Business Planning with the Experts is a group forum where StartupNation entrepreneurs can access value expertise and learn about innovative tools that can assist entrepreneurs in: 1) Planning a business venture, 2) Creating a distinct business plan, 3) Analyzing and optimizing a business plan, and 4) Searching for capital.  The group leader, Judd Hollas, is the co-founder and CEO of EquityNet, the leading e-marketplace for private enterprise analysis and capitalization.

EquityNet provides a free business planning and creation tool that produces a custom and streamlined business plan.  The need for a streamlined business plan, as opposed to a lengthy traditional plan, is becoming the norm among leading entrepreneurs and investors.  A recent University of Maryland study found that traditional business plans offer little value in fundraising because "time constraints prevent venture investors from studying each business plan in detail."  In other words, the value is in the planning process, not the plan itself.  EquityNet simplifies the planning process by prompting entrepreneurs for only the information that is most valuable to them and investors/bankers.  Entrepreneurs can create their business plan in one to two hours, rather than spending months laboring over the development of a traditional business plan.