Guide to Executive Summaries, Investor Slidesets & One-Sheets

When using LancasterProspers VentureCommunities Network and its related programs to showcase your company to professional angel or venture capital investors, you should be prepared to present your business proposition to the LancasterProspers screening committee with up to a 3-page executive summary.

Unless otherwise indicated, send your summary to jcarroll@edclancaster.com

If your summary clears screening and you are invited to present at a LancasterProspers event, you will need a few other pieces of communication collateral, including:

• 8-Minute (10-12 page) slide presentation that communicates the high level aspects of your business;

• One-sheet company summary to include in the event book; and

• One-minute elevator pitch to introduce yourself during networking sessions.

These materials all communicate essentially the same information, just in varying levels of detail.

The LancasterProspers VentureCommunitites event format typically allows companies to present their complete slide set in 8-minutes or less (uninterrupted), followed by around 5 minutes of feedback and Q&A from an investor panel. This keeps the audience engaged and is plenty of time to hit the important parts of your business plan. Think of the 8-minute presentation as a resume. It doesn't get you the job, but it does get you the interview. That's what you are looking for here: interest and interviews.

On this page you will find some format tips for both the executive summary and the slideset, along with a link to download the template LancasterProspers VentureCommunitites recommends for the One-Sheet Summary.

Format is important, but content is king, so recommendations about WHAT you include in your Executive Summary and your slideset are outlined in some detail below. If you follow these simple instructions, you will be much farther along on your way to clearly and concisely communicating your business opportunity.

General Executive Summary Format Tips

• Keep it to the 3-page limit - Yes you can include a contact cover page, and that does not count against the 3-pages (see next bullet)

• Include Contact Information - Seems simple, but many entrepreneurs somehow neglect to do it.

• Use common document formats , such as Word or PDF

• Name the document you submit something other than Executive_Summary. Include your COMPANY NAME in the document title

• If you "track changes" in editing, clear the notations before you submit

• Cover all the content areas outlined below

General Slide Presentation Format Tips:

• Large Font Size - Use 24 point or larger text for readability at the back of the room

• Use Minimal Text - You don't want the audience reading your slides, but rather listening to you. Keep the text short and speak to the concepts

• One Slide Per Topic  - Use one slide for each topic in the executive summary. A couple of topics might require two, but be concise.

• Minimize bells and whistles - Keep the audience focused on what you are saying, not the fact you can use PowerPoint animation wizards. Animation is great, but make it work and make it count.

• Use Clean Design and a Folio  - Slides should be clean and compelling (dark text, light background or vice versa) with some "folio" including company name and logo on each slide.

• Make A Statement with Your Headings - Headings on slides are more effective if they represent the conclusion you want the audience to draw from the slide, versus a generic statement about the slide subject

• End with Contact Slide - End your presentation with a contact information slide that stays on the screen while you address audience questions.

One-Sheet Template - Download this template to submit your company one-sheet to the printer for inclusion in the book that all attendees receive at a LancasterProspers event. It can be front and back if necessary.

Slideshow and Executive Summary Content Components
Your presentation should cover these elements. They do not necessarily have to be in this order, but you should address all of them within the 8-minute timeframe.

HINT: Spend Less Time on the Tech, More Time on the Business

1. Company Overview

• Be sure to tell your audience what you do and what business you are in. This is a good place to hit highlights of your presentation, but very quickly (i.e. we have paying customers, we have met the milestones from our first round of capital, we have a management team with stellar credentials, etc. -- whatever is strongest)

2. Customer Pain / Problem Addressed / Market Need

• Discuss this in specifically and succinctly. How painful  is the problem. How strong is the need.

3. Product/ Solution / Technology

• How you address the problem/need. For the most part, your investor audience in this format will grant you that your technology does what you say it does (though always expect rigorous due-diligence). Often, graphics and/or diagrams are particularly useful here.

4. Market Size & Addressable Market Segment

• How large is the market, and what portion of that market is your addressable segment. Be as specific as possible and show the overall potential.

5. Customers

• If you have customers, who are they (logos are good). If you don't have them yet, who will they be and what do they say now (you had better be talking to them). Paying customers establish proof that someone is willing to pay for your product or solution.

6. Competition / Competitive Advantage

• Who are they, why are you different and better. How will you establish and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Often communicated in a scatter graph or features comparison grid.

7. Management

• Include names and brief credentials and achievements of important members of the team, board of directors and advisory board who add value to the enterprise because of what they have achieved.

8. Financial Projections

• What are the assumptions your "hockey stick" is based on. Bottoms up revenue analysis is strongest.

9. Execution or Go-to-Market Strategy

• We've seen the hockey stick, now describe how you will do it.

10. Funding Stages & Milestones

• Milestones are significant value-creating events: product, revenue, customers. Include those you have achieved so far (so we know where you are in your business development) and those you project to achieve with each subsequent funding round (so we see how you get where you want to be). Funding rounds should be based on milestones achieved.

11. Capital Required, Uses of Capital and Exit Strategy

• How much you are looking for now, what you plan to use it for, and what are potential exits for investors. This is not a venue for discussion of terms. You can discuss amount of capital required to execute your plan, what you will use it for, and whether you will need additional capital in the future.

The items above are presented in one potentially logical order, but the order in which you communicate them will depend on your strong points.

Another helpful link on this topic
You should definitely read Executive Summary Tips from Amplify LLC