Investment Memo Template

Template for writing an investment memo to capture the learning process before spending a large amount of money.

## 20XX-XX-XX Company Name Investment Memo

| Attribute            | Value |
| -------------------- | ----- |
| Category             |       |
| Round                |       |
| Raising              |       |
| Pre-money Valuation  |       |
| Post-money Valuation |       |
| Allocation           |       |

## Summary

The decision is yes / no with an amount of X, because of the most significant argument Z.

- highlight 1, could be pros and cons.
- highlight 2
- highlight 3

Ratings: X out of 5 (benchmark against past deals)

| Attribute            | Value |
| -------------------- | ----- |
| Traction             |       |
| Team                 |       |
| Product              |       |
| Social Proof         |       |
| Pitch / Presentation |       |
| Total                |       |

## Introduction

- What does the company do?
- What is the problem the company solving?
- How does the world work now in relation to this problem?
- How does the company solve the problem?
- How does solving the problem change behavior and make money?
- What is the scale of the opportunity?

## Traction / Metrics

- Discuss traction up to now (include a chart).
- Discuss main related metrics, such as churn, ACV, rake.
- Discuss revenue drivers.
- What does the go-to-market look like?

## Challenges to Growth

- What's prevented you from growing even faster?
- How will raising money solve this problem?

## Market

- Who are the customers?
- How do those customers think / act?
- How big is the opportunity these customers represent?

## Future States

- What happens to the market as the company starts to win?
- How does the company change the market and where does that lead the company?

## Compatitive Landscape

- What is the competitive landscape and how does the company defeat it?

## Team

- Who are the team and what makes the team special?

## FAQ

- The main objections the company is likely to face, and eloquently knock them down. Data is good here.
- This is probably the part where the memo is most powerful relative to a deck.

## Use of funds

- How much have the company raised in the past?
- How much the company is raising and what are they going to do with it?

Decision Making Process

- [ ] sort qualitatively
  - [ ] apply filtering criteria
  - [ ] create market map
- [ ] assess risks at each life stage (TAL)
  - [ ] quantify uncertainties

| Stage       | Early Stage Success | Cross Chasm | Mass Market Success | Mass Market Share |
|-------------|---------------------|-------------|---------------------|-------------------|
| Market      | | | | |
| Product     | | | | |
| Team        | | | | |
| Financial   | | | | |
| Total       | | | | |


- [ ] perform sensitivity analysis
- [ ] calculate risk / return