Executive summary of a business plan

There's some natural confusion on this point. The executive summary is the first chapter in a standard business plan. There is also a separate document, sometimes called an executive summary, which summarizes the whole plan and is sent to investors. Investors read the summary document and then decide whether they want to read the rest of the plan.

The executive summary chapter of a business plan is part of the whole plan document. It is normally one to five pages long, but there is no hard and fast rule about this. The executive summary sent to investors is normally two to five pages long, representing a fraction of the typical 20 to 50 pages that make up a business plan, which includes financials and appendices. Financials typically take up 10 or 15 pages when you include appendices showing monthly projections.