The founders of Creditica have set out a 4 to 5 year high level plan for their business. They expect the business to achieve its potential within this period. They expect the business to achieve its potential within this period. What they have also done implicitly in the plan (even though they might not have intentionally done so) is to split the journey into 3 or 4 major stepping stones. The figure shows the implied steps from the establishment of the business in early 2008 to the possible exit of the business in 2012 or later.Creditica's is a straightforward path of stepping-stones. It is a classic software company path seen by venture capitalists in hundreds, if not thousands, of business plans every year. It has proven itself over the years. Many companies have followed such a path and built valuable businesses. Of course, many have also failed.
Stepping-stones represent groups of major milestones for the company. The milestones might relate to product development, acquisition of customers, recruitment or top-class management, and so forth. The groups of milestones then become stepping-stones. Each stepping-stone provides an integrated perspective on the progress (and potential valuation) of the company.
The best stepping-stones are ones that the company can point to with hard evidence and that demonstrates real momentum in the progress of the business. It is the team's task to articulate the major stepping-stones because it is impossible for an investor to absorb all of the micro steps a company will take in the course of its development.
