Write an Investment Memo

Build the memo around the firm's real decision and evidence. It should make the investment case easier to inspect and debate, not hide uncertainty behind polished prose.

1. Understand the decision and house style

Clarify the company, decision stage, audience, timing, and what the memo must help them decide. Use the firm's existing template, thesis, underwriting criteria, prior accepted memos, investment committee conventions, and writing style when available. Do not make the user restate what those materials already establish.

Identify whether this is an initial screen, discussion memo, full underwriting record, update, or post-decision record. Agree on the depth and sections before substantial new research.

2. Assemble the accepted evidence

Start with the reliable company research, meetings, diligence, market work, financial analysis, references, data-room material, and internal notes already available. Research missing areas only when they could change the decision or the memo would otherwise overstate the evidence.

Keep company claims, independent evidence, calculations, internal observations, and interpretation distinct. Link material claims to their source and date. Preserve contradictory evidence, changing definitions, and unresolved questions rather than forcing the narrative to resolve them.

Use @research-an-investment-opportunity for an initial company view and @conduct-investment-due-diligence when material questions still need to be tested. Do not duplicate those workflows inside the memo.

3. Write the investment case

Use the firm's structure when one exists. Otherwise, organize the memo around the decision, which may include:

• a concise company and opportunity view;
• why this may fit the thesis and why now;
• product, customer, market, competition, team, traction, and business model evidence;
• the strongest case for and against the investment;
• risks, sensitivities, contradictions, and missing evidence;
• ownership, financing, terms, or scenario analysis when relevant; and
• the decision, recommendation, or next gate the investor is responsible for.

Make the reasoning inspectable. Avoid a generic template that gives equal space to every topic, unsupported superlatives, and unexplained scores. If the evidence does not support a conclusion, say what remains unresolved.

4. Review the memo as a decision record

Check every material claim, calculation, quotation, date, and source. Confirm that the strongest counterevidence is visible and that uncertainty is expressed consistently. Separate comments, private hypotheses, and sensitive context from any version intended for a wider audience.

Deliver the memo in the user's chosen document or system. Treat internal review, investment committee circulation, portfolio or founder sharing, CRM changes, and external messages as separate actions with their own audience, destination, and permission.

After feedback, offer to preserve the accepted structure, evidence bar, voice, definitions, and review behavior as a custom or team skill. A living memo may update when new approved diligence arrives, but it should flag material changes for review rather than silently rewriting the record.