How can an angel write a decision memo about a healthcare software startup?

Write a decision memo that separates the company story from the investor's reasoning. State the question, evidence, competing interpretations, terms needing review, and unresolved risks. A memo should remain understandable after enthusiasm for the meeting fades.

Start with the decision

Use a claim-evidence-judgment structure and include a reason the investment could fail. Record what would change the conclusion. Keep any personal suitability or allocation decision separate from a generic educational example.

The illustrative scenario

This is an educational workbook. The company or fund and all numerical inputs below are fictional. They are not ADIN results, customer claims, market benchmarks, or a forecast.

The fictional team is piloting an administrative scheduling product with a provider group. Staff use it in a narrow workflow, while procurement and data review determine whether a broader rollout is possible.

A clinic's enthusiasm does not resolve data handling, workflow ownership, or applicable regulatory questions. This example does not assume a particular legal classification or approval.

Turn the scenario into an evidence decision

Consider a review of a healthcare software startup in which a confident explanation arrives before the supporting records. Start with the first question in the table. Write down what an answer would change: the next interview, the experiment's scope, a request for specialist review, or a decision to wait. A question without a consequence can produce a longer document while adding little understanding.

Next, inspect the record named in the table and record its date, owner, permission boundary, and limitations. Review authorized workflow observations, procurement requirements, permissioned usage evidence, and specialist advice about applicable obligations. Avoid using identifiable patient information in a diligence packet. If the record contradicts the explanation, preserve both accounts and ask which definition, period, or workflow differs. Do not silently select the version that makes the opportunity look strongest.

Finish with a conditional statement: if the specified evidence supports the claim under these conditions, take the named next step; otherwise investigate the unresolved question. A good memo can make an eventual mistake more informative by preserving the original assumptions. It cannot turn an uncertain early-stage investment into a predictable outcome or transfer responsibility to a template. This worked exercise is about the decision process. It does not assert that a fictional company has met a real diligence standard or that a template can authorize an investment.

Use this worksheet

Answer the questions with a source, date, owner, and next action. Mark an unknown as unknown. Use public or permissioned information and involve a qualified specialist when a question requires expertise beyond the team’s competence.

1. What decision is being considered?
2. Which evidence is strongest?
3. What is the contrary case?
4. Which terms need review?
5. What would change the conclusion?

Questions specific to this scenario

• Which workflow is actually in scope?
• Who approves data access?
• What specialist review is needed?

Review authorized workflow observations, procurement requirements, permissioned usage evidence, and specialist advice about applicable obligations. Avoid using identifiable patient information in a diligence packet.

A concrete next test

Ask the authorized workflow owner to map a narrow administrative use case without disclosing patient information. Identify the data-access and procurement approvals needed for the next step. Keep operational adoption evidence separate from claims about clinical benefit or regulatory status.

Interpret the result

A good memo can make an eventual mistake more informative by preserving the original assumptions. It cannot turn an uncertain early-stage investment into a predictable outcome or transfer responsibility to a template.

Compare the administrative workflow and rollout dependencies with the current process. Do not treat an operational pilot as clinical efficacy evidence.

Sources and method

These primary resources provide background for the concepts. The fictional scenario, calculations, and worksheet are ADIN educational examples; the sources do not report or validate those invented results. Reviewed October 11, 2026.

• Angel Capital Association: Knowledge Center
• Investor.gov: Private Equity Funds