You're absolutely right. Like I said, it's a good exercise. A business plan that works on paper is, roughly speaking, a necessary but insufficient condition f

You're absolutely right. Like I said, it's a good exercise. A business plan that works on paper is, roughly speaking, a necessary but insufficient condition for success. So as such, you shouldn't bring it to a meeting with an investor or whatever and present it as proof that your business will work. The only thing it proves is you can dream up some numbers that result in an up-and-to-the-right graph. What proves a business works is traction and revenue. Walking into Sequoia with "I've thought really hard about my startup and I'm pretty sure it'll work," is far less compelling than "my business is currently working and I need your money to scale it."