Resources
Executive Summary Format (example)
The executive summary should be approximately 1-2 pages long when it is sent as part of a complete business plan. GSVC is allowing a slightly longer executive summary (3 pages max) for the first judging round - as it is the only document being sent.
I. Business Overview
• Company description and business model
• Value proposition- financial
• Value proposition- social or environmental
• Vision
• Current status
II. The Market Opportunity (the problem, the pain)
• Why is this such a great idea? Describe the pain, define the problem
• Competitive analysis (analysis of the current competition and assessment of why the pain or problem is not being solved by them)
III. Market Solution
• Product(s) or service(s)
• How you will remove the pain, solve the problem
• Unfair competitive advantages, Ability to create barriers to entry
IV. The Market
• Identification of Customer(s)
• Industry analysis and forecast (Comparative Analysis - for example see EDGAR on the web http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Find a company in a similar space or with similar model and compare their growth rate, etc. to yours.)
V. Management Team
• Founders and key management
• Industry experience, Education
• Board of advisors (Critical to the assessment of the overall viability - Can augment team experience if needed)
• Optional: Board of directors (3 required by law, usually not until first round of institutional funding in place)
VI. Financial and Social Impact Summary
• Narrative overview of financial summary
• Outline overall financial model with basic projections
• Discuss assumptions and capital requirements
• Narrative overview of social / environmental impact summary
• Framework by which you are assessing your impact (see examples elsewhere on the Competition website)
• Basic projections; Discuss assumptions and outcome measurements