You can learn more about the author behind the ebook here - http://www.businessplanexecutivesummary.com/executive-summary/how-to-write-an-executive-summary

1. By: Adam Hoeksema

2. Please pass the guide around to any and
every entrepreneur that might benefit!
The ExecutivePlan philosophy is free
information so feel free to include the
ebook on your website to give to your
visitors or email to your friends. The only
thing that I ask is that you do not re-sell
this ebook. It is meant to help
entrepreneurs so please distribute freely.

3. Introduction
Famous venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki said in his
book, The Art of the Start, “Of the effort you put into
write a business plan, 80 percent should go into the
executive summary. These are the most important
paragraphs of your organization’s existence.”
There you have it. Right from the mouth of one of
the most influential and accomplished venture
capitalists in the world. Your executive summary will
make or break your capital raising efforts. That is
why this book is so incredibly important. But before
we jump in, I want to tell you a little bit about my
background and my company, ExecutivePlan.
In the spring of 2007 as a college undergraduate, I entered the Taylor University Business Plan
Competition. I had never written a business plan before and had little entrepreneurial
experience; so naturally, I set out to find resources to help me write a business plan executive
summary for the first round of the competition. Surprisingly, I only found a handful of articles
and videos that explained the purpose and the process of writing an executive summary.
What I found instead were 1,000's of business plan executive summary templates. I was
confused because the templates were all the same. I thought the purpose of an executive
summary was to stand out from the crowd.
Over the past 3 years I have developed the belief that it is the basic principles of your executive
summary that will make it successful -- not only the way it is formatted. So in July of 2010, I set
out to write, produce, and promote the most comprehensive materials on the market for
business plan executive summary writing.
Only a few short months into this process I became recognized as one of the leading authorities
in business plan executive summary writing around the world. It has been an incredible
journey so far. I love working with entrepreneurs as they seek to raise capital
through investment, loans, and grants. I also love collaborating in the innovation
that entrepreneurs around the world create. I hope that the following pages provide immense
value to you in your capital raising process.
Sincerely,
Adam Hoeksema
Founder & CEO – ExecutivePlan
www.businessplanexecutivesummary.com

4. Table of Contents
The Capital Raising Process
Prescreening
Screening
Due Diligence
Commit Capital Round
How to Write an Executive Summary
What Not to Do
What to Do
Audience
Friends and Family
Bankers
Angel Investors
Venture Capitalists
Executive Summary Resources
Executive Summary Templates
Executive Summary Review Service
About ExecutivePlan
Thank You!

5. The Capital Raising Process
According to the United States Small Business Administration there were approximately 27.5
million U.S. small businesses in 2009. This means that at any given time there are millions of
small business owners seeking to raise capital. There are numerous sources of capital for
entrepreneurs including:
• Friends and Family
• Bankers
• Angel Investors
• Venture Capitalists
The capital raising process is similar no matter who you are requesting capital from. The basic
process will look something like this:
• Prescreening
• Screening
• Due Diligence
• Capital Commitment
Of course each capital source will be different, but we can learn the principles involved by
picking apart each stage of the process. My expertise is in executive summaries, so the bulk
of this eBook will focus on the first stage of the capital raising process. I choose to focus on
the prescreening round because I believe that once an entrepreneur makes it through that
first impression with a potential investor or banker, the strength of their personality,
experience, and the business opportunity will take over. I can't teach you how to have a
more likeable personality, I can't change your experience, and I can't start a business for you,
but what I can do is help you create a more powerful, effective, and memorable first
impression on any VIP.
According to the Angel Capital Education Foundation
report titled, Important Things for Entrepreneurs to
Know About Angel Investors, approximately 75% of
angel investor applicants are denied funding in the
prescreening round. This means that 3 out of 4
entrepreneurs applying for angel investment may be
denied before ever meeting the potential investor!

6. Prescreening
Prescreening is essentially your first encounter with the investor or banker – your first
impression. Remember, you only get one first impression so make it count. There are basically
two ways in which you are likely to make an initial connection:
• Elevator Pitch
• Executive Summary
The Elevator Pitch
Because an elevator pitch is simply your verbal executive summary I want to start by spending
some time perfecting your elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is not: An elevator pitch is:
• A sales pitch • Practiced and perfected
• A presentation • Clear and concise
• Any longer than one minute • Includes a call to action or a next step
• Unplanned • Intriguing
• Only informational • An answer to the question, “What do you do?”
Make sure to download our Free Elevator Pitch
Example.
An elevator pitch is just what it sounds like, if you
stepped on to an elevator with a potential investor and
knew that you had 7 floors before he got off, what
would you tell him about your business? These
“elevator opportunities” happen everyday when
someone asks, “So what do you do?” Obviously not
every person you speak with is a potential investor, so
you might tweak your pitch a little bit, but ultimately
you need 200 to 300 words that you can recite on
command when the opportunity presents itself. Here
are a few guidelines as you create your elevator pitch:

7. The Grab
Just like your executive summary needs something to immediately grab the attention of the
reader, your elevator pitch should start with a statement that intrigues your audience. Maybe it
is simply the name of a partner, customer, or team member that elicits interest by the name
alone.
Big Problem
Creatively and quickly state the problem that your company seeks to address. For example,
businesses hate to constantly replace the ink cartridge for their printer.
Unique Solution - Explain your unique solution to the big problem. Do this quickly. For example,
if your company developed a new chemistry based nano-technology ink cartridge, don’t worry
about the details of the chemistry, simply explain the results. “You can print twice as much for
the same price as traditional ink cartridges.”
Vision
You explained your solution to the problem you
are addressing, now let them know your vision.
Again keep it simple. For example, “We seek to
develop and commercialize the best products
in the ink cartridge industry.” Letting your
audience know your vision is vital. To your
surprise they might be able and willing to help.
Request - Finally you need to request
something. Don’t just say, “nice to meet
you.” Maybe you can ask for their business
card, a time to meet with them again, or an
introduction to another VIP that you would
like to network with.
Make sure to visit

8. If you want to see hundreds of great examples of elevator pitches check out an incredible new
website called www.vator.tv. The concept is simple, create a short 1 to 2 minute video elevator
pitch of your company and upload it onto the site. You will then create a profile for your business
that investors will be able to review and then contact you if they are interested in learning more.
Currently, it is free to become a member of the site. If you don't want to go to the hassle of
creating your own video, you should at least check out the website and watch some of the other
successful entrepreneurs pitch their business.
As you work on your elevator pitch, keep in mind that this will be your first impression; therefore
you need to be ready to give a powerful and memorable pitch to anyone who asks. Practice.
Practice. Practice. Surprisingly, the more you practice the more natural it will sound.
Awesome Startup Tip #1
Did you know that you can submit your
startup to various blogs and websites
where they will review your new startup
for free and provide publicity and press Recently I started my own Submit your Startup
coverage for your startup. There is an website. Each week I pick one startup to feature
incredible website, Submit Startup that on my widely read blog. Make sure to submit a
provides an extensive listing of all of the link to your website and a few sentences about
blogs, websites, ezines, etc. that allow you your company at Submit your Startup to
to submit your startup for a free review. ExecutivePlan

9. The Executive Summary
Finally, we can get into the meat of the book. Your executive summary will make or break your
opportunity to raise capital. As I mentioned at the beginning of the book, famous venture
capitalist Guy Kawasaki said in his book, The Art of the Start, “Of the effort you put into write a
business plan, 80 percent should go into the executive summary. These are the most important
paragraphs of your organization’s existence.”
The most important paragraphs of your organization’s existence? Wow! Those are strong
words, but I believe they are warranted. Let's start by looking at a couple of reasons why your
executive summary is so important.
1. It may be the only thing a banker or potential investor ever reads
2. Again it serves as your first impression
3. It sets the tone for your entire business plan
4. It is the difference between securing a meeting with investors and being denied funding
5. It is the key to the multi-billion dollar small business financing industry
Now that you understand how incredibly important your executive summary is, let's take a look
at the basic structure and outline of a strong executive summary.
Awesome Startup Tip #2
Did you know that you can get access to
hundreds of free business tools at Business
Toolkit You can utilize tools to help your startup
including:
• Financial Statement Templates
• Sample Contract Agreements
• Government Contracting Forms
• Franchise Agreement Forms
• 90 Day Startup Cash Flow Needs Tool
• Federal and State Tax Forms
• And Much Much More!

10. Executive Summary Structure
You have 2 pages – just 2 pages to intrigue your readers and leave them begging for more. A
successful Executive Summary is so much more than just a summary... In fact if you are
starting with the intent to summarize your document, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Consider a movie preview. A successful
movie preview will grab your attention
quickly, and in just 2 or 3 minutes leave
you so intrigued that you just have to
watch the movie. Notice that a movie
preview is not a summary of the
movie. The purpose is to give you just
enough information to get you
interested. Some previews even end with
a suspenseful cliffhanger so that you just
have to go watch the movie
immediately. There are a number of
similarities between a movie preview and
what your business plan executive
summary should be.
Now I want to borrow from famous author, speaker, and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki's
blog article “The Art of the Executive Summary”. The article is written by Kawasaki's
colleague Bill Reichert. He provides an incredible generic summary and outline for your
executive summary. Let me explain this outline in my own words. The main sections are
as follows:
The Grab – When it comes to your executive
summary the grab is probably the most important
section of your entire executive summary. In two or
three sentences you should pull the reader in to
learn more. Maybe you just signed a partnership
agreement with Google, maybe you won your first
government contract, or maybe your product won a
prestigious award for your industry. If you can’t
claim any of these accolades, you may want to start
with a quote or a testimonial from one of your
clients of an industry VIP.

11. Big Problem – The first ingredient of a good business idea is a Big Problem. Without a problem,
pain or annoyance of some sort you don't have a sustainable business. Here is an example of a
big problem, there is too much traffic in Chicago and everyone hates traffic. Everyone in the
room should be saying “yeah, I hate that.”
Unique Solution – The big problem is the easy
part. Now you have to convince the reader that you
have come up with a unique solution to the big
problem. If you have these two ingredients you
have a good business idea. Maybe you developed a
new traffic control system that will save 1 minute
for every person in Chicago each day during their
commute. 1 minute each day is valuable when you
are talking about a couple million people.
Market Potential – This is an area where the optimistic entrepreneur often gets in trouble. Just
because you are in the medical device industry which might be several hundred billion dollars
does not mean that your market potential is several hundred billion dollars. Your market
potential should be built from the ground up, with a number of factors in mind. Does your
geographic location impact your ability to sell your product or service? What is your
production capacity? If you got a million dollar sale would you be able to fill it? If not, then
your market potential should be adjusted accordingly. It is alright for you to dream into the
future about where your business can go 10 years down the road, but investors want to know
your realistic market potential for next month and next year.
Competition – You need to address your competition, but don’t stop at simply identifying your
competition. You need to explain how your solution has a unique and sustainable advantage
over your competition. If your competition can simply replicate your business, why would any
one be willing to invest in your business - a business with no unique, long term advantage?
Management Team – Depending on what industry you are in, this can be the most important
part of your executive summary or one of the least important sections. Your investors or
bankers are putting trust in the team not the idea. Ideas are easy to come by, but executing on
those ideas can only be accomplished through a strong team. Quickly show why your team has
the experience and know-how to execute your business plan.

12. Financial Projections – Based on your market, your business model and, your historical
performance you need to develop a bottom up financial forecast. If your plan is for a group of
investors, don't spend too much time on this section because everyone already knows that you
have no idea how much money you might make. Investors typically won't make a go / no go
decision based on your financial projections. They will essentially make their own financial
projections. That being said, you should have some sort of graph or table with current revenue
and expenses as well as projected net profit going forward for at least 3 years.
Request – Now it is time to make a request. You should restate why your company provides
value. Remind the reader of the big pain that you are solving and your market
potential. Finally reemphasize your team and its ability to get the job done. Ask for the dollar
amount that you need to reach the next major milestone for your business. You don't need to
disclose how much equity you are willing to give up or what interest rate you are willing to
pay. This should be done later through face to face negotiation.
Awesome Startup Tip #3
If you are from Silicon Valley you will know Vinod Khosla, one of the most famous venture
capitalists of all time. As you are working through the capital raising process make sure to visit
his website, Here. He provides a number of free presentations, white papers, and articles on
raising venture capital and building great companies.
Soon I am going to dig into more details of how to write an executive summary, but first I want
to quickly address the rest of the capital raising process.
Screening – Only 25% of entrepreneurs will make it to the Screening round of the capital raising
process. This stage will typically consist of a more in depth look at your business. It will
probably include a meeting or presentation and your business plan.
Presentation Tips
• Use the Guy Kawasaki 10/20/30 rule
• 10 Slides
• 20 Minutes
• 30 Point Font
• Never write paragraphs on the slide – use bullet points
• If possible always use a diagram, graph or table to illustrate your point
• Leave plenty of time for questions

13. Business Plan Tips
• Business Plans are boring; don't be boring
• Spice it up with colorful graphs, tables, and diagrams
• Keep it to 25 pages max
• Don't spend too long on your business plan – no one will read it anyway
Due Diligence – If you are so lucky as to make it to the Due Diligence round of the financing
process, it is probably time to bring in an expert. If you haven't already, I would suggest that
you work with a qualified CPA and/or attorney. During this round you can expect questions –
lots of questions. The bankers and investors will likely dig into your personal background
including your credit history, former business ventures, personal tax returns, and any criminal
history if applicable. If all comes back clean they will probably start to look at your business in
more detail. Do you have a patent? They will want to confirm that. Do you have sales orders
or partnership agreements? Again they will look to confirm everything.
Commit Capital Round - This is the final round. You have made
it through the executive summary round, the initial
presentation round, and the due diligence round.
Congratulations. Now you have about a 50/50 shot at receiving
funding. You will probably be asked to come back in for a final
investment presentation. Sounds terrifying. If you are well
prepared, this round should be a breeze. The potential
investors clearly have an interest in your business because they
have brought you this far. Now this is your chance to get them
to buy in on your vision and also to show them how they will
make a lot of money of course.
If it is a bank loan that you are attempting to secure, you probably will not be asked to come
back in for a final presentation. In fact if you made it past the due diligence round at the bank,
you have probably raised capital for your business!
Awesome Startup Tip #4
Part of the angel investment and venture capital process is the “term sheet.” This is basically a
legal document that outlines the terms of a business agreement. Term sheets are commonly
used in equity financing of private companies. If you are a startup in need of investment, you
are probably on a tight budget. This means you don't have the money to be paying lawyers
$300 an hour to draw up all of your paperwork. I hate to break it to you, but you will need to
involve your lawyer at some point. Luckily, Orrick, a Silicon Valley Law Firm, has developed a
free “Term Sheet Creator” You will simply fill in the blanks and a rough draft of your term sheet
will be created. At this point you may want to involve your own lawyer or a lawyer at Orrick to
polish it up. You can access this tool at
Term Sheet Creator.

14. How to Write an Executive Summary
Sorry that I had to go through those other capital raising basics. Now I will focus the rest of
my attention on the nitty-gritty details of how to write an executive summary. I want to start
by pointing out what NOT to do in your executive summary.
What Not to Do
No Competition - At one point or another every entrepreneur will say it. "I have no
competition." This is typically during the pre-revenue stages of business because once you
begin to offer your product or service you will quickly realize that every business has
competition. You might be the only one in the world that manufactures your product, but that
does not mean you have no competition. Whether you have direct competitors or not you are
always competing for dollars with someone or something else. If you have no competition then
everyone in the world should buy your product, and if they don't, then what is it that is keeping
them from purchasing your product? That is your competition. It could be a child's college
savings account, a date night with the spouse, or the mortgage payment. These are all
competition because they consume dollars that are not available for your product or service.
1% of the Market - The second biggest mistake that almost
every entrepreneur will make is believing that capturing 1% of
their market is a conservative estimate. Just because 1%
sounds like a small number does not mean any Joe Blow can
steal 1% of a market from the competition. Entrepreneurs
must have this urge to pretend that they are conservative,
when in reality almost every entrepreneur has some bit of
optimist in them. Rather than just assuming you can capture
1% market share out of a $100 billion market, you need to
build bottom up, data driven projections. Your market
potential is defined by your geographic location, your capacity
to fulfill sales, and your ability to secure financing to name a
few. Take these things into consideration when making claims
about your market potential.
Too Long – Again and again I have said that you need to keep your executive summary short
and sweet. The point of your executive summary is not to summarize each part of your
business plan. Keep your executive summary to 2 pages or less at all costs. The reasoning
behind this rule is two-fold. First you want to respect the readers time. If you submit a 5 page
executive summary, you will probably frustrate the busy banker or investor. Secondly, whether
you like it or not, if your executive summary is more than 2 pages very few bankers and
investors will actually take the time to read the document.

15. Mission statement – It might seem counter intuitive, but you should not include your mission
statement in your executive summary. In the spirit of keeping your executive summary short
and to the point, I would suggest that you leave out your mission statement. Most executive
summaries start with the company mission statement. Do you realize that most mission
statements use the same flowery meaningless language? You must stand out immediately, and
a boring mission statement is not going to help you stand out. If you feel compelled to include
your mission, at least stick it in the body of the document, not the first impression.
Focus on Projections – Some entrepreneurs like to focus
on their financial projections when pitching to a group of
bankers or investors. Don't get me wrong it is important
to go through the process of building financial
projections, but after you are done don't act as if those
projections will absolutely come to pass. If you project a
growth rate of 1,000% over the next three years, and the
banker asks you why you think he should loan you
$300,000, please don't say, “because we are going to
grow 1,000% over the next 3 years. Bankers and
investors both know that projections don't mean
anything. Projections are dependent on so many
variables that you might as well be pulling numbers out
of thin air, so don't focus too heavily on your projections
in the capital raising process.
Awesome Business Tip #5
Did you realize that SCORE (Service Core of Retired Executives) is a free business consulting
group of veteran business professionals? They provide free consulting for businesses of any
size. They also have a number of valuable resources on their website HERE. My favorite tools
are their series of quizzes that they have made available on the following topics:
• Business Planning
• E-Commerce
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Leadership
• Legal
• Marketing & PR
• Office Management
• Sales & Customer Service
• Training

16. What to Do
So we went through a couple of the things that you don't want to do. Now let’s look at a long
list of things that you do want to do in your business plan executive summary.
Grab Attention with First 2 Sentences - You only have one chance to make a first impression.
Most of the readers of your business plan executive summary have read 100's if not 1000's of
business plans. The first two sentences will set the stage for your entire business plan so be
compelling, intriguing, and creative.
Your Grab Should be Personal - You want to make the grab or the hook of your executive
summary unique to your business if possible. For instance, you could start with a quote from
an expert in your industry discussing the potential for explosive growth in your industry, but it
would be exponentially better to write about a new partnership you have with Google, or the
recent signing of your first major contract, or even an endorsement of your product or service
from an industry VIP.
Be Compelling and Intriguing - Remember that the purpose of your executive summary is not
simply to summarize your business; rather it is to sell or call the reader to action. Similarly, the
first couple sentences of your executive summary, known as the hook, must compel and
intrigue the reader to action – to read the rest of your executive summary.
Identify a Problem - I don't want to say that you absolutely can't have a successful business
without solving a problem, but typically you should find a problem or a need and solve it. You
should identify the problem that your business addresses at the very beginning of your
executive summary. The goal is to get the reader nodding their head saying, “yeah, I hate it
when that happens.”
Typically, it is important to actually address a problem. If your business idea is not addressing a
problem, you will struggle with sustainable success. You might find temporary success if your
business idea becomes a fad, but fads come and go. You must solve a problem to be
sustainable.
Identify a Solution to that Problem - Anyone can identify a problem,
but does your business solve an identified problem? Solving
problems, meeting needs, these are the foundations of a great
business. Make sure to describe how your business solves an
identified problem.

17. Address your “Current” Market Potential - If you don't already know what your market
potential is, you need to conduct some in depth research to determine what your market
potential is. Your specific market potential can change over time. For instance, if you open a
restaurant in Chicago, your market potential is probably limited to those that live or work
within 45 minutes of your restaurant. You may have the opportunity to franchise your
restaurant which would increase your market potential with each new restaurant. Just because
you plan to franchise your restaurant does not mean that you should say your market potential
is the entire United States. You might become the next McDonalds, but you are not there yet
so stick with what your current market potential is in your executive summary.
You might have a solution for a problem that millions of people have. That is great, but how
many of those people will you be able to reach in a cost-effective manner? For instance, you
might invent a relatively cheap water filter that could be used to help those without access to
clean drinking water, but if you can't get your product to your market, then your potential
market is essentially meaningless. Make sure to discuss how many people that need your
product or service can be reached in a cost-effective manner.
Identify your Competition - One of the most common mistakes
made by entrepreneurs is claiming that you have no competition.
It may be true that no one is doing exactly what you are doing,
but that does not mean that you have no competition. What
keeps your potential customers from purchasing your product or
service? That is your competition. Even if you create a truly
unique item that only costs $10, your potential customer may
choose to order a pizza instead of your gadget. Even though Pizza
Hut is not your direct competitor it is still competition. An
experienced banker or angel investor will be turned off if you
claim to have no competition.
If you have direct competitors, identify them. It is better to show the reader that you recognize
your competition and have identified ways in which to differentiate yourself from their
business.
Not only should you identify your competitors, you need to differentiate yourself. Show how
you are unique from your competition, how you are sustainable, and how you plan to mitigate
the negative impact your competition will have on your business.
Keep your Business Model Simple - You need to make it very clear to your readers, how you
intend to make money. Complicated business models will scare investors and bankers
away. The competition for financing is fierce so most investors are going to look for easy ways
to make money. They typically don't want to be bothered with new business models. Keep it
simple, short, and understandable.

18. Highlight your Management Experience - Your business might be a one person show. You may
not have a partner, but when it comes to securing financing for your business most bankers and
investors are going to be looking to invest in businesses with at least 2 people. You can't do it
all alone. You need to find a partner with skills to compliment your own. Then make sure to
include this in your executive summary.
Even if your management team is not experienced you need to include a section about your
management team in your executive summary. Unfortunately, most investors are going to be
looking for experience. Just because you don't have experience does not mean that you don't
have a great idea or that you will not be able to build a successful business, but often times
investors and bankers will place a high value on experience of the management team. Make
sure to include any and all experience that you and your team do possess.
Cash is King - Cash flow projections are probably the most
important financial section of your executive summary. Anyone
interested in financing your business will want to ensure that you
have a firm grasp on your cash flow. The worst case scenario for an
investor is to invest in your company and lose everything because
you did not correctly project your cash flow needs, and you ran out
of cash before your business reached positive cash flow.
Show Skin in the Game - If you have already invested your own capital into your business, then
you should disclose this in your executive summary. If you have not invested your own
resources into the business, then you probably are not ready to request outside financing.
Bankers and investors are going to ask to see that you have “skin in the game.”
Request a Specific Dollar Amount - If you are requesting a loan, investment, or a grant with
your business plan executive summary, make sure to include the specific dollar amount you are
requesting. This is a question that every VIP is going to want to know.
Call the Reader to Action - Make sure to request a specific action from the reader. Do you
want the reader to meet with you in person? Read the rest of your business plan? Call you on
the phone? Visit your website? Just make sure that the end of your executive summary does
not leave the reader wondering what the next step is.
When were you Founded - Your reader will want to know when the company was founded.
Even if you are a brand new startup it is best to disclose this information sooner rather than
later.
Include your Contact Information - Make sure to include your contact information so that if
your executive summary does its job, the reader will have a way to contact you.

19. Include your Website Address - If you have a website for you business make sure to include the
address for the reader to learn more about you and your company. If you don't have a website,
get one. A website helps to build your credibility and establish trust.
Break it up with Title Headings - You need to include section headings and titles to make the
executive summary easy to read. If your executive summary is two pages of Times New Roman
12 point font paragraphs the reader is going to assume that your 30 page business plan is just
as boring. There is no chance they will continue to read 30 pages of text in the format of a
novel. Break it up with headings and titles.
Use Bullet Lists - Like it or not many VIPs probably won't even read your executive summary
word-for-word. Use bulleted lists to draw attention to some of your most important details.
Add some Color - Graphs and tables are another
great way to add some color and interest to your
executive summary. Bankers and investors are
going to look at your tables and graphs, but they
might not read your entire executive
summary. Make sure your executive summary
includes key information in table and graph
format. This is a great way to tell your story.
Include your Logo - If possible include your logo for credibility. It will also add some color to
your document and make it immediately stand out from the others.
These are a number of the most important characteristics that your executive summary should
possess. Even though there are a number of executive summary structures and content basics
that you should follow, it is probably even more important that you grasp the concept that I am
going to look at next – your audience.

20. Awesome Startup Tip #6
So once you write your executive summary what do you do with it? Well you may have a group
of potential investors already lined up, but if you don't, you will need to identify potential
investors. There are 3 primary resources that I am going to provide you with to get you started
in your search for investors.
National Venture Capital Association – Visit http://www.nvca.org/ and you will be well on your
way to finding all the Venture Capital information you could ever need. There are literally
hundreds of resources, as well as, venture capital directories to help you find the right venture
capital firm for your business.
Angel Capital Education Foundation – Visit http://www.angelcapitaleducation.org/ to learn
about angel investors. Raising angel capital is hard. It is more than simply submitting an
executive summary and developing an investor presentation. ACEF will provide you with
guidelines on how to approach, who to approach and when to approach angel investors.
Angel Capital Association – Visit http://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/ to find angel
investors. There are extensive directories to find local angel investors. There are also a number
of links to reports and research that has been done on angel investment.
All three of these resources will improve your odds of successfully raising capital. Make sure to
learn as much as you can about the process, but don't learn forever. At some point you need to
step out and approach potential investors. Don't give up easily because only 1 to 4% of
entrepreneurs successfully raise venture capital or angel investment, so keep pushing!

21. Audience
As I said at the very beginning of this eBook, your audience may consist of four distinct and very
different groups of people. You may raise capital from your friends and family, bankers, angel
investors, or venture capitalists. Each group will be looking for something completely different
when reading your executive summary. Now I will go into detail about the distinctions of each
group.
According to a report distributed by the Angel
Capital Education Foundation, total startup
funding from venture capital funds, state
funds, and angel investors totals
approximately $20.8 billion annually.
Friends and Family Surprisingly, friends and family contributed
nearly three times the amount of capital to
thousands of startups each year. With
approximately $60 billion in startup funding
coming from friends and family,
entrepreneurs must consider this as an option
as they seek to launch new businesses.
Money issues between friends and family can ruin relationships, so when seeking capital from
friends and family you must keep a number of things in mind. The following five steps will
prepare you to request capital from this unique and powerful group – your friends and family.
You can't treat them as bankers or angel investors, but you also don't want to be too casual.
Consider these five steps before you begin the capital raising process:
1. Prepare a pitch - Just because you are requesting
investment from your mom or a group of your college
buddies doesn’t give you an excuse to be unprofessional.
Take this opportunity and the potential risk taken by your
investor seriously. Do your homework, and prepare a
professional, persuasive and passionate presentation. You
want your friends and family to buy into your vision, not
just hand over some cash because they feel obligated or
pressured.

22. 2. Have a game plan - When you are seeking angel investment or venture capital
investment, you will need a strong business plan, but do you really need a business plan
for your friends and family? Instead, you might consider a vision, strategy, and tactics
plan. You will start by developing a vision for the future of your business, then strategies
to reach your vision, and finally day-to-day tactics to accomplish your strategies. For
example, assume that you have a vision of becoming the leading online retailer of picture
frames. One strategy may be to utilize search engine traffic to bring in customers. Finally,
you will develop tactics such as building quality links to your website through social media
and professional article writing to boost your rankings in the search engines.
1. Have an exit strategy - Angel investors and venture
capitalists want to know how you intend to grow their
investment. They want to know when and how you intend
to repay them – with interest. Your friends and family
should be no different. Although you want to disclose the
fact that investing in a startup is risky, you should also
outline a detailed strategy for the investor to exit profitably.
Maybe you will structure the capital as a high interest loan,
or maybe they will own a percentage of the business and be
repaid through the profits. No matter the structure, you
should have a detailed plan for repayment.
4. Consider making it official - Depending on the size of the investment you may consider
hiring a lawyer to file the necessary paperwork to make everything official. Obviously this
will give the investor peace of mind, and it should help you in the future as you seek angel
investment. Making it official gives you credibility for future rounds of investment.
Remember to use judgment though, if your buddy is going to invest $10,000, and the
legal fees amount to $2,500, you may want to resort to a firm handshake.
5. Follow through - Again, investing in a startup is risky, and
your friends and family probably know that, but they should
expect to earn a return on their investment. Don’t view this
capital as a gift; instead, follow through with what you
promised. If things don’t go exactly as planned, be sure to
communicate regularly so that they know what to expect. If
at all possible, follow through. If you fail to deliver as
promised you risk your entire relationship and your ability to
raise capital in the future.

23. As you seek capital for your startup, don’t neglect the $60 billion opportunity represented by
friends and family, but tread carefully as you risk something far greater than the failure of your
business – your relationships.
Awesome Startup Tip #7
I know that I already mentioned www.vator.tv once, but I believe this resource is valuable
enough to warrant a second mention. If you visit HERE you will find a service provider for any
and all of your startup needs. This is essentially a fancy directory with nearly 100 business plan
writers, dozens of marketing professionals, accountants, and lawyers to name a few. Each
service provider will also create a profile and elevator pitch so that you can get an idea of how
they can help your business launch and grow.
Bankers
Small business loans of less than $1 million outstanding totaled $711.3 billion as of June 2008,
according to an SBA report titled, “2009 The Small Business Economy – A Report to the
President” When we are talking about capital for small businesses, it is clear that traditional
commercial bank loans are the single largest source of small business financing. Yes, it is true
that securing a loan from a commercial bank is difficult during the current economic downturn,
but it is still far more likely that you find a loan, than an investor, to finance your small
business.
Due to the decrease in credit made available to small businesses in the recent years,
competition is at an all-time high. Your loan application must stand out from the crowd on all
fronts in order to be considered for a loan, and your executive summary must be written to
allay the fears that are common among bankers.
Audience Analysis - Bankers
Bankers. Do you ever wonder why you see so
many bankers out of the golf course on Friday
afternoons? It is because they are not reading
your entire 40 page business plan. In all
likelihood they take 15 minutes to look at your
loan application, maybe a bit more or less
depending on the size of your loan request. They
are not digging into the details of your business
plan so if you want to stand a chance at securing
a small business loan you need to have a short
and powerful executive summary.

24. Bankers will also want to see that you have some “skin in the game”, which means that you
have invested your own time, sweat, and capital into the business.
Because bankers can be picky in these economic times they will also want to see some level of
positive earnings and earnings growth.
The best way to get a loan from a bank is not to need a loan. I know it is frustrating and
counter intuitive, but if you are currently running on fumes and have no working capital for
your business it may be a difficult sell for most bankers. The fact is, if you need a loan you
probably can't get one.
Bankers will also want to see how well you manage the resources that you currently have. You
will have to demonstrate your ability to manage the loan resources given to you through clear
cash flow and profit projections.
Last but certainly not least, bankers are concerned with collateral. They simply want to make
sure that if your business does not go as planned, and ends up bankrupt or defaulting on the
loan, they will still be able to recoup their capital. This is difficult for many small business
owners, but by allowing bankers access to your assets as collateral, you are significantly
improving your chances of securing a loan.
So to recap your banker is probably looking for:
1. A short, power-packed executive summary
2. Loan applicants with skin in the game
3. Positive earnings and earnings growth
4. Current working capital
5. Strong fundamental cash flow projections
6. Collateral
Now you need to determine how to incorporate these six aspects into your executive
summary.
In this scenario you may use your financial projection segment to note the key financial issues
that bankers are concerned with. For instance, you may want to show a small table with the
basics of your balance sheet:
Balance Sheet
Current Assets $300,000.00
Fixed Assets $1,000,000.00
Current Liabilities $150,000.00
Long Term Liabilities $300,000.00
Owner's Equity $850,000.00

25. Then simply state that your balance sheet demonstrates your access to working capital and
your fixed assets can serve as collateral.
Bankers understand a balance sheet, so you don't need to waste your time or theirs by
explaining it. Just state what they want to hear. This is just one way that you can edit your
executive summary to improve your chances of securing a small business loan to take your
business to the next level.
Awesome Startup Tip #8
If you are a truly a startup you may not be ready for angel investment or venture capital yet. In
fact, you might simply need a small loan to jump start your business. There are a number of
SBA Microlenders and SBA Express Lenders around the country. You can call your state SBA
office to find SBA programs near you. You can find that on your own, but what you probably
would not find on your own is the following 3 organizations that can provide small loans across
the entire country. You will actually be able to apply online. Before you apply you should know
that because many of these loans are unsecured, a high credit score will be absolutely vital. So
here you go:
Strategies for Small Business – This is by far my favorite group. Visit their website to get a quick
understanding and then give them a phone call and ask for Cliff. He has been very helpful to a
number of my clients in the past. They can provide loans of up to $25,000 with little paper
work and approval in 48 hours or less.
Borrego Springs Bank– Borrego Springs is also an SBA Preferred Lender which means they can
offer loans to businesses in all 50 states. The SBA express loan is the least amount of
paperwork and can provide up to $50,000.
Accion USA- Accion USA is another SBA lender with a number of loan programs and products.
You can simply apply online for up to $50,000. The Accion USA program is available nationwide
Angel Investors
Again we start with an audience analysis. Investors are a diverse
group. For instance, you may find an angel investor that is a
Doctor with more money than he knows what to do with, but
little understanding of business. You may also find angel investors
that made a good living in your industry niche that are looking to
help other entrepreneurs in their specific area of expertise.
Finally, you may find angel investor groups that are looking to
invest in various industries and even have a process set up for
identifying investments that they are interested in.

26. When it comes to venture capitalists, I don’t want to say they are all the same, but you will find
far less diversity between venture capital firms than you will between angel investors. Investors
have a very different mindset than bankers. Primarily, an investor is not concerned with
collateral because if you go bankrupt they are simply out of luck. Investors understand they are
taking a risk by investing in a small business, and are not as concerned with your collateral.
So from the perspective of your executive summary, investors want to see a few things. I like to
compare investors to sharks so the following section identifies the three things that an investor
and a shark want:
1. Blood = The Grab – Initially blood in the water will
attract a shark. Similarly, what is often called “The
Grab” will attract investors through your executive
summary. The Grab is the first paragraph or couple
sentences that entice the investor. Maybe it is the
big account you just landed or the new advertising
campaign with a famous actor as your
spokesperson. The Grab should get investors to
raise their eyebrows and think maybe this is worth
looking into.
2. Easy Prey = Easy Business Model – Sharks are looking for easy prey. For instance, they
don't often mess with a dolphin or a whale because they are just too difficult to make use
of. Similarly, investors are looking for an easy to understand and easy to implement
business model. There are complicated business models that are successful, but the
average investor just wants to make money the easiest way they know how.
3. Meat = Sound Financials – A small fish might interest a shark and be easy prey, but
ultimately a shark wants some meat. Investors also want some meat, or sound financial
projections. A seasoned investor will take your financial projections with a grain of salt,
because it is difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow let alone what will happen 3
to 5 years from now. Investors will concentrate on whether your assumptions are logical
and well thought out. They want to determine your competence level, not your ability to
predict the future.
So keep these 3 things in mind when you are fishing for sharks or fishing for investors. Now to
look at a specific example of something you can do to improve your executive summary before
presenting to investors consider the following. A reader wants to get a basic understanding of
your business model from your executive summary. Enough detail to understand how the
business makes money, but probably not enough detail to take over and run the business.

27. So keep these 3 things in mind when you are fishing for sharks or fishing for investors. Now to
look at a specific example of something you can do to improve your executive summary before
presenting to investors consider the following. A reader wants to get a basic understanding of
your business model from your executive summary. Enough detail to understand how the
business makes money, but probably not enough detail to take over and run the business.
Think about Google, probably one of the most difficult and diverse business models in the
world, but if Google were seeking investors they would probably say, “we make money by
bringing the right information, to the right people, at the right time” That is in a nutshell how
Google’s primary advertising business makes money. That one line gets to the point of the
business model, it is easy to understand, and it is somewhat intriguing to the reader who might
want to know more.
Try to breakdown your business model into a one sentence statement that describes how you
make money. Keeping it simple is what investors want to see these days.
So as you write your executive summary for a potential investor, keep in mind that all investors
want:
1. A Compelling Grab
2. An Easy Business Model
3. Sound Financial Projections
Now that we have looked at the executive summary from both a banker’s and an investor’s
point of view it is time to move on to the final group of potential readers for your executive
summary.
Awesome Startup Tip #9
Ok now you have written your entire business plan executive summary, but before you submit
it to potential investors wouldn't it be nice to submit it for review by a group of executive
summary experts? Well now it is possible. ExecutivePlan now has an Executive Summary
Review Application. Make sure to avoid those devastating mistakes and work through this 20
question application today.

28. Venture Capital
Just to give you a jump start on your search for venture capital investors I have provided links to
the top venture capitalist firms in the world.
The Top 100 Venture Capital Firms for Early Stage Start-ups - HERE
The Top 100 Venture Capital Firms for Later Stage Companies - HERE
Despite the fact that the Angel Capital Education Foundation reports that venture capital
financing only amounts to approximately .5 billion annually, entrepreneurs are more intrigued
and awestruck by the venture capital community than any other investor group.
When applying for VC money there are 7 keys to writing a business plan executive summary
that will catch the eye of a venture capitalist.
1. Visually Appealing - This should be a no-brainer, but many entrepreneurs write an
executive summary like they would write a novel. If your executive summary is simply
a number of paragraphs stuck together, you might as well kiss your chances at venture
capital good bye. Include graphs, tables, bulleted lists and even your company logo to
add some color and break up the plain text.
2. A Strong Grab - If your first sentence does not grab the reader’s attention, you have
probably already lost your chance to make a great first impression. Don’t start out like
everyone else with a mission statement or some bold claim about the projected
growth of your industry. Investors want to see traction in your business. Do you
already have customers and are they satisfied? Have you signed any major contracts
or partnerships that might be intriguing to the reader?
3. Explosive Growth Potential - Don’t ever forget that every venture
capitalist has one goal in mind. Make a lot of money. Venture capitalists
typically look for returns of 5 to 10 times their initial investment. If your
best case scenario is to make a 100% return, then you probably are not
a good fit for a venture capitalist. Make sure to show them how your
business can hit it big.
4. Simple Business Model - Not only do venture capitalists hope to make a lot of money,
they want it to be as easy as possible. You need to simplify your business model as
much as possible. Typically, venture capitalists are looking for innovation and
creativity, but when it comes to your business model – simple is best. No one wants to
risk millions of dollars on something they can’t understand.

29. 5. Unique Competitive Advantage - You need to address your competition, but don’t stop at
simply identifying your competition. You need to explain how your solution has a unique
and sustainable advantage over your competition. If your competition can copy your
business, then why would any one want to invest in a business that has no unique, long
term advantage?
6. Sound Financials - A set of financial projections that are built upon sound, data-driven
assumptions will catch the eye of venture capitalists. It does not have to be too in-depth
because investors know that no one can project what is going to happen in 3 to 5 years. If
someone could make accurate predictions, then venture capitalists would be far more
successful.
7. A Clear Request - Imagine the frustration a venture capitalist would have after reading
your entire executive summary if you did not clearly request a next step. Request the
exact amount of investment you are seeking or request that the reader meet with you in
person or even that they review the rest of your business plan.
Make sure to follow these 7 tips if you want to write a powerful business plan executive
summary to catch the eye of venture capitalists.

30. Executive Summary Resources
Executive Summary Templates
Now that you are ready to write your executive summary make sure to utilize my free executive
summary templates on ExecutivePlan. You may simply download the document and edit with
your own executive summary text. Make sure to make your executive summary your own. No
template is perfect and no template could ever be completely unique to your business, but our
resources are free and will certainly put you on the track to success.

31. Executive Summary Review Service
This book has given you all the information you
need to create an incredible executive summary,
but many entrepreneurs still come to us asking for
our consulting services. I will be honest, I do not
even enjoy writing executive summaries
anymore. What we do offer is an executive
summary review service. If you just need that
affirmation from a team of experts before you
submit your executive summary to a VIP, then our
review service is perfect! We would love to help
you, so check out our website today at
ExecutivePlan

32. About ExecutivePlan
The ExecutivePlan assists entrepreneurs in the process of writing business plan executive
summaries that are more powerful, effective, and memorable. We already provide numerous
articles, premium videos, eBooks, guides, and templates for entrepreneurs looking to write an
executive summary that raises capital.
Although the process is not easy, and will take dozens, if not hundreds, of edits to finally
master your executive summary, you do not need to be an expert to write a successful
executive summary. The ExecutivePlan aims to empower entrepreneurs to accomplish this on
their own, rather than paying for expensive business consultants.
I wish you much success in your entrepreneurial endeavors and make sure to shoot me an
email at adam@theexecutiveplan.com with any comments, questions, or remarks. I would
love to hear from you.