Investors have a vested interest in the success of their portfolio companies. Their job is to deploy their limited partners’ capital, generate excess returns and pay back those funds with the hope of doing it again. They’ve put their money on the line for your company, so it’s important to nurture them with data and keep them informed on progress. A well-crafted investor update demonstrates transparency and accountability, inspires confidence in your team’s trajectory, and can even help to secure the next round of funding you’re seeking.
Investor updates are typically a monthly document that covers key highlights and data over the previous period. It’s also important to share lowlights as startups experience challenges from time to time. Highlights may include record growth, new hires, or a significant milestone like a product launch. Lowlights could include a missed revenue goal, a bad quarter or a key team member leaving. It’s best to keep the lowlights short and to the point, and to spin any challenges into valuable lessons learned.
The best investor updates are concise and clear, with real metrics and data. Using a template can streamline the process, but it’s still up to you to select the most valuable and relevant information. To reduce the risk of an investor skimming the email, focus on the most relevant high-level takeaways.
Creating and sending investor updates can be done in a variety of ways, including email or PDFs. For more efficiency, consider using purpose-built software like Visible. It offers the benefits of a clean investor update template, engagement tracking, real-time collaboration, and one-click sharing and compliance.
