How to use it
Write the memo before the partner meeting, not after it. A memo written after the decision only explains the decision.
Keep each section short. If a section needs more than a few sentences, the open question is probably not answered yet.
Fill in the "What must be true" and "Why we could be wrong" sections with the same care as the thesis. They are the sections that you will read again in five years.
Download (.md)Or select the text below and paste it into Google Docs, Notion or Word.
# Investment memo: [Company name] **Date:** [date] **Author:** [partner] **Stage / round:** [stage, round size, our check] ## Recommendation [Invest / Pass / Follow up]. One sentence on why. ## The company in two sentences [What the company sells, to whom, and why now.] ## Team - Founders and their roles: - Why this team for this problem: - Gaps in the team and the plan to fill them: ## Market - Who buys, and who pays: - How the market is changing: - If the company succeeds, how large can it become? ## Product and traction - What works today: - Main numbers (revenue, users, retention, growth), with dates: - What customers say: ## Competition - Direct competitors: - What customers use today instead: - Why this company can win: ## Terms - Valuation and instrument: - Our ownership now, and estimated ownership at exit: - Reserves for follow-on: ## What must be true The three things that must be true for this to return the fund. 1. 2. 3. ## Why we could be wrong The strongest case against the deal, written as the partner who disagrees would write it. ## Base rate Of similar companies at this stage and in this sector, how many reached a large outcome? How is this company different? ## Open questions before the decision - [ ] - [ ] ## Decision record - Decision: [Invest / Pass] Date: - Reason in one sentence: - Review this decision on: [date, for example in 2 years]
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