How to Write an Executive Summary for a Business Plan

If there’s one part of the business plan that gets overthought, overlooked, and overwritten all at once, it’s the executive summary.

Most founders either try to cram everything in (“let me show them how much I know”) or keep it vague (“I’ll explain the rest later”). Both approaches fail. We’ve seen this section make or break the entire plan.

This is your one shot to grab attention, show the value of your idea, and make it clear there’s a solid plan behind it. That’s it. If this part flops, the rest of your plan might never get a second glance.

So how do you actually write a strong executive summary for your business plan? That’s what we’ll walk through in this post, using the same structure and approach we use with our clients at PlanGrowLab.

Why is the executive summary crucial for your business plan?

The fact that the executive summary is the most-read section of your business plan proves its importance. Here’s why it’s a critical aspect of your business plan:

• It shapes the reader’s perspective and builds the first impression of your business.
• It helps readers understand your business plan without requiring them to read it entirely.
• The high-level overview of your business plan demonstrates its potential and helps the readers make an informed choice.
• It hooks the readers and persuades them to read your entire business plan.
• It sets the tone and builds credibility, instilling confidence in readers about your business.
• It serves as an independent snapshot of your business idea, making it easy to share and pitch.

How to write an executive summary for a business plan

Let’s now understand the essentials that will help you build a worthy-to-read executive summary.

1. Start with a hook

A well-written executive summary starts with a hook. An unmissable hook that captures the readers' attention and pulls them softly to read your executive summary till the end.

A hook can be anything from a stat, a bold statement, or a compelling fact. If not, it can be a unique description of your business.

For instance, this hook by Jose Gallegos offers a very interesting insight into market opportunity and the core problem they are resolving.

“Jose Angelo Studios addresses a $8.2B market opportunity in B2B growth marketing, where 67% of companies face a customer acquisition cost issue.”

I often tell founders during review sessions: If your first line doesn’t stop someone mid-scroll, it’s too weak. You only get one shot to earn attention, and that first sentence decides whether someone reads on or moves to the next pitch.

From experience, I’ve seen that the best hooks speak to both the reader’s emotional and intellectual sides. If it doesn’t connect on at least one of those levels, it’s unlikely they’ll make it to the end of your executive summary.

2. Offer a brief company description

Once you capture the reader’s attention with a hook, offer a concise and quick description of your company. It should clarify what your business does, where it’s located, who leads it, along with your business goals and milestones.

This will help clarify the reader’s expectations and prepare them to understand more about your business.

Some examples of goals and milestones you can include in your executive summary:

• Rhode Corp plans to launch 3 new stores across LA by 2024 end.
• We have successfully captured the first 1000 users for our product.
• Metallica has successfully captured a 7% market share in the US market.

I always advise founders to include real traction here, even if it’s small. From my experience, momentum builds credibility faster than big, unproven promises. Even modest numbers or early wins can show that your business is moving in the right direction.

Anything that showcases customer interest, such as initial sales, pre-sales, or newsletter sign-ups, can be included in this section.

3. Define your problem and solution

The executive summary should, most importantly, clarify the problem you are trying to solve. No, I am not talking about what you are trying to offer, but the core problem of your target market.

When you clarify the problem, you show that you have built the product considering the needs of your target market. It proves that there is a market willing to turn into your customer and make your business successful.

Of course, you also highlight the solution—the product or service that will solve the customer’s problem.

4. Include a captivating market analysis

An effective executive summary should give a clear snapshot of your market size and your target market. While it shouldn’t go into exhaustive detail, it must show that there’s a real, profitable market opportunity for your business.

I recommend adding solid, credible statistics here to keep readers hooked. Go further and highlight the growth potential of your market along with realistic future predictions; this helps build confidence in your business idea.

For instance,

• Upmetrics’ target market is emerging startups, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and college students planning to build business plans at cost-effective rates.
• The Business planning cloud market is $4.5 billion in the US with only 3 prominent players offering their services.

When I review executive summaries, I flag vague or inflated market numbers immediately. Founders love to throw in “$100B market” statements without any context, but that’s a red flag. I always ask: What slice of that market are you realistically going after? That’s the number that matters.

5. Outline your competitive advantage

A great executive summary includes an overview of a business’s competitive landscape.

Don’t undermine or hide your competition. Instead, show how, despite the competition, your business has the potential to thrive.

If a founder tells me they have “no competitors,” I stop them right there. In my experience, investors do too. You have to show that you understand the market and where you fit in. Confidence without delusion wins trust.

6. Highlight your business strategies

Quickly outline your business strategies, mainly for marketing and sales. State how you intend to reach your target audience and turn your potential prospects into paying customers.

When reviewing plans, I often find this section either too vague (“we’ll use social media”) or too bloated with every tactic under the sun. Keep it focused: What channels will move the needle for your business in the next 6–12 months?

Remember, there’s no need to detail your marketing plan in detail. That’s already included in your business plan. In addition to your marketing efforts, this section should also answer an important question: How will you make money?

This could be through online sales, store sales, subscription pricing, pricing per piece, or bundled pricing. Simply give a crisp overview to show that you thought of potential outlays to make money.

For instance,

• Coral Technologies would make money through their tiered subscription services priced monthly.
• Coral Technologies will reach its potential customers through content marketing, paid ads, and email marketing.

7. Include details about your team

Introduce the people who would be turning your business idea into reality. This includes people in key managerial positions and important stakeholders.

I always tell our clients that this section is less about listing names and more about showing investors that the business is in capable hands. Show experience, not just job titles.

Mention how these people make the best fit and highlight any achievements or expertise that may interest the readers.

For instance,

• Mike Tyson, the visionary behind the thriving venture Xylo, will be leading the technical operations at Coral Tech.
• We have filled 10 key positions in our organization and are in the final phase of hiring the operational head.

8. Clarify the financials

Investors would take a thorough look at your financial plan if they consider funding you. However, much before that, they would be reading an executive summary where they would seek a certain understanding of growth, revenue, investments, and ROI.

This is what your executive summary should include, and in a much easier-to-digest manner.

Nothing slows down an investor faster than a hockey-stick forecast with no backup. I've read enough plans to know: Vague numbers don’t impress. A clear, believable projection always carries more weight than blind optimism.

So always include figures about sales, profitability, and revenue to help readers understand the financial sustainability of your business. Add charts or figures to simplify the understanding, if needed.

For instance,

• Spectrum Core has predicted a 14% growth MOM and revenue of $700K over the next 12 months.
• It will take $250K to start Spectrum Core, of which $100 K would be bootstrapped. These expense projections include payroll and other variable expenses for the first 3 months.

9. Include a clear funding demand

If you’re raising funds, include the amount right here. No need to break down every expense in this section—but you do need to show you’ve thought it through.

I always recommend clients present a funding bracket instead of a fixed number. It signals flexibility and shows you understand early-stage negotiations.

For example:

• We’re seeking $250K–$300K in seed capital to support hiring and initial marketing campaigns.

At this point, I often ask: “If this were the only paragraph an investor read, would they know why your ask is reasonable?” If not, revise until it’s clear.

Now, that’s a comprehensive list of everything that an executive summary must include. Depending on your unique business plan, you may tweak the information and remove information non-essential for your plan.

Best practices for crafting an executive summary

We already discussed the essentials of an executive summary. However, you cannot simply pull sentences from your business plan and place them in your summary. You need a unique approach to make sure that your summary gets read till the end.

We have compiled some tips and best approaches to help you write your business plan’s executive summary.

1. Write it at the end

Always write your executive summary after you complete writing your business plan. This will help identify the high-value information that should go in your summary.

2. Make it crisp

Executive summaries should usually be one or two pages. For complex business plans, they might stretch to four, but no more. Focus only on the essential information a reader can’t afford to miss.

Your summary should stand on its own, even if the reader never touches the rest of your plan.

Once you’ve pulled together the essentials, I recommend re-reading it multiple times to cut fluff. I do this for clients constantly: Trimming wordiness, tightening structure, and making sure every line earns its place.

3. Make it easy to navigate

Break down your summary into headings and then break the information into bullet points. This will make your summary scannable and easier to read. Even if the reader scans through the document, they will get the gist without losing on important context.

If you write in paragraphs, keep the paragraphs short. Preferably 3-4 lines at max.

4. Keep it simple

The structure and language should be simple. Avoid jargon or overly technical explanations unless they’re essential. I’ve seen great ideas get lost in corporate-speak before the reader even gets to the main business plan.

5. Weave a story

Storytelling is one of the most reliable ways to keep your audience engaged. When I write summaries for clients, I always look for a way to connect the facts to a human element: Your passion, your mission, and your business potential.

6. Keep grammar and spelling in check

I can’t stress this enough: sloppy writing kills credibility. Proofread thoroughly, use grammar and spell-check tools, and ideally get a second set of eyes on it. I’ve seen promising pitches lose investor interest over something as small as a typo in the first paragraph.

4 common myths about executive summary

Over the years, I’ve noticed there are a few myths about executive summaries that keep popping up. Let me walk you through the most common ones and how I advise clients to avoid them.

1) Keeping it super short

Brevity is important. But “super short” doesn’t mean stripping out the essentials. I’ve reviewed summaries so minimal that they left out the value proposition, financial highlights, and even the target market.

That’s not concise; it’s incomplete. Your executive summary isn’t just a summary; it’s your hook. Leave out too much and it will fall flat.

2) Anyone can write it quickly

I’ve yet to see a truly strong executive summary dashed off in 10 minutes. Writing one that works takes time, research, and precision. You’re distilling the essence of your business plan into a page or two, something that’s harder than it sounds.

And because it’s often the first impression of your business, rushing it or treating it like a formality can leave a bad taste with investors.

3) It’s only for investors

Investors are a big audience, sure, but they’re not the only ones. I’ve written executive summaries for clients that were meant for potential partners, lenders, or even internal teams who needed a quick, high-level overview.

Limiting your mindset to “this is only for investors” can make your summary less versatile than it should be.

4) Details don’t matter

Wrong! Details in your executive summary give readers confidence in your credibility. Vague statements like “We’re going to dominate the market” don’t inspire trust. Solid data and facts do.

Let’s now put all this knowledge together in an example and see what the completed summary looks like.

Example of a compelling executive summary

You can easily find a free executive summary template online. If you follow the guidelines and the outline, you may get a summary that may look more or less like the following example.

Conclusion

This article detailed the process of writing an executive summary at length. However, remember that an executive summary is only as good as your plan. A poorly written plan will inevitably generate a poor summary.

The business planning experts at Plangrowlab bring their years of expertise to create highly contextual and impressive business plans for your unique business ideas. Not only that, they can also review your existing plans or summaries to make these documents more nuanced.

Confused? Book your first free consultation call and discuss your plan. No strings attached.