This is a template I brought to my career in venture that is largely informed by my product management background. This doc is to be completed by the deal lead with input from the deal team or thesis team (where possible). Could be collected via a quick 30 minute synchronous “retro” style meeting with any fact gathering happening beforehand.
This should be completed and shared with the team whether the company failed and shut down or it exited or IPOed. The goal is to blamelessly capture all of the learnings and use them to improve our process and product over time. Given that venture has a long feedback cycle, it is entirely possible that these documents are not immediately actionable upon completion but that over the life of a fund they yield some useful information to assist with course correction.
What were we right about in the original investment memo? Did we achieve the desired returns (financial or strategic)? Cite specific examples from any prior documents or investment memos in block quotes with short analysis.
What were we wrong about or blind to in the original investment memo? What could we have done to further maximize returns (financial or strategic depending on goals)? Cite specific examples from any prior documents or investment memos in block quotes with short analysis.
Based on the results in the previous two sections, document action items and their respective owners. Include any and all of the following:
- Changes in thesis
- Changes in diligence process
- Changes in investment process
- Changes in follow on investment strategy