Pitching
Investment Memo: A Startup Example and Template
Build a startup investment memo using an illustrative example and copyable template. Keep facts, assumptions, risks, and open questions distinct.
What you will learn
- Organize a written business argument
- Distinguish evidence, assumptions, and risks
- Create a readable fictional memo example
An investment memo is a written argument about a business and the questions behind an investment decision. A founder-facing memo can help explain the company clearly, but it is not the same as an investor’s internal approval document. Use the format to expose reasoning, not to manufacture an investment recommendation.
Make the argument easy to inspect
Describe the customer, current evidence, commercial model, next milestone, and unresolved risks. Keep each important claim connected to a source or label it as an assumption. Bessemer’s published discussion of its historical Twilio memos illustrates how investment reasoning can change as evidence develops.
Further reading: Bessemer’s historical Twilio investment-process account.
Study the reasoning, not the historical numbers or the later success. A famous company’s result does not validate your own assumptions or make its financing terms appropriate for another startup.
Fictional memo: a clinic scheduling company
| Section | Illustrative content | Evidence state |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Help clinic managers coordinate cancellations | Product description; not an outcome claim |
| Customer problem | Manual coordination interrupts front-desk work | Needs documented customer research |
| Current progress | A pilot is testing repeat workflow use | Pilot status, not product-market-fit proof |
| Business model | Proposed $200 monthly price per location | Pricing hypothesis until purchases support it |
| Next milestone | Complete a defined pilot and review continuation decisions | Operating plan |
| Risks | Adoption, buyer budget, delivery cost, and existing alternatives | Open questions requiring evidence |
The example deliberately leaves gaps visible. Do not fill an empty evidence field with an AI-generated customer, quotation, or market estimate. A readable memo can be honest about early-stage uncertainty.
Copyable memo template
Company and date: [identity]
Purpose: [one-sentence explanation]
Customer and job: [specific segment]
Current alternative: [what they do today]
Our approach: [product explanation]
Evidence so far: [dated facts + sources]
Business model: [buyer, price, costs]
Market calculation: [boundaries + assumptions]
Team and relevant execution: [facts]
Next milestone and resources: [plan]
Main risks and unanswered questions: [list]
What this conversation seeks: [next action]Review the memo in two passes
- Clarity pass: can a new reader explain the company and the next milestone?
- Evidence pass: can a teammate locate the support for each important claim?
- Consistency pass: do the deck, model, and memo use the same definitions?
- Sharing pass: remove unnecessary confidential details and check access.
Keep the main argument concise and supporting evidence organized. If a reader needs a long explanation before understanding the customer, revise the opening. If a number changes, update its source and the other approved materials before sharing.
Put the lesson to work
Use the memo as a writing exercise alongside the established pitch-deck examples collection. Keep the company’s own evidence as the authority. Explore Finta Academy.
A Finta Field Guide based on our Fundraising Academy teaching. Worksheets and fictional examples are original educational exercises, not customer results or personalized financial, legal, or tax advice.
Continue with an established guide
This lesson covers a specific exercise. For the broader resource, read How to Create a Pitch Deck: A Guide and Slide Template.