Using the six page memo for your startup — a helpful tool for venture capitalists and founders
Introduction
Introduction
Friends, founders and countrymen have asked me a zillion times about the famous six-pager format. Yes, it is legendary. And yes, I am a believer. I also think it’s a document that can be universally used. From launching a global trillion dollar business to planning your kids birthday party.
After a decade of working for companies that sometimes built products and hoped the customer would magically come, it’s a refreshing change to work for a company that believes in the voice of customer so much so that the genesis of every great business idea, feature or plan starts with the six pager document. I think applying the same memo and principles to your startup can help clarify your goals, resourcing needs and uncover your flaws before you spend a single penny on your idea.
Think of a six pager as an almost complete business plan that you would pitch to a potential venture capital investor. Or a six pager is something you write before the launch of your next product. Before you spend $$$, ironing out every little detail of building strong customer empathy, and anticipating all the questions your stakeholders may have that will help you advance your business.
The six pager is a document that simply is called the PRFAQ (press release frequently asked questions), exactly where you work your way backwards from a Press release to a FAQ section from the perspective of the company, the partner and the customer. The press release starting with fictitious customer testimonials in some cases, acts as a placeholder for headlines that you want to attract. In order to attract those headlines, you need to put your efforts into planning every aspect of your business. In this article, I created a six pager for a non-existent business (I used Hautely.com, a startup that I founded and ran for a while).
The six pager typically has six main sections:
Introduction
Press Release
FAQs:
Customer FAQs
Partner FAQs
Company FAQs
In this example, I have not elaborated on the answers in the FAQ section. However, you can imagine spending anywhere from 20–40 hours on a 1st draft, and continuing to evolve this document as you get questions from folks — investors, employees, team members, stakeholders, partners. The main focus of this document is to be self-explanatory for getting a decent understanding of the business, the implementation details, and the impact and uncover through the process of having folks react to your questions to see if you have had any blind spots that you have not thought about.
The PRFAQ process has its rewards. It’s an efficient way to arrive at the right conclusions. Every question is meant to give you the right guideline in digging deeper into your business idea. A simple “how will returns work”, can be summarized in four sentences if you know exactly how this will work. If not, it is a good starting point for you to dig deeper and learn more. However, as all strategy documents go, it is an active and live document that will need constant revisions. The key is not to get so caught up in perfecting the document that you lose all sight of the end goal. Done is better than perfect.
Introduction
The purpose of this document is to request for funding and resources to launch Hautely.com. I’ve used this hypothetical startup as an example to expand on the basic thesis that a detailed hand-written narrative can help you uncover your blindspots both as an investor completing due diligence and as a founder.
Press Release
“Hautely announces a personal fashion discovery platform, connecting emerging designers to US customers”
Nov 24th, 2018 — San Francisco, California
Today, Hautely announced its now global fashion discovery platform connecting emerging designers to customers in the US, and helping them discover and buy new fashion. For designers, Hautely creates a platform that designers to open, manage their businesses, and provide a great customer experience.
“I am now able to access unique designers from around the world for my wedding preparation. Now, I don’t have to worry about someone copying my wedding outfit. I can wear something unique, and affordable”, said Jane Doe, an enthusiastic bride from New York city.
“Bringing great designs to a world wide audience while not having to worry about shipping and taking great photos of products allows me to create beautiful designs. Hautely allows me to be a designer and also a great business woman.” said Yashu Rao, a designer from India who specializes in wedding couture. Hautely allows you to host your own store on their website, allowing a world wide audience to access great and unique fashion from around the world, discover new designers and have them shipped to your door step in a matter of minutes.
“Creating a designer discovery platform, helping fashion designers access a new customer base, host their inventory and respond to their customer needs all at affordable prices is the exact problem that technology is set to solve. This kind of innovation in technology should spread to e-commerce and thats what Hautely has set out to do”, said Deepika Yerragunta, founder of Hautely.com.
Hautely now has access to designs from 30 designers from Thailand, India, and Singapore and will add more in 2018. You can access Hautely at www.hautely.com.
Customer FAQs
How do I find my unique designs?
How do I discover new designers?
I need some help in customizing the outfit. Can I talk to the designer?
Does Hautely have physical stores?
How can I pay the designers?
What if I have a problem with the outfit? Who can I talk to?
What are the price points at which the designs are available?
Designer FAQs
How do open my store on Hautely?
I need some merchandising photography and listing help. How do I access these services?
How much does Hautely charge?
Will Hautely help with shipping? How much will it cost?
Will Hautely be able to help with customer service?
How will I receive my payments?
How can I know which items are selling well?
Hautely FAQs
What does Hautely.com provide for customers?
What does Hautely.com provide for designers?
How will the economics work?
Who are the competitors? How is Hautely different from them?
How will Hautely handle returns?
How will Hautely handle delays in shipment?
What are some of the development milestones and timelines?
Who are the first launch designers?
Which countries is Hautely being launched in?
What are some of the known risks?
What is our recommendation and next steps?
How will payments be made to customers?
What is our launch plan and timeline?
How many resources are being requested?
How will the venture capital be used?
Who is the team currently working on it?
Appendix A:
Competitors to Hautely breakdown
Appendix B:
Designers in launch countries
Appendix C:
Breakdown of shipping costs and models with lead providers.