How to use it
Log every decision, including each pass. Most of what a fund can learn is in the deals it did not do.
Write the reason on the day of the decision. A reason written later is a different reason.
Set a review date for each entry. On that date, write the outcome next to the original reason, and do not change the original reason.
Download (.md)Or select the text below and paste it into Google Docs, Notion or Word.
# Investment decision log One row per decision. Never edit a row after the decision date; add the outcome in the outcome columns. | Date | Company | Stage | Decision (Invest / Pass) | Main reason | What must be true | Confidence (low / medium / high) | Partner | Review date | Outcome | What we learned | |------|---------|-------|--------------------------|-------------|-------------------|----------------------------------|---------|-------------|---------|-----------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ## Review once a year 1. Sort the rows by outcome. 2. For the best outcomes: did we invest? If we passed, what was the reason? 3. For the worst outcomes: did we invest? Was the reason in the log a good reason at the time? 4. Which reasons appear again and again in the decisions that were wrong? Write them down. Check new deals against that list.
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