Deliverable Executive Summary Report
(5 pages maximum)
The executive summary will have a maximum length of 5 pages: 2 pages
of main content + 3 pages of annexes.
The structure of the first 2 pages appears on the next page. The distribution of the annexes (3 pages) would be as follows:
The first 2 pages of the annexes should include the customer discovery process followed and the learning received. For example, opportunity approach, research process, analysis of the data collected, description and reasoning of your assumptions and hypotheses, experiments performed, results, adaptations, and tools used.
On the other annex page, you can put more information about the client discovery process, or include tables, graphs, or other elements that you want to highlight.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY STRUCTURE
Based on Guy Kawasaki’s “The Art of the Executive Summary”, some changes were made from the original version.
The job of the executive summary is to sell, not to describe.
The executive summary is often your initial face to a potential investor or partner, so it is critically important that you create the right first impression. Contrary to the advice in articles, you do not need to explain the entire business in 250 words. You need to convey its essence, and its energy and you want to be clear and compelling.
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. This sentence (or two) sets the tone for the rest of the executive summary. Usually, this is a concise statement of the unique solution you have developed to a big problem. It should be direct and specific, not abstract and conceptual.
2. The Problem: Connect the problem with the challenge. You need to make it clear that there is a big, important problem (current or emerging) that you are going to solve. In this context, there is enormous pain out there, and you are going to increase revenues, reduce costs, increase speed, expand reach, eliminate inefficiency, increase effectiveness, whatever. Don’t confuse your statement of the problem with the size of the opportunity (see below).
3. TheSolutionandValidationmetrics:Whatspecificallyareyouofferingtowhom? Software, hardware, service, combination? Use commonly used terms to state concretely what you have, or what you do, that solves the problem you’ve identified. You might need to clarify where you fit in the value chain or distribution channels— who do you work with in the ecosystem of your sector, and why will they be eager to work with you? You should also provide validation pieces of evidence with your tests to prove that your proposal is desirable for your target market.
4. The Market: 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. You will be better off targeting a meaningful percentage of a well-defined, growing market than claiming a microscopic percentage of a huge, mature market. It is highly recommended to use the TAM-SAM-SOM approach explained in class.
5. YourCompetitiveAdvantage:Nomatterwhatyoumightthink,youhave competition. At a minimum, you compete with the current way of doing business or existing alternative solutions. Who are your formal or informal competitors? Explain what your real, sustainable competitive advantage is, and state it clearly. Do not try to convince us that your only competitive asset is your “first mover advantage” or that no one is offering the “same solution”. Here is where you can articulate your unique benefits and advantages. Believe it or not, in most cases, you should be able to make this point in one or two sentences.
6. The Business Model (Costs and Revenues): How specifically are you going to generate revenues, and from whom? What are your cost drivers? Why is your model leverageable and scalable? Explain why your proposal is feasible, and what type of activities or resources you need to provide your value proposition. Does the project require any specific partnership with external companies or institutions?
7. Go-to-Market Strategy: Explain the customer segments you will target during the first 3 years. What product and sales/marketing strategy you will use to generate traction and growth? Specify the acquisition channels you will use and estimate a budget to achieve your desired outcomes.
8. Management Team: Explain the team that will lead this project. In case you are missing specific roles and profiles to properly execute the project, explain here who you need to make it possible. Explain why the background of each team member fits.
9. The Promise ($$): When you are pitching to investors, your fundamental promise is that you are going to achieve a level of success that far exceeds the capital required to do that. Your Summary Financial Projections should clearly show that. But if they are not believable, all of your work is for naught. You should show 3 years of revenues and expenses. It might also make sense to show some metrics, such as number of users or units shipped.
10.The Ask: This is the amount of funding you are asking for now. This should generally be the minimum amount of money you need to reach the next major milestone. You can always take more if investors are willing to make more available, but it is hard to take less. If you expect to be raising another round of financing later, make that clear, and state the expected amount.
You should be able to make each point in just two or three simple, clear, specific sentences.
Your executive summary should be exactly 2 pages.
Please remember that the outline above should not be applied rigidly or religiously. No template fits all projects, but make sure you touch on each key issue. You need to think through what points are most important in your particular case, what points are irrelevant, what points need emphasis, and what points require no elaboration.
Some other general points:
Do not lead with broad, sweeping statements about the market opportunity. What matters is not market size, but rather compelling pain. Investors would rather invest in a company solving a desperate problem for a small growing market, than a company providing an incremental improvement for a large established market.
Avoid “purple farts”—adjectives that sound impressive but carry no substance. “Next generation” and “dynamic” probably don’t mean anything to your readers. Everybody thinks their software is “intelligent” and “easy to use,” and everyone thinks their financial projections are “conservative.” Explain your company the way you would to a friend at a cocktail party (after one drink, not five).
State your value proposition and competitive advantage in positive terms, not negative terms. It is what you can do that is important, not what others cannot do. With the one or two most obvious competitors, however, you may need to be very explicit: “Unlike Cisco’s firewall solution, our software can operate ….”
Use simple sentences, not multi-tiered compound sentences.
Use analogs, as long as you are clarifying rather than hyping. You can say you are using the Google model for generating revenues, as long as you don’t say you expect to be the next Google.
Go back and reread each sentence when you’re done: Are they clear, concise and compelling?
