This week I had the privilege of judging an undergraduate business plan competition....


Real dollars were at stake for the top two plans, so the decision was not taken lightly. Each plan started with a good idea and a passionate team. From here, it went South.
Not a single player adequately defined the market opportunity. Instead, they opted for broad-stroke assumptions and often came up with an inflated market size estimate. Obviously, this error had a ripple effect for the financial projections and overall project viability.
Instinctively, my fellow judge and I mentally raced back to the MBA market-sizing case study question: "What is the market size for dog food in Italy?" We provided the contenders with a primer on market sizing, making realistic assumptions, and using a proxy. Oh yes, and oft-left-behind common sense.
While it would be easy to rip these undergrads to shreds, the truth of the matter is that the same mistakes are made every day by full-grown, experienced adults that should know better. Which brings us to how marketing can best earn a seat at the table: be well-versed in all the numbers and demonstrate that all financial projections stem from properly estimating the market.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

www.saraholoubek.com
Sara Holoubek is a free agent consultant, advising growth firms and investors in the interactive technology and advertising sector. Ms. Holoubek is also the contributing editor of the DM News' SearchBuzz newsletter, and a regular author of the DM News Optimized column.

In 2008 Ms. Holoubek was elected to the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) board of directors for a third term. During this time she also co-founded the SEMPO NY Working Group.

From 2003-2005, Ms. Holoubek served as iCrossing's Chief Strategy Officer, building the firm's New York office and repositioning the iCrossing brand as it raised an early VC round of $13 million. Prior to this experience, Ms. Holoubek held posts in client strategy with interactive agencies Organic and Blue Dingo. Her vertical expertise covers over 10 sectors and includes work with Levi Strauss & Co, Bloomingdales, LexisNexis, Texas Instruments, Colgate-Palmolive, Century 21 Real Estate, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, as well as firms within the WPP family and the Aegis Group family.

Ms. Holoubek has contributed to and/or been quoted in publications such as Adweek, DM News, Mediapost's Search Insider, WSJ.com, The Madison Avenue Journal, ClickZ and Internet Retailer. She also serves as a frequent guest lecturer at venues such as SMX, Search Engine Strategies, OMMA, the DMA, Harvard, NYU and Baruch College.

Ms. Holoubek also brings an international perspective to her work, having lived and worked in Latin America and Europe , and is fluent in Spanish and French and conversant in Portuguese. She holds a B.A. from the University of Iowa and an M.B.A. from HEC in France. She resides in New York City with her husband, baritone Claudio Mascarenhas.

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