That's a good point. The winners of two business plan competitions I attended recently built physical devices. Their inventions would be a lot harder to boot

That's a good point. The winners of two business plan competitions I attended recently built physical devices. Their inventions would be a lot harder to boot strap, especially the ones that have to pass FDA approval, but that doesn't prevent them from pivoting. I think the point of Steve's distinction between business "plans" and business "models" is that plans are static and models are designed to let you pivot. For example, one of the winners at a business competition at my school was a guy who invented a new type of RF amplifier. His plan is to get it into cell phones. But what if it turns out that his amplifier would be a better match for another market? He can pivot by changing his market instead of changing his product.