Lengthy VC Investment Memo Format

Lengthy VC Investment Memo Format
Read time 1.9 minutes

After sharing the format for the short VC Memo, hundreds of you asked for me to share a breakdown for a lengthy VC memo, so here it is:

Outline:

1. Executive Summary (A shorter version of the short memo that should have all the same parts, but instead of going in-depth, each header should get 1-3 sentences).

   1. Vision

   2. Problem

   3. Solution (This isn’t the product, so don’t talk about features or product details).

   4. Traction/Story So Far

   5. Market (Focus on the TAM and potential of the business)

   6. Founders + Early Hires

   7. Challenges/Opportunity/Unique Perspective (What is it that is stopping others from doing this, or why hasn’t it been done already)

   8. Deal Terms

   9. Outcome Matrix with Weighted Probabilities

2. Team

   1. Founders

   2. Why? (What is their motivation for starting this company)

   3. Early Hires (Anyone who is/was a part of the early team; this should include anyone with equity if you are at the pre-seed/seed stage)

   4. Key Hires (If you are a Series A+ company, some of your key hires might have recently joined; spotlight them).

   5. Competencies (What skillsets do you have on your team)

   6. Advisors

   7. Board Members

   8. Deficiencies (What skillsets are you missing, and how do you plan on making up for them)

3. Problem

   1. What is the problem?

   2. Why now?

   3. How are others solving it?

   4. If nobody else is solving it, then how are people dealing with it?

   5. The severity of the problem

4. Product

   1. One Sentence Descriptor

   2. Value Proposition

   3. Core Features

   4. Technology

   5. Readiness

   6. IP

5. Market

   1. Target Market:

      1. TAM

      2. SAM

      3. SOM

   2. Market Challenges

   3. Market Forces

   4. Market Size

   5. Competition

      1. Direct Competition

      2. Indirect Competition

      3. Potential Competition (This should focus on how/why players like Apple/Amazon might decide to compete).

      4. Barriers to Entry

   6. Business

      1. Revenue

      2. Pricing

      3. Cost

      4. Sales Funnels

      5. Marketing Channels

      6. Key Metrics (Use this as a guide)

   7. Deal Terms

      1. Why this VC?

      2. Round Size

      3. Use of Funds

      4. Milestones to Hit

      5. Funding to Date

      6. Exit Scenarios

   8. References

      1. Customers

      2. Industry Experts

      3. Personal References (for founders).

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Onwards and Upwards,

Liam Gill

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