Arousing the interest of bankers and investors is an essential step and it is the executive summary that allows you to present your project to them. All incubators, incubator nurseries, etc. train their project leaders to present an effective executive summary and furthermore, contests that leave the candidate a few minutes to explain to their audience, a classic example of the power of an executive summary Is.
What is an Executive Summary?
Executive summary or operational summary, this document is a summary of your business plan. It should clearly set out the key points of your project so that the reader can quickly get a general idea of ​​your business plan and decide whether he or she wants to continue with you.
How to write it in ten dots?
As the first sentence is conclusive, it should inform the products or services your company offers.
- Proposal
- Your team members, their experiences, their backgrounds, their skills. Don’t forget to outline the differences and complementarities of each member of the founding team.
- It means what you plan to implement for its design: promotion.
- Your Market: The size of your market and target customers? Who are your customers? how many are they ?
- Requirement: Why are your customers interested in your products?
- Potential competitor? Who are your competitors? What sets you apart from your competition?
- Benefits of your project
- Strategy: What is your business position?
- How will you distribute your products?
- expected profitability.
This is why it is advisable to write a complete business plan after it has been written.
How to present executive summary in four points?
Your document should be written in a concise and concise format (one or two pages at most!) In fact, your interlocutors get a lot of them and have very little time to study them (2 to 3 minutes on average). . To make it easier to read, keep sentences one idea at a time and three to five-line paragraphs highlighting the main conclusions of your business plan.
- Use style tools to make the information as concise as possible (bold, italic, underline) without abusing the information;
- include a summary table or relevant graphic to support an important idea clearly and succinctly (an Excel table is always an asset);
- Don’t use too much technical register that scares away any investor instead of showing interest in your project;
- Take care of layout, spelling…
How to synthesize your project?
Investors will use the information in your executive summary to decide whether to read your business plan. Your summary should be both short and concise. You need to make sure it is clear. Since it pertains to all aspects of the project, it should reflect its essence. To allow your reader to easily get an overall idea of ​​the project, the document should mention your company’s business, its ambitions, and its business strategy.
You will mainly present in the content of the project:
1. What will it cost to investors
2. How much money is it for them to invest in your project
3. The market you are targeting.
To finish
Don’t forget to specify:
- Your funding needs, what investment you are asking for and how much (how are you going to use the funds).
- If you lack skills in the team, how do you plan to compensate for this deficit (recruitment, outside mentoring, etc.).
- Key figures in your financial forecast
To be successful in writing your summary, avoiding the urge to say too much, it’s important to get to the point. The executive summary should present your project objectively, avoiding over-selling and a lack of realism. Have multiple people proofread your document if necessary to make your ideas as clear as possible. You ultimately need to include the strengths and expected profitability of your project in order to better capture the reader’s attention.