Business Recon

A tool to gather intelligence before committing

This is a structured brainstorming framework that helps you think through all aspects of a project before committing time, money, and energy. It lays the groundwork for formal deliverables like a Business Plan, Financial Plan, Marketing Plan, etc.

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Introduction

Most business ventures fail because critical questions were never asked. Business Recon helps you gather intelligence before committing.

This is a structured brainstorming framework – not a business plan. Its purpose is to help you think through all aspects of a business project before committing time, money, and energy.

Why

Critical business questions are often never asked. Market too small, no real differentiation, wrong team, unsustainable economics – all things that could have been identified early. This tool creates the space to ask those questions.

What

A structured thinking framework covering the full landscape of a business project: the idea, the business model, the market, the go-to-market strategy, the team, and the finances.

It’s intentionally comprehensive – you can always remove a section, but you can’t think about what you didn’t know to think about. It will rarely be completed in full. That’s fine.

How

Fill it in any order. Working on one section will always trigger ideas that belong in another. Treat it as a living document throughout the exploration phase of your project – adapt it, remove irrelevant sections, and update it as you learn.

When

Before creating any formal plan. This document lays the groundwork for standard deliverables like:

• Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas
• Business Plan
• Financial Plan – with detailed figures
• Market Research
• Marketing Plan
• Communication Plan
• Action Plan
• Brand Book

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1. The Project

Objective: Articulate the idea – what, for whom, why, and where it’s headed.

1.1. Elevator Pitch

Objective: Concise presentation for anyone – no jargon, no buzzwords. This is not a sales conversation.

Guidance:

1. Describe your offering and target audience.
2. Explain the problem and your solution.
3. Tease your “secret sauce” – what makes you different.

1.2. Big Hairy Audacious Goal

Objective: Define the long-term, ambitious vision.

Guidance:

• The “Switch” framework makes the vision both motivating (rationally and emotionally) AND actionable.
• Central metaphor: a Rider (rational mind) steering an Elephant (emotional mind) along a Path toward a Destination.

References:

• Big Hairy Audacious Goal: Built to Last (Jim Collins & Jerry Porras, 1994)
• Switch (Chip & Dan Heath, 2010) – My summary

1.2.1. Inspirational Destination

Objective: Paint a vivid, concrete picture of what success looks like.

Guidance:

• Define an inspirational destination rather than focusing on what’s wrong with the current state.
• Big enough to be “scary and exciting”, not to the excess of killing the motivation.
• Make it easy to visualize – use concrete, sensory language; not abstract concepts.

1.2.2. Rational Rider

Objective: Provide a clear understanding of the goal and the benefits.

Guidance:

• Direct the rational mind – the Rider.
• What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.

1.2.3. Emotional Elephant

Objective: Create emotional engagement to provide inherent motivation.

Guidance:

• Motivate the emotional mind – the Elephant.
• What looks like laziness is often willpower exhaustion.

1.2.4. Smooth Path

Objective: Shape the environment to create the behavior you want.

Guidance:

• Ease the Path leading to the Destination.
• What looks like a people problem is often an environmental problem.

2. Business Canvas

Objective: Map the business model – structured overview of all key components.

Guidance:

• This is an intentional hybrid of Lean Canvas (LC) & Business Model Canvas (BMC) – as they’re complementary.
• Fill in any order – each section triggers thinking in others.

References:

• Lean Canvas: Running Lean (Ash Maurya, 2012)
• Business Model Canvas: Business Model Generation (Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur, 2010)

2.1. Problem

Objective: List the top 1-3 problems your customers face.

Guidance: (from LC)

• Focus on the problem space – not your solution.
• Use the customer’s own words – not your interpretation.
• Rank by importance from the customer’s perspective.
• A problem worth solving is one customers are already actively trying to fix.

2.1.1. Existing Alternatives

Objective: How do customers currently solve these problems?

Guidance: (from LC)

• Includes direct competitors, workarounds, and “doing nothing”.
• Defines the real competition – broader than just obvious competitors.
• No existing alternatives? Question whether the problem is real.

2.2. Customer Segments

Objective: Define who your customers are.

Guidance: (from LC & BMC)

• Be specific – “everyone” is not a customer segment.
• Focus on who has the problem you defined – and who has it most acutely.
• Multiple segments are possible – but prioritize.
• Distinguish between users (who use it), buyers (who decide), and payers (who pay) – they’re not always the same person.

2.2.1. Early Adopters

Objective: The subset of customers most likely to buy first.

Guidance: (from LC)

• They have the problem acutely, are aware of it, and are actively seeking a solution.
• Often already using a workaround – they’ve hacked their way to a partial fix.
• Validate with them first – before targeting the mainstream.

2.3. Unique Value Proposition

Objective: The #1 reason a customer chooses you over all alternatives.

Guidance: (from LC)

• Clear and specific – immediately understood by your target customer.
• Connects directly to the top problem and customer segment.
• Not a tagline – a strategic positioning statement.
• Avoid vague superlatives (best, fastest, easiest).

2.3.1. High-Level Concept

Objective: Distill the UVP into a memorable analogy.

Guidance: (from LC)

• The “X for Y” format – “Airbnb for pets”, “YouTube for gamers”.
• Creates instant understanding using familiar reference points.
• Not always possible – but always worth attempting.

2.4. Solution

Objective: Outline the top 1-3 features or approaches that solve the problems defined.

Guidance: (from LC)

• Map directly to the problems listed – one solution per problem.
• Keep it high-level – this is not a specification.
• Define this after validating the problem, not before.
• The solution will evolve; the problem is the anchor.

2.5. Channels

Objective: How you reach and deliver value to your customers.

Guidance: (from LC & BMC)

• Covers the full journey: awareness → evaluation → purchase → delivery → support.
• Distinguish owned (website, email), paid (ads), and earned (word of mouth, PR).
• Different channels may suit different customer segments.

2.5.1. Customer Relationships

Objective: How you interact with customers at each stage of the journey.

Guidance: (from BMC)

• Covers acquisition, retention, and growth.
• Define the level of engagement: personal, automated, self-service, community.
• Directly impacts cost structure and scalability.

2.6. Revenue Streams

Objective: How the business makes money.

Guidance: (from LC & BMC)

• Focus on the model type: subscription, one-time, freemium, marketplace, licensing, etc.
• Define per customer segment if multiple segments exist.
• Detailed figures belong in the Financial Plan spreadsheet.
• Pricing detail is covered in 4.4. Pricing.

2.7. Operational Components

Objective: What the business needs to operate – resources, partners, and activities.

Guidance: (from BMC)

• Focus on what’s critical – not exhaustive.

2.7.1. Resources

Objective: Key assets needed to operate and deliver value.

Guidance:

• Physical (equipment, infrastructure), intellectual (IP, data, brand), human (team), financial.
• Focus on what’s essential – not everything you’d like to have.

2.7.2. Partners

Objective: Key external entities the business operationally depends on.

Guidance:

• Suppliers, technology providers, distributors, etc.
• Distinct from strategic partnerships – covered in 5.4. Partnerships.

2.7.3. Activities

Objective: The critical things the business must do to function and deliver value.

Guidance:

• Not everything – only what the business couldn’t operate without.
• Examples: production, platform maintenance, customer support, R&D.

2.8. Cost Structure

Objective: All costs required to operate the business.

Guidance: (from LC & BMC)

• Distinguish fixed (rent, salaries) from variable (per-unit, per-customer) costs.
• Distinguish one-time (setup, equipment) from recurring costs.
• High-level only – detailed figures belong in the Financial Plan spreadsheet.

2.9. Key Metrics

Objective: The numbers that confirm the business is working.

Guidance: (from LC)

• Focus on actionable metrics – avoid vanity metrics (likes, page views).
• Identify the One Metric That Matters (OMTM) for your current stage.
• Framework: AARRR – Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Revenue → Referral.

References:

• One Metric That Matters: Lean Analytics (Alistair Croll & Benjamin Yoskovitz, 2013)
• AARRR Metrics (Dave McClure, 500 Startups)

2.10. Unfair Advantage

Objective: What competitors can’t easily copy or buy.

Guidance: (from LC)

• Not a feature – features can be copied.
• Not first-mover advantage – rarely a durable edge.
• Examples: proprietary data, network effects, personal authority, dream team, insider knowledge.

2.11. Threats

Objective: What could harm or kill the business.

Note: Custom addition – not part of LC or BMC.

2.11.1. Deadly Risks

Objective: Existential threats that could kill the business entirely.

Guidance: Be brutally honest – identifying them early is the only way to prepare or pivot.

2.11.2. Difficulties

Objective: Significant obstacles that slow you down but won’t kill you.

Guidance: Anticipating them helps prepare mitigations in advance.

3. Analysis

Objective: Build knowledge – from raw assumptions to validated understanding.

Keep in mind: 3.1. Assumptions and 3.7. Validation form a loop – update both as you learn.

3.1. Assumptions

Objective: Document everything you’re assuming to be true before you have evidence.

Guidance:

• Separate what you know from what you’re guessing.
• Rank by risk – the most dangerous assumptions if wrong go first.
• These become the direct input for 3.7. Validation.

3.2. Customer Insights

Objective: Capture what you’ve actually learned about your customers.

Guidance:

• Findings from interviews, surveys, and observations – not assumptions.
• Focus on behaviors, pains, and goals – not opinions about your solution.
• Identify buying triggers – what prompts a customer to seek a solution now, not just eventually.
• Direct quotes are gold.
• Framework: Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) – what are they actually trying to accomplish?

References:

• Jobs To Be Done: Competing Against Luck (Clayton Christensen, 2016)

3.3. Market

Objective: Understand whether the market is worth entering.

3.3.1. Current Status

Objective: Define the size and scope of the market.

Guidance:

• TAM (Total Addressable Market): the full potential market.
• SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market): the segment you can realistically target.
• SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): the segment you can realistically capture.

3.3.2. Growth & Trajectory

Objective: Assess market maturity and growth rate.

Guidance:

• Maturity stage: emerging, growth, mature, or declining.
• CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate).
• Growth Drivers.

3.3.3. Profitability & Margins

Objective: Assess whether the industry is structurally profitable.

Guidance:

• Gross Margin standards: whether the industry is structurally profitable.
• Pricing Power: whether you can differentiate on price.

3.3.4. Trends

Objective: Identify what’s changing in the market – and in which direction.

Guidance:

• Technology shifts, social changes, regulatory developments, consumer behavior.
• Consider time horizon: short-term (1-2 years) vs. long-term (5+ years).
• Trends create both opportunities and threats – capture both.

3.4. Competitive Landscape

Objective: Map who you’re competing with and how they’re positioned.

Guidance:

• Include direct competitors (same solution) and indirect ones (alternative approaches).
• Assess their strengths, weaknesses, and positioning.
• Identify gaps – underserved needs or overlooked segments.
• Identify barriers to entry – obstacles for new entrants that also protect you once established.

3.5. Macro-Environmental Factors

Objective: Identify external forces that could impact the business.

Sub-sections:

1. Political: Government policies, political stability, trade regulations, tax policy.
2. Economic: Economic growth, inflation, exchange rates, consumer purchasing power.
3. Social: Cultural trends, lifestyle changes, consumer attitudes.
4. Technological: Emerging technologies, automation, R&D activity, adoption rates.
5. Environmental: Climate, sustainability regulations, ecological constraints, carbon footprint.
6. Legal & Regulatory: Industry-specific regulations, compliance requirements, professional licensing.
7. Demographic: Population structure, age distribution, urbanization, workforce composition.

References:

• Wikipedia: PEST Analysis

3.6. SWOT Analysis

Objective: Synthesize all previous analysis into a strategic overview.

Guidance:

• Fill this last – it’s a synthesis, not a starting point.
• Internal factors: Strengths and Weaknesses – what you control.
• External factors: Opportunities and Threats – what you don’t control.

Sub-sections:

1. Strengths: Internal advantages that give you an edge.
2. Weaknesses: Internal limitations that put you at a disadvantage.
3. Opportunities: External conditions you can exploit to your advantage.
4. Threats: External conditions that could harm the business.

3.7. Validation

Objective: Test your riskiest assumptions before committing resources.

Guidance:

• Start with the assumptions most likely to kill the business if wrong.
• Design the cheapest, fastest test that gives a clear pass/fail signal.
• Experiments: Minimum Viable Test (MVT), prototypes, landing pages, interviews.
• Update 3.1. Assumptions and 2. Business Canvas based on findings – it’s a loop, not a step.

References:

• The Lean Startup (Eric Ries, 2011)
• Running Lean (Ash Maurya, 2012)

4. Go-To-Market

Objective: Define how to reach and convert customers – positioning, messaging, and execution.

4.1. Branding

Objective: Define the identity of the business – how it looks, sounds, and is perceived.

Guidance:

• Name, tagline, short description.
• Visual identity (logo, colors, typography).
• Tone of voice and brand personality.
• Target perception: how you want customers to see and feel about you.
• High-level only – detailed guidelines go in the Brand Book.

4.2. FAB Statements

Objective: Articulate your offering from the customer’s perspective.

Sub-sections:

1. Features: What the product/service IS or HAS – factual characteristics.
   Example: “1 inch insulation layer” (on a sleeping bag).
2. Advantages: What those features DO – the functional outcome.
   Example: “Helps retain body heat on cold nights”.
3. Benefits: Why that matters to the customer – the emotional or practical payoff.
   Example: “When you’re camping, you’ll have a nice warm sleep at night so that when you wake up you’ll be well rested and ready for a day of fun activities”.

4.3. Sales Pitch

Objective: The go-to pitch – concise, compelling, repeatable.

Guidance:

• Build on 4.2. FAB Statements and 2.3. Unique Value Proposition.
• Formats: one-liner, 30-second pitch, full pitch narrative.
• Template: (Company) helps (target audience or avatar) (solve/achieve a specific problem/outcome) (optional: in a specific period of time) (in a unique way) (without their biggest fear or objection).

References:

• Founder Institute’s Startup Madlibs
• $100M Offers (Alex Hormozi, 2021)

4.4. Pricing

Objective: Define pricing plans and market positioning.

Guidance:

• The actual plans and prices – based on the revenue model defined in 2.6. Revenue Streams.
• Strategy: premium, competitive, penetration, freemium.
• Structure tiers to guide customer choice – anchoring matters.

4.5. Customer Acquisition

Objective: Define how to find, attract, and convert customers.

Guidance:

• Inbound (content, SEO, community) vs. outbound (ads, cold outreach, partnerships).
• Organic vs. paid – consider both CAC and scalability.
• Referral and viral loops – built-in or engineered.
• Retention is cheaper than acquisition – don’t ignore it.

4.6. Timeline

Objective: Phase the execution – sequencing, priorities, and milestones.

Guidance:

• Define phases: pre-launch → launch → growth → scale.
• Each phase: what’s active, what changes, what’s the success condition.
• Previous sections apply globally – use this section to adjust or constrain them per phase.

5. Team

Objective: Identify who’s needed – roles, skills, and partnership strategy.

Guidance:

• For each role or skill: assess whether you have it, and if not, how to fill the gap.
• Gap options: hire, freelance/outsource, partner, or consciously do without.

5.1. Founders

Objective: Define the core founding team – who they are and what they bring.

Guidance:

• List each founder with their role and key skills.
• Identify gaps within the founding team itself.
• Complementarity is key – avoid duplicate skill sets.

5.2. Advisors

Objective: Identify expertise the founding team can’t cover internally.

Guidance:

• Types: domain expertise, industry connections, technical, commercial, legal, financial.
• Formal (board seat, equity/cash) vs. informal (mentorship, occasional input).
• Quality over quantity – a few well-chosen advisors beat a long list of names.

5.3. Collaborators

Objective: Identify the extended team needed to operate and grow.

Guidance:

• Includes employees, freelancers, and contractors.
• Use the GeniusU framework to ensure balance across all four profiles.
• Lifecycle: Ideas → People → Senses → Detail.

Sub-sections:

1. Ideas Smart: Great at starting things, but not so good at finishing.
   Keywords: intuition, innovation, ignition.
   Examples: Albert Einstein, Richard Branson.
2. People Smart: Loves people, but gets distracted quickly.
   Keywords: communication, collaboration, moving forward.
   Examples: Marilyn Monroe, Oprah Winfrey.
3. Senses Smart: Grounded, but often gets lost in activity.
   Keywords: consultation, timing, grounding.
   Examples: Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa.
4. Detail Smart: Takes care of the detail, but often over-cautious.
   Keywords: analysis, understanding, specifications.
   Examples: Mark Zuckerberg, Benjamin Franklin.

References:

• GeniusU framework (Roger Hamilton)

5.4. Partnerships

Objective: Identify strategic and commercial partnerships that accelerate the business.

Guidance:

• Distinct from operational partners covered in 2.7.2. Partners.
• Good partnerships provide mutual value – not just for you.
• Formalize expectations and responsibilities early.

5.4.1. Partners To Avoid

Objective: Define what to watch out for in potential partners.

Guidance:

• Misaligned values or incentives.
• One-sided relationships – those who take without giving.
• Over-dependence on a single partner – a single point of failure.

6. Finances

Objective: Think through the money – costs, revenues, funding, and exit.

Guidance:

• Focus on understanding the economics – not predicting the future.
• Detailed figures and projections belong in the Financial Plan spreadsheet.

6.1. Unit Economics

Objective: Understand the fundamental math of the business model.

1. CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): Total marketing and sales spend ÷ customers acquired.
2. LTV (Lifetime Value): Average revenue per customer × average customer lifetime.
3. Margin: (Revenue - Cost of Goods/Services) ÷ Revenue. Distinguish gross from net.
4. Burn Rate: Monthly spend minus monthly revenue – relevant pre-revenue or early-stage.
5. Break-Even: The point (or number of customers) at which revenues cover all costs.

Guidance:

• The key question: does acquiring a customer cost less than what they generate?
• A sustainable business has LTV ≥ 3× CAC.

6.2. Costs

Objective: List all costs required to operate the business.

Guidance:

• Fixed: don’t change with volume (rent, salaries, subscriptions).
• Variable: scale with the business (per-unit, per-customer).
• One-time: setup, equipment, legal.
• Recurring: ongoing operational costs.
• High-level only – detailed figures go in the Financial Plan spreadsheet.

6.3. Revenues

Objective: List all revenue sources.

Guidance:

• Fixed/recurring: subscriptions, retainers – predictable and valuable.
• Variable: per-transaction or per-unit – scales with usage.
• One-time: setup fees, licenses.
• For subscription businesses: track MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) and ARR (Annual).

6.4. Funding

Objective: Identify how the business will be financed.

1. Bootstrapping: Self-funded by founders – maintains full control, slower growth.
2. Public Funding: Grants and subsidies – non-dilutive but competitive, slow, and conditional.
3. Loans: Debt financing – must be repaid, no equity dilution.
4. Investors: Equity financing (angels, VCs) – faster growth, you give up ownership and control.
5. Crowdfunding: Rewards-based (Kickstarter), equity-based, or debt-based.

Guidance: Options are not mutually exclusive.

6.5. Yearly Objectives

Objective: Define high-level financial targets per year – for 3 years.

Guidance:

• A target that shapes the Financial Plan – not a projection.
• Typical metrics: revenue, number of customers, team size, key milestones.
• Year 1 is almost always more optimistic than reality – factor that in.

6.6. Exit

Objective: Define how and when founders could exit the business.

Guidance:

• Worth thinking about early – exit strategy shapes current decisions.
• Options: acquisition (M&A), IPO, ongoing lifestyle business, management buyout, wind down.
• Not all businesses need an exit strategy – but all founders should have thought about it.

7. Appendices

Objective: Keep trace of any relevant information.

Guidance: Collect any relevant supporting material found during the process – sources, references, legal documents, research data.