There are many important questions that entrepreneurs ask themselves when starting a business or that VCs ask when making an investment decision. Common questions include: How strong is the team? What is the competition? How good is the product? What is the financial plan? But, there is an important question that is too often missing:
Why Now?
Why Now?
In other words: What are the fundamental drivers that are creating a huge market opportunity? What is causing the tide to rise and float all boats in a market? What ingredients exist to allow a market that didn’t work 5-10 years ago to flourish today?
I believe every VC pitch deck should have a Why Now? slide. If there aren't fundamental market forces that are creating a massive new market opportunity, you could certainly still build a great business but not likely one with explosive growth.
Why Now? Examples
Mobile Device Management – Corporate employees are also consumers. And millions of employees are bringing their own devices to work (BYOD) - iPads, iPhones, Androids, etc. For a while, enterprise IT organizations fought this trend. But, CIOs now realize they have no choice and they require new systems to monitor, manage and secure these devices. This is happening at nearly every enterprise in the country today. As a result, the Mobile Device Management market, with leaders like MobileIron, is exploding.
Social Marketing – With the rise of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Google+, the CEO of
Social Marketing – With the rise of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Google+, the CEO of
