1. Writing a Winning Executive Summary

2. An executive summary outlines your strategy for creating, launching and managing a new venture. It answers the questions of An executive summary outlines your strategy for creating, launching and managing a new venture. It answers the questions of What, Why, Who, When, Where and How.

3. Success begins with a true opportunity. A viable opportunity exists when:  You have unique knowledge of an industry (products, services, competitors, customers’ needs, missing pieces)  You find a way to meet a need that is not being met, or a better way to meet a need  You can execute a viable business in the industry (growing market, healthy margins, customers ready to buy, early cash flow, a strong team, high profit potential)

4. Frieda Caplan

6. Gail Frankel

7. Stroll’r Hold’r

8. Hoop N Hold

9. Tubbly Bubbly

10. Squeezer Feeder

11. Shampoo Visor

12. Robin Petgrave

14. Mary Ellen Sheets

15. Sean Nygren

16. Judi Sheppard Missett

17. Components of the Summary  Cover Page  Company Overview  Market Description  Product or Service  Sales & Marketing Strategy  Management Team  Student Involvement  Financial Plan

18. Cover Page  Name of new business  Names of team members  Contact information  Date of plan

19. Company Overview  Product or service provided  Market need or pain point  Market niches/target customers  General business model/strategy

20. Market Description  Overall size and health of market  Market growth rates and drivers  Current trends relevant to business  How product or service meets the needs of the target customer  Barriers to entry and exit  Analysis of major competitors  Overall competitive advantage

21. Product or Service  Detailed description of product/service  Current stage of development  Market differentiation for product  Prices and costs for the product  Any intellectual property to protect

22. Sales & Marketing Strategy  Channels for product distribution  Sales and marketing strategies  Target customers and/or companies  Customer acquisition strategy  Key partnerships and relationships

23. Management Team  Members of the management team  Specific role of each team member  Organizational structure of business  Future personnel needs for growth

24. Student Involvement  Roles of student(s) in product development  Role of student(s) in market research  Role of student(s) in business strategy  Role of student(s) in writing summary

25. Financial Plan  Capital requirements for the launch  Source(s) of capital for the launch  Staged funding required if needed  12 month pro-forma income statement  3 to 5 year pro-forma income statement

26. Summary Judging Guidelines  Company Overview 5%  Market Description15%  Product or Service15%  Sales & Marketing Strategy15%  Management Team10%  Student Involvement10%  Financial Plan15%  Overall Quality of Plan15%

27. Sample business plans can be viewed on the following websites: www. bplans.com www.businessplans.org