For all ten of the startups you select, you need to write a “deal memo” explaining why you’re investing, what you think the risks are, and what you think has to go right for the startup to return money on your investment. You will review these deal memos every time the startup raises a new round of funding so that you can test if your original thesis still applies. What you’ll undoubtedly learn is that no one knows exactly how or why a startup breaks out, but there are trends—especially in how you think.
