the assumption behind each variable stated explicitly.

#Budget Plan — A Table by Category and Timing

In a grant application, your budget plan needs its own dedicated table. Don't just write a lump sum like 'Marketing: ₩30M' — break it down: 'Instagram ads: ₩X, SEO content production (X pieces): ₩X, exhibition booth: ₩X.'

(Amounts in KRW.) Government grant programs enforce strict rules on how funds are spent. Always check the program's official appendix for caps on personnel costs, limits on outsourcing, and whether the founder's own salary is an eligible expense.

#Before You Submit — Use an AI Pre-Screen

The last step after finishing your business plan is an objective check. You're too close to it to see its weaknesses yourself, and getting a mentor's review means scheduling and waiting. An AI pre-screen solves both problems at once.