A survey of entrepreneurs who started companies last year shows that while virtually all did substantial preparatory research and planning, only half used that work to produce a formal business plan. Since, on average, the entrepreneurs without formal plans secured the capital they needed in half the time of those with plans, these survey results indicate that, in general, formal plans did not help the entrepreneurs who produced them to secure the capital they needed.
The statement 'In surveys of entrepreneurs who have attempted without success to raise sufficient capital, more than half of the respondents indicate that they have produced a formal business plan' most seriously weakens the argument.