An investor update is a concise monthly email to all investors that shares your company’s performance last month, including key metrics, what went well, what went wrong, and what you need investors to help with.Without them, investors don’t know what you’re doing or how you’re doing, and it’s hard for them (and sometimes you) to gauge how the business is actually performing.
Monthly is usually the right cadence to share meaningful updates on how you did versus what you said you’d do, plus clean financial metrics. If you’re still very far away from , sometimes once every two months could make sense.A lot of founders only send updates when things are going well. That’s a mistake.
Updates matter even more when the business is struggling. Investors can only help if they know you need it.
Not only does an investor update allow you to seek help, but it also gives you the chance to tell investors how you’re handling an active issue. This way, they can see how you handle problems and know where they can help now and in the future.
Keep it concise and aim for something readable in under a minute or two. Investors likely get dozens of these every month and are just scanning for key updates. Generally, you can break it down into these four sections:
Metrics: Growth (ARR or ), cash, monthly burn, runway.
Highlights: What went well and drove growth last month.
Lowlights: What didn’t go well that you tried to drive growth. What you’ve learned and what you plan to do next.
Asks: Intros, product feedback, hiring help, etc. that investors can help with
Here’s an example from Front’s May 2016 update to investors:
