Investor FAQ Template: 20 Questions Investors Ask

After a good first meeting, an investor has to explain your company to people who have never met you. Their partners will ask the same questions every time: why now, why this team, why is the market big enough, what could kill it?

An investor FAQ answers those questions in writing, before anyone asks. It is the document most likely to be copied into an investment memo, which makes it one of the highest-leverage pages in your raise.

What an investor FAQ does

• Saves calls. Questions you have already answered in writing don't need a follow-up meeting.
• Keeps your story consistent. Your deck, model and FAQ say the same thing, in the same numbers.
• Shows you know your risks. Naming the hard questions yourself reads as judgment, not weakness.
• Travels without you. Partners who never see your pitch still read the FAQ.

It belongs in the narrative folder of your data room, next to the send version of your deck. If you haven't built the room yet, the seed data room checklist shows where each file goes.

The template: 20 questions in seven sections

Copy these headings into a document and answer every question. If a question doesn't apply yet, say so in one line. A blank reads as an oversight.

How to write each answer

Use the same three-part shape for every question:

1. The answer, in one sentence.
2. The evidence: a number, a customer fact or a dated milestone.
3. The source: the data room file that proves it, for example "see 04 Traction / monthly KPIs".

Here is an illustrative example, not a real company:

Why is now the right time? Clinics in our first market moved appointment booking online during the last two years, so they now have the data our product needs. Our pilot clinics already export bookings weekly. See 04 Traction / pilot summary.

Three lines, one claim, one proof, one pointer. An investor can paste that into a memo without editing it.

The questions founders skip

Founders write good answers to the flattering questions and thin answers to the uncomfortable ones. Investors notice. Give these extra attention:

• The biggest risks. Name real ones: a key customer concentration, a regulatory question, a hire you haven't made. Then say what you are doing about each.
• Competition. "No direct competitors" usually means the founder hasn't looked. Include the incumbent workaround.
• Market size method. Show the bottom-up calculation (customers × price), not only a top-down industry figure.
• What if the round is slow. Show the plan that extends runway if closing takes longer.

If you raise across borders in Asia, add a short section on structure: where the holding company sits, where the team and customers are, and which currency you report in. Regional investors often ask this early. The guide to finding seed investors in Asia covers how this varies by investor type.

Keep it consistent with every other document

The FAQ fails if its numbers differ from your deck or model. Before you share it:

• Check every metric against your monthly KPI sheet.
• Check the round size and instrument against your term documents and cap table.
• Date the document and update it whenever a number changes.

The FAQ is also your preparation for diligence. Most of the follow-up questions in the due diligence checklist for startups start from the same seven sections. This is general guidance, not legal advice; have a qualified lawyer review any description of your round terms.

Build it in an afternoon

Draft the answers in one sitting, using your deck as the source. Then ask one person who doesn't know the business to read it and list every question it leaves open. Add those answers, link each one to its source file, and put the FAQ in your data room.