Write a Compelling Executive Summary
"Most guides to writing an executive summary miss the key point: The job of the executive summary is to sell, not to describe....You have about 30 seconds to grab an investor’s interest. You want to be clear and compelling. Forget what everyone else has been telling you. Here are the key components that should be part of your executive summary:
1. The Grab: You should lead with the most compelling statement of why you have a really big idea....
2. The Problem: You need to make it clear that there is a big, important problem (current or emerging) that you are going to solve....
3. The Solution: What specifically are you offering to whom?...
4. The Opportunity: Spend a few more sentences providing the basic market segmentation, size, growth and dynamics—how many people or companies, how many dollars, how fast the growth, and what is driving the segment...
5. Your Competitive Advantage...
6. The Model...What are the critical metrics on which you will be evaluated — customers, licenses, units, revenues, margin? Whatever it is, what impressive levels will you reach within three to five years?
7. The Team: Why is your team uniquely qualified to win?...
8. The Promise ($$): When you are pitching to investors, your fundamental promise is that you are going to make them a boatload of money...You should show five years of revenues, expenses, losses/profits, cash and headcount. It might also make sense to show a key driver, such as number of customers or units shipped.
9. The Ask: This is the amount of funding you are asking for now. This should generally be the minimum amount of equity you need to reach the next major milestone...
You should be able to do all this in six to eight paragraphs, possibly a few more if there is a particular point that needs emphasis. You should be able to make each point in just two or three simple, clear, specific sentences. This means your executive summary should be about two pages, maybe three. Some people say it should be one page. They’re wrong..."
Read more in this excellent article from Garage.com
