Calling for technology funding: deck or memo.

The question "deck or memo" appears in almost every tech startup when preparing for fundraising. The answer is not to choose one over the other, but to understand that each format serves a different purpose in the same journey. You need both, just at the right time.

Two formats, two tasks.

The slide deck is a filtering tool. Investors receive dozens, even hundreds of decks each month. They do not read; they scan. The goal of the deck is not to fully convince but to be engaging enough for them to want to meet and read further. The deck is stronger in face-to-face meetings because the presenter controls the pace and adds verbal context.

The storytelling memo is a tool for building trust. A memo (like Amazon's six-page version or an investment memo, which is a summary of investment) is an independent document that prioritizes depth of argument: market analysis, risks, reasons why now, strategic logic. Investors read the memo alone, at their own pace, and this is when they truly consider.

The standard deck framework and common omissions

The Sequoia 10-part framework (company purpose, problem, solution, why now, market size, competition, product, business model, team, finances) is the skeleton that investors are accustomed to reading. However, rigidly adhering to the 10-part framework without additional context often leads to missing three important slides: traction (evidence of market interest), go-to-market strategy, and specific funding request.

According to DocSend, the first three slides serve as a filter that determines whether investors continue reading. The team and financial slides are where they spend the most time. If those two slides are lacking, no matter how beautiful the deck is, it will struggle to pass the first round.

When to add a memo

Not every startup needs a memo from the very beginning. There are certain situations where a memo provides a clear advantage.

• The complex technical story: the product needs to explain how it works, why it is hard to replicate, or the long-term advantages that a single slide cannot convey.
• Asynchronous reading by investors: some funds have internal processes that require written documents to present to the internal investment committee; presentation decks are not suitable for that channel.
• The founder wants to express strategic thinking: a memo allows for presenting market views, risk analysis, and reasons for choices, things that a deck does not have space for.
• Series A phase and beyond: investors at this stage typically expect a deeper level of thinking compared to seed or pre-seed.

Common mistakes

• Stuffing too much into the deck: when each slide contains three or four points, the deck becomes a presentation memo without the depth of a real memo. Investors can’t scan it and overlook it.
• Only a beautiful deck lacking depth: when investors ask for more, there are no documents to send, and the story breaks.
• A sparse team and financial slide: this is where investors spend the most time. Leaving it blank or writing vague information is wasting the most important opportunity.
• Three initial slides lack clarity: the cover is dull, the issue is not clearly named, the solution is vague, and investors close the deck before reaching the important part.
• Sending a memo before establishing initial relationships: memos that demand high commitment to read, sent to people who do not know you, are often ineffective.

Investors rarely read carefully; they mainly skim. What you pay for is not dragging and dropping slides, but deciding which message goes on top and turning messy data into a chart that can be read in three seconds.

Sinh Vũ, from practical experience in fundraising documentation

The viewpoint of Sinh Vũ

Sinh Vũ creates funding proposals structured in a way that investors are accustomed to reading: each page conveys a message, telling a story before considering the format. For most tech startups in Vietnam, a familiar deck format is the top priority. After attracting interested investors and needing a deeper technical story, a memo layer is then built.

Sinh Vũ does not write financial data on your behalf and does not guarantee fundraising results after delivering documents. What Sinh Vũ does is lock in the story, arrange the messages in the correct order, and build both layers when necessary, so that your profile has the opportunity to be read to the last slide.