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Strategy
Company One-Pager
One page that explains what you do, who you do it for, and why now — for investors, candidates, and your own team.
Last updated June 1, 2026
What it is
A single-page document that explains what your company does in language a smart outsider can grasp in 90 seconds. Used for: warm intros to investors, recruiting hand-offs, partnership pitches, and your own team's clarity check.
When to use it
Before any investor coffee. Before sending a job description to a passive candidate. Before pitching a partnership. Every six months as a forcing function for clarity — if you can't get it down to one page, you're not clear on the business yet.
The template
# [Company Name] — One-Pager **Updated:** [DATE] **Stage:** [Pre-seed / Seed / Series A / Bootstrap] **Website:** [URL] --- ## What we do (1 sentence) [One sentence that names the customer, the problem, and the outcome. Plain English. No buzzwords.] > Example: "We help SMB ecommerce stores recover the 15% of carts that churn after the first email, using behavior-triggered SMS." ## The problem [2-3 sentences. Whose problem. How big it is. What people do today that doesn't work.] ## Our solution [2-3 sentences. What we built. The core unlock. What it doesn't try to do.] ## Customer - **Who pays:** [Role + company size + situation] - **Customer count:** [N customers, with optional ICP breakdown] - **Pricing:** [Plan name → $/period; typical contract size] ## Why now [1-2 sentences. The shift in the last 12-24 months that made this possible (or necessary) now.] ## Traction - **Revenue:** [Current MRR or ARR; growth rate] - **Customers:** [N customers, retention/NRR signal if good] - **Other signal:** [Strong indicator: organic growth, NPS, big logo, etc.] ## Market - **TAM (bottom-up):** [N customers × ACV = $X] - **SOM in 3 years:** [Realistic capture] ## Team - **[Co-founder name]** — [Role]. [One-line credibility: prior company, domain, why this person for this problem.] - **[Co-founder name]** — [Role]. [Same.] - **Hiring next:** [Open roles] ## Ask - **Raise:** [Amount + stage] OR **Bootstrap, not raising** OR **Strategic conversation only** - **Looking for:** [Specific help — intros to X-type customers, advisors in Y, etc.] - **Contact:** [Your name + email] --- **Why a one-pager beats a deck**: Decks are read with you talking. One-pagers are read alone, often on a phone, by someone who has 90 seconds. If your one-pager doesn't earn the meeting, your deck won't either.
Common mistakes
- Trying to fit two pages onto one with size-6 font — kills readability
- Vague TAM ("the global X market is $50B") instead of bottom-up sizing
- Burying the traction; investors want to see the numbers above the fold
- Generic ask ("raising a round") instead of specific amount + use of funds
- No 'Why now' — the most-skipped section, the one most-asked-about
Related tool
Pitch Deck ChecklistRelated hub
Startup FundraisingRelated resource
The 10-Slide Pre-Seed Deck