Thread by @francesco_srv

How I built my Investment Thesis -a 🧵

Before I started my Startup investment journey I had no clue how to turn my gut feeling and broader market beliefs into a coherent investment strategy. Or at least how to communicate it succinctly.

Then I discovered the importance of coming up w/ a strong Investment Thesis. One that not only I believe capable of actually delivering returns, but that it also fits with my vision of where the tech world is going and the "spacial sauce" I can bring to the VC world.

Below is how I came up with mine over the course of the start of my startup investing between 2020 and 2021: It wasn't easy at first.

Especially because I quickly realised this was going to be not just about me, but about the VC firm I progressively became convinced to be needed in the ecosystem –and that I would have had to set up.

I wasn’t familiar with the VC jargon (I had always thought an LP was a type of records), was carrying a lot of it over from my engineering background, and I was also confused about how to pick my area of focus.

Not only in terms of what to invest in Vs what not to. But also on what made me (and now my team) unique to deliver a specific strategy better than anyone. It took a lot of inward reflection and asking relentlessly for feedback.

I also need to thank the mentors at the VCLab acceletor, who played a fundamental part in the proces. Key steps I followed to create a strong thesis:

STEP 1: Pick a geography - preferably start with a relatively local one

STEP 2: Conduct market research and pick your industry, sector or vertical

STEP 3: Reflect on what gives you a unique leverage to be in venture capital - ideally something you can quantity in terms of ROI or value created (it can be from your career or past investments track record)

STEP 4: Create your investment thesis statement (see an example roughly based on @govclab's minimalist structure)

STEP 5: Ask for feedback on it from people you know, then from other investors. Eg: I invest in (Sector/Market Companies) in (Geography) leveraging (Secret sauce)

Mine is "I invest in Deep Tech and Big Data seed founders in the UK and Europe, leveraging my community of 15k founders and engineers through which I've sourced, selected and helped launch 33 Deep Tech and Big Data startups now worth over £6 Billion"

This works as an angel thesis and can be tweaked to become a VC fund thesis.

Today my thesis evolved o incorporate 1 more element: How much money I wanted/needed to raise as a VC for my first fund.

But there is only so much I can write on a social media post.

However! If you are interested in learning more about the 5 steps I followed for the thesis or more details om the creation of a full VC fund thesis, share some ❤️ and let me know in the comments: I'd be happy to share more detail.

I wrote more content that didn't fit nicely here so I can probably turn into a blog and send you the link 🙂 Happy investing!

#angelinvesting #investmentthesis #VentureCapital

This is me btw: @francesco_srv - founder of the Silicon Roundabout Ventures VC for angels & family offices and in ❤️ with Deep Tech investing in Europe.

Come say hi if you like the space. Feedback is always welcome:)

@UnrollHelper

How did you come up with your startup investment thesis?