One of the challenges business owners have is determining how closely to stick to their business plan once they launch their business. In almost all cases, some changes will need to be made because of customer feedback. The COVID-19 pandemic caused many business plans to change. Still, even in this instance, some business plans are spot-on and the worst thing a founder could do is vary from the plan. In other cases, a plan requires substantial tweaking and, in still other cases, it needs to be thrown out the window, allowing the business to start over. Next, we discuss three companies that demonstrate these different situations with their business plans. Bloom scape is an online plant company, launched in 2018, that ships plants right to your door. Its founder, Justin Marsh, comes from five generations of greenhouse growers. He grew up with his parents’ greenhouse in Detroit, learning the industry. Bloom scape’s appeal is that it delivers healthy and thriving plants to its customers. When you buy a houseplant from a big-box store or a nursery, it typically spends up to four weeks traveling from a greenhouse to a warehouse on a hot or cold truck. Following this journey, it is shipped to a store, all the while not getting the water, light, and care that it needs. Not so with Bloom scape. Its plants are cared for by Bloom scape plant experts until the firm ships them to you. The plants arrive just as you pictured them—healthy, vibrant, and sturdy. Behind the scenes, Bloom scape has learned how to keep plants at the right temperature, protect their roots, and keep them healthy as they travel from the company’s greenhouses to your door. Bloom scape’s innovative packaging holds plants securely in place, preventing damage and decreasing soil spillage. The company’s after-sale service is exemplary. Along with the customized care instructions it ships with every plant, its “Grow- How Team” is standing by to answer any questions you may have via email, chat, or tweet. While Bloom scape has enhanced its service over time, its business plan still remains largely unchanged.....

Discussion Questions:

1. To what degree do you think Bloom scape will be able to stick with its business plan on a going-forward basis? What environmental or business trends could cause Bloom scape to have to make changes?
2. What do you think would have happened to Netflix if the firm failed to make changes to its business plan?
3. Why do you think some startups find it difficult to change their business plan, even when presented with evidence that their current business plan is not working?
4. Look at the “You Be the VC” features at the end of Chapter 5, which focus on Good Catch and Bearaby, and the “You Be the VC” features at the end of this chapter, which focus on BRINC and Metafy. From the information in the features and available to you from each company’s website, which firm do you think will have the easiest time sticking to its original business plan? Which one will have the hardest time? Explain your selections.