Infrastructure Deal: Owning the Full Investment Memorandum
Led solo due diligence on a capital-intensive infrastructure startup, from market sizing through valuation to IC defense
Jai Bachhawat
Investment Analyst (Off-Cycle) at UCEA - Family Office Group
From their time as
Investment Analyst (Off-Cycle)
UCEA - Family Office Group • 2026
Overview
Jai took on the full investment memorandum for an energy infrastructure startup as the sole analyst on the deal, working under manager oversight. The company was using plasma technology to bore underground cable tunnels, a process that reduced installation time by 80% compared to above-ground methods. No direct competitor was doing the same thing.
The Story
Jai took on the full investment memorandum for an energy infrastructure startup as the sole analyst on the deal, working under manager oversight. The company was using plasma technology to bore underground cable tunnels, a process that reduced installation time by 80% compared to above-ground methods. No direct competitor was doing the same thing.
He started with market sizing. The global infrastructure opportunity came in at $25 trillion, with a serviceable opportunity of approximately $20 billion. Because the technology was genuinely novel, standard comparable company analysis had limited utility, and Jai had to rely on patent research, pilot project data, and the company's own data room to build the picture.
The company analysis drew on the data room provided under NDA, covering the cap table, financial projections, debt maturity profile, and convertible loan notes. Jai also reviewed the company's 65 patents via Google Patent search and assessed trade secrets that the company had not disclosed publicly, which he surfaced selectively to the IC.
For valuation, Jai arrived at a $95M pre-money valuation on a $7M bridge round being raised via CLNs. Given the capital-intensive nature of the business and the pre-revenue stage of certain components, he used non-traditional methods alongside DCF and trading comparables, calibrating assumptions against the founder's prior track record.
When he presented to the IC, the pushback centered on execution risk, not the technology or the market. Jai anchored his defense on the founder's record as a serial entrepreneur with multiple unicorn exits, the proof of concept demonstrated across pilot projects, and the patent portfolio. The IC moved to a favorable recommendation.