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Investment Memo Template

· 3 min read

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