Nail your executive summary in 5 points
The executive summary is the first page a banker or investor reads. Often it's the only one they read in full before deciding whether to go on. Here's how to make it convincing, in five points.
Many founders write the executive summary first, out of reflex. That's a mistake. The executive summary is written last: it condenses a file that must exist first. Its job isn't to say everything, but to make the reader want to read on. Keep it to one page, two at most.
1. The project in one sentence
Start with a sentence that says what, for whom, and what problem you solve. No jargon, no superlatives. If your reader doesn't grasp your activity after that sentence, the rest is wasted.
"Lina's is a same-day vegetarian meal delivery service for office workers in Lyon's Part-Dieu business district who have neither the time nor the appetite for a bad lunch."
2. The market, in two or three figures
Prove the market exists and is big enough, without drowning the reader. Two or three sourced figures are enough: market size, growth, or number of potential customers in your area. Avoid inflated global figures that have nothing to do with your local reality.
3. What sets you apart
In one or two sentences: why you, and not an established competitor? Your advantage must be concrete and defensible — a skill, a location, a lower cost, a superior customer experience. "We're more passionate" is not an advantage.
4. The business model and key figures
Say how you make money and give three markers: the revenue targeted over your forecast horizon, when you reach profitability, and the expected margin. These figures must be consistent with the rest of the file — a funder will cross-check them.
A funder's reading order
A loan officer or investor looks, in this order: do I understand the activity, is the market real, can the team execute, and do the numbers hold up. Your summary must answer these four questions in that order.
5. The ask and the team
End with what you're asking for (the funding amount, and precisely what it's for) and a sentence about you: why are you the right person to carry this project? Some legitimacy, however modest, reassures more than a perfect but irrelevant track record.
- The executive summary is written last and fits on one page.
- It answers four questions in order: what, what market, why you, what numbers.
- Every figure must be consistent with the rest of the file — it will be cross-checked.
Write your project in one single sentence (what, for whom, what problem). Then list your three key figures: market size, target revenue, point of profitability.
If you get stuck on a figure, that's the signal that a section of your file isn't solid enough yet — and that's exactly where Evaltrum saves you time.
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