The structure a Start Up Loan assessor reads, in their order, with ProofGuard content slotted in and ownership marked section by section. A scaffold to fill on the call — not a finished plan.
This is the structure a Start Up Loan assessor reads, in the order they read it, with the ProofGuard-specific content we already hold slotted in. Sections marked Aaron need his input and cannot be written for him; sections marked Paul are drafted from existing project material.
The assessor is answering one question: can this person repay £X a month for Y years? Every section either supports that or wastes their time. Market size matters far less than a credible route to the first hundred sales.
Status: skeleton only. No figures below are final, and nothing here has been agreed with a lender. The financial sections are placeholders until the funding amount and scope are settled — see the funding page.
Written last, read first. One page maximum.
Lead with the proven POC. Most applications at this stage have nothing built.
Aaron — this is the section the assessor weights most heavily, because the loan is personal.
Do not hide the day job. Continuing income strengthens affordability rather than weakening the plan.
Pull from the POC Lab and Phase 2 Spec pages. Keep it plain — the reader is not an engineer.
The strongest section available, and the one most applications cannot write at all.
Include a photograph of the bench rig and a still from the demo video.
Assessors discount big market numbers. A narrow, reachable first segment is worth more than a large addressable one.
This is the section that most often sinks an application. Vagueness here reads as no plan.
Naming your own risks builds credibility. Omitting them does not hide them.
Line by line. Assessors compare this against the amount requested.
| Line | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MVP development | TBC | Phased, evidence-gated |
| Hardware & prototype tooling | TBC | At cost |
| First production run | TBC | Subject to MOQ |
| Certification & compliance | TBC | UKCA, radio, safety |
| Launch marketing | TBC | First 100 units |
| Working capital | TBC | Buffer |
| Total requested | TBC | Against £25,000 per-applicant ceiling |
Complete this before deciding the loan amount, not after. Because the £25,000 cap is on total outstanding balance per person, this table has to cover the route to revenue — not just the MVP.
Existing material to draw on: the Revenue Projection Scorecard and Subscription Economics Analysis already in the project folder.
The one number that must work: the conservative scenario still has to service the monthly repayment. If it does not, borrow less or lengthen the term.
Aaron only — submitted alongside the plan, and assessed alongside it.
Understating outgoings is counterproductive: the assessor is testing whether repayment is survivable, and an implausibly low figure invites scrutiny.