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- The CIM that sold flinder (and what it taught me)
The CIM that sold flinder (and what it taught me)
Writing flinder’s CIM was a five-month process. It took time. But the time we invested early-on in storyboarding and scoping the document paid off once out in the world. Five months of planning and countless iterations created the CIM that sold flinder in just 55 days.
Alastair Barlow
September 20, 2025
A Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) is a crucial document when raising investment, or selling a business. It’s used to detail a company’s products and services, principal assets, financial results and projections, team, competitive landscape, and more. Its purpose is to help sell the business - highlighting desirable aspects, showcasing successes, and conveying the future potential in revenue and growth.
Why, then, are so many CIMs written and designed like T&Cs? Pages of dense text, with minimal formatting, and nothing to help guide the reader? While they may have the salient points, they can be pretty dull and uninspiring!
A CIM that’s more style than substance would (or should) trigger alarm bells in a potential buyer’s head. Impressive design can’t mask a business model’s shortcomings.
But when you’ve got a strong proposition and you can tell that story in a compelling, visual way, then you’re on to a winner.
I’m confident in saying that because I know what worked for our CIM when we sold flinder.