Investment Memos

An investment memo is the written case an investor makes for (or against) a deal or a position. In this corpus the subject comes from a cluster of saved posts about what a good memo contains, who publishes theirs, and what a memo is for.

What the posts say

• Publishing memos. I Wish VC’s Would Publish… (tweet) asks VCs to publish their memos, even 5-10 years old. Q - Have Any of the… (tweet) (Semil, December 2021) asks whether any early Solana investor published a memo from the time of investment, and notes that Filecoin’s exists. Better Written Than Most deal… (tweet) (Josh Kopelman, February 2021) calls a published piece “better written than most ‘deal memos’ at VC firms.”
• The question that lifts a deal. The Crux of My Internal… (tweet) (Tyler Tringas, March 2021) shares the questions in his internal deal memo that take an investment from “good investment” to “the right opportunity for us.” That fit layer is described on Deal Selection.
• Templates. For Investment Analysts, Here is… (tweet) shares a write-up template that combines the SAC Capital write-up style with the Value Investors Club one. 1- How to Review Quarterly… (tweet) (Brian Feroldi) is a step-by-step thread on reviewing quarterly earnings.
• Form. Increasingly Wishing People Would Use… (tweet) (Elad Gil, November 2020) argues for concise slides over long written documents.
• Process. What is the Best Piece… (tweet) (Chris Brown, April 2021) asks for the best content on the value of a well-run investment process.

Where this appears

Tweets

• I Wish VC’s Would Publish… (tweet)
• Q - Have Any of the… (tweet)
• Better Written Than Most deal… (tweet)
• The Crux of My Internal… (tweet)
• For Investment Analysts, Here is… (tweet)
• 1- How to Review Quarterly… (tweet)
• Increasingly Wishing People Would Use… (tweet)
• What is the Best Piece… (tweet)

Concepts

• Deal Selection