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Mercury executive brief

The lesson

Put a 60-second bullet list of the headline stats near the top of a survey report, then dig into them in the sections below.

The move

Below "The new economics of starting up in 2026", a methodology note gives the survey details. "2026 startup economics in 60 seconds" lists eight stats, from "95% have deployed AI agents" to "12% reduced staff due to higher operating costs". Later sections add large single numbers like 91% and 80%, charts and tables.

Why it works

  • Our readA reader who stops after the list still takes away eight facts, and a reader who continues gets the detail behind several of them.
  • Our readSplitting the page into short titled sections, such as "Vibe check" and "The cost of doing business", makes a long report easy to jump through.
  • Our readGiving 91% its own line, with the comparison to 60% beneath, sets the central finding apart from the surrounding text.

What not to copy

Don't borrow these figures, and don't publish a survey without stating your method as this one does. Keep the early summary list, the methodology note near the top and the oversized stat.

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