Tweet

ATTRACTING INVESTORS: A Compelling Executive Summary in 10 Items or Less

Written by: Diane Tarshis

Article Overview: Attracting an investor is like attracting a mate—you want to pique the investor’s interest without showing all your cards at the outset. The perfect vehicle for achieving this delicate balance is the Executive Summary. The goal of an Executive Summary is to whet the appetite of the investor by presenting a compelling premise, an irresistible hook. Your short (5 pages or less) document is meant to give a potential investor every reason to say “yes” and little reason to say “no” to a face-to-face meeting.

ATTRACTING INVESTORS: A Compelling Executive Summary in 10 Items or Less

Attracting an investor is like attracting a mate—you want to pique the investor’s interest without showing all your cards at the outset. The perfect vehicle for achieving this delicate balance is the Executive Summary.

The goal of an Executive Summary is to whet the appetite of the investor by presenting a compelling premise, an irresistible hook. Your short (5 pages or less) document is meant to give a potential investor every reason to say “yes” and little reason to say “no” to a face-to-face meeting.

While it’s typically included as part of the business plan, the Executive Summary should ideally function as a stand-alone document. Its function is to build enough interest to get you meetings with potential investors. Once you’re at the meeting, then you can dazzle them with your presentation and ready answers. Ideally your Executive Summary should include the following 10 items:

1. Opening Statement. Your initial statement of how much money you are looking to raise and a very brief summary outlining how the funds will be used.

2. Description of Problem/Opportunity. Your answer to the all-important question: What problem am I solving for paying customers?

3. Solution. Your specific solution(s) to solving the problem or exploiting the opportunity. Support your statements.

4. Products & Services Offered. Describe the products and/or services you’re selling, including what makes it/them different and desirable. Explain why customers will buy from you.

5. What is Proprietary? Only include this section if you own intellectual property (e.g., patents, trademarks, copyrights) or proprietary technology that sets you apart from competitors.

6. Target Market(s). Define your target customers. Discuss the size of your target market and its growth potential.

7. Marketing/Sales Plan. Explain how you will reach your customers.

8. Competition. Talk about the competitive landscape relative to your product/service. Highlight your competitive advantage and how you can defend it.

9. Management Team. One of the most important sections. Ultimately, investors are investing in you and your management team. Include the qualifications and experience of each member.

10. Financial Summary. Summarize your financials by showing your total annual revenues, expenses and net income for the first three years (at a minimum). If you will become cash flow positive within your first three years, this is where you state when you expect to reach that milestone.

Keep in mind that a compelling Executive Summary is best written after the business plan. How can you summarize what you haven’t yet written? Writing a great business plan is a process for which there are no shortcuts. It forces you to address all those nagging questions you’d rather avoid but ultimately can’t. Your vision will inevitably evolve and take shape as you think through all the issues, big and small. This evolution is a critical part of the plan writing process, and the results will ultimately show not only in your Executive Summary, but in the business plan and your pitch meetings. You need to write it last and write it well. Once you get in the door, it’s the hook that will entice an investor to look deeper.

Related Articles
  When Should You Write the Executive Summary of Your Business Plan?
  How to write a killer business plan executive summary.
  Thirteen Tips For Entrepreneurs When Making Oral Presentations to Investors
  Part 1: The Executive Summary
  How To Raise Capital From Investors

Article Tags: appetite, brief summary, business plan, competitive advantage, delicate balance, executive summary, hook, initial statement, investor, marketing sales, mate, outset, patents trademarks, pique, premise, proprietary technology, ready answers, specific solution, target customers, target market



Related Forum Posts
$1000 and a stupid idea - [quote="OmnivoreInk":8mkh1lv7]Bill and Heidi Dittmar: Executive Lifestyle founders of a magazine called Executive Lifestyle. Started in 1991. Revenue has grown more than 200% since 2004. 4 full time, 3 part time employees "We started off with $1,000 and a stupid idea." It began as This Month, a guide for tourists, and morphed into Executive Lifestyle.[/quote:8mkh1lv7] Hi Barbara, I find this story about Bill and Heidi Dittmar's success to be especially interesting! Would you happen to know what the catalyst or tipping point was for their change from a guide for tourists to an Executive Lifestyle magazine? Thanks
5 Entrepreneur's success stories - My local paper's business section profiled 5 successful entrepreneurs in the Jan 6, 2008 issue of the paper. Thought I'd share just a bit of it here. Bill and Heidi Dittmar: Executive Lifestyle Jeff Wassmer: Spectrum Deloise Hawkins, Star Whitaker and Lenzy Hill: Touch of Elegance Stephen Brosius: Advanced Door Systems Pam Watson: Goodrich and Watson Insurers Bill and Heidi Dittmar: Executive Lifestyle founders of a magazine called Executive Lifestyle. Started in 1991. Revenue has grown more than 200% since 2004. 4 full time, 3 part time employees "We started off with $1,000 and a stupid idea." It began as This Month, a guide for tourists, and morphed into Executive Lifestyle. Jeff Wassmer: Spectrum Company specializes in computer network security and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. Wassmer was an 11-year Air Force guy, so he had "ins" in order to form this business. Deloise Hawkins, Star Whitaker and Lenzy Hill: Touch of Elegance Founded business in 1994. 12 employees. Their company designs and plans an average of 25 events each month in Hampton Roads and other parts of Virginia. Stephen Brosius: Advanced Door Systems Started company in 1995. 5 full-time employees, plus subcontractors. After having worked as a subcontractor for others in the construction business for 20 years, he decided to start his own business. Pam Watson: Goodrich and Watson Insurers At age 49, she was approached by an insurance colleague to buy out their employer's insurance division. They did so, and became employers themselves., witj 4 full-time people.
Re: History of Women in Business in the United States - Yes. Women have increasingly made positive economic contributions to society and their position is being recognized more and more as seen on the Forbes List of Executive Women. In general, women can be a bit more practical in their approach as entrepreneurs too.
Re: what position to request? - What do you think of: Executive Manager? Director of Product Management? I am not interested in working as a freelancer. As I mentioned, the purpose of what I am doing is to get involved into a startup that may become successful in the future. This is a situation when a group of people get together to launch something promising and invest into this their time and energy and even may be money.
Post subject: It's Not Personal, just business - I so agree! Actually, the business world as we know it IS in trouble. I heard some stats last week that they expect by the time 2050 that 70% of workers will be freelancers. Employee/Executive Bullying won't be able to stand it when it could be easier for someone to simply contract with the nicer guy (or gal). I, for one, will be choosing the nicer ones!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Ask for a Flexible Work Arrangement

Selling On Ebay The Good The Bad And The Ugly

Ways to Improve Your Landing Page Conversions

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.