How to configure your investment thesis
Introduction
Every investment decision reflects a thesis — whether you've written it down or not. DealRecord makes that thesis explicit, turning an implicit mental model into a structured set of criteria that every deal gets evaluated against.
This guide walks through configuring your thesis in DealRecord from scratch.
Why thesis configuration matters
When your thesis lives only in your head, every deal gets evaluated against a slightly different version of it. You weight factors differently depending on mood, market conditions, or how compelling the founder is in the room.
That inconsistency is expensive. LPs ask about it. Co-investors notice it. And when you're building Fund II, the lack of a consistent record makes it hard to show what you actually learned.
A configured thesis creates a single source of truth. Every deal goes through the same lens. The record shows not just what you decided, but why — evaluated against the same criteria you set at the start.
Step 1: Define your thesis dimensions
Thesis dimensions are the high-level categories your fund cares about. Common examples:
- Market — market size, growth rate, structural tailwinds
- Team — relevant experience, founder-market fit, execution track record
- Product — differentiation, defensibility, technical risk
- Traction — revenue, retention, engagement signals
- Deal — valuation, ownership, pro-rata rights
In DealRecord, navigate to Thesis → Dimensions and add the dimensions that reflect your fund's actual investment criteria. Don't copy someone else's thesis — this should reflect how you actually think about deals.
Step 2: Set your screening criteria
Within each dimension, you'll define screening criteria — the specific questions or signals you use to evaluate that dimension.
For a market-focused dimension, criteria might include:
- Is the addressable market >$1B in five years?
- Is there a structural reason this market is growing now?
- Can a $50M fund own a meaningful position?
For each criterion, you can set:
- Required — deal fails screening if this isn't met
- Weighted — contributes to an overall thesis score
- Informational — tracked but not scored
Be specific. "Strong team" is not a criterion. "Founder has domain expertise with at least one prior company built in this space" is a criterion.
Step 3: Test with a sample deal
Before using your thesis in production, run it against a deal you've already seen — ideally one you passed on and one you invested in.
Check whether the configured criteria would have produced the same outcome. If your best investment scores poorly on your thesis, the thesis is misconfigured — not the deal. Adjust until your framework reflects your actual investment logic.
What gets recorded
Once your thesis is configured, DealRecord records:
- How each deal scores against your criteria
- Which criteria drove the decision
- Where the IC had disagreements
- How your thesis evolved over time
This becomes the compounding record — the evidence that your process produces consistent, deliberate decisions.