investor-update

---
name: investor-update
description: >
  Help a founder write a clear, regular update to their investors. Use this skill whenever someone
  asks to write or draft an investor update, a monthly or quarterly update, a backers/angels
  update, or asks for an investor-update template or cadence advice. Triggers on: "write an
  investor update", "monthly investor update", "draft an update for my investors", "quarterly
  update to backers", "investor update template", "what should go in my investor update".

  Produces a tight, skimmable update with the sections investors actually read — TL;DR, key
  metrics, highlights, lowlights, asks, and runway — in the founder's own voice. Works from
  whatever inputs the founder provides (metrics, the month's events) or interviews them for the
  gaps. Tuned for early-stage startups updating seed/pre-seed investors and angels.

  Always use this skill for investor updates — do not improvise the structure from memory.
---

# Investor Update

Drafts a regular investor update that gets read and gets help. The best updates are **short,
honest, and consistent** — investors skim dozens of these; a tight one with a clear ask is worth
ten pages of prose.

> **Founders:** the update is your single highest-leverage investor-relations habit. Sending one
> *every month, including the bad months,* builds trust and turns passive backers into active
> helpers. The "asks" section is where updates earn their keep — investors can't help with what
> they don't know you need.

---

## Workflow

```
1. IDENTIFY    → Company, period (month/quarter), audience, prior update (if any)
2. GATHER      → Pull the period's metrics + events; interview the founder for gaps
3. DRAFT       → Write the update in the standard structure, in the founder's voice
4. ASK-CHECK   → Make sure every ask is specific and actionable
5. DELIVER     → Output the draft; note what's still TK (to-come) for the founder to fill
```

---

## Step 1: Identify

Ask if not given:
- Company name and the period this update covers (e.g., "June 2026" or "Q2 2026")
- Who it's going to (all investors / angels / a specific lead) — tone can shift slightly
- Whether there's a prior update to stay consistent with (same metrics tracked period-over-period
  is what makes updates valuable — investors watch the *trend*)
- Cadence: monthly is the norm for early-stage; quarterly is the minimum

---

## Step 2: Gather inputs

Collect, or interview the founder for:
- **Core metrics** — the 3–6 numbers that define the business (revenue/MRR, growth %, active
  users, retention, pipeline, cash, runway). Use the *same* metrics each period.
- **What happened** — product shipped, customers won/lost, hires, partnerships, press.
- **What went wrong** — the honest lowlights (see why this matters below).
- **What's coming** — next period's top priorities.
- **What they need** — intros, hires, advice, customer leads.

If a number isn't known, mark it `[TK]` rather than inventing it — never fabricate metrics in an
investor update.

---

## Step 3: Draft structure

Write in this order. Keep it skimmable — an investor should get the gist in 60 seconds.

```markdown
# [Company] — Investor Update — [Period]

**TL;DR:** 2–3 sentences. The single most important thing this period + headline metric + the
top ask. (Many investors read only this. Make it count.)

## Key metrics
| Metric | This period | Last period | Δ |
|--------|------------|-------------|---|
| MRR / Revenue | | | |
| Growth | | | |
| [Active users / key usage] | | | |
| Cash | | | |
| Runway | | | |
*(Same metrics every period. The trend is the story.)*

## Highlights 🎉
- 2–4 bullets. What went well, with specifics and numbers.

## Lowlights / challenges 🚧
- 1–3 bullets. What went wrong and what you're doing about it. Be honest — this is where you
  earn credibility, and it's the fastest way to get useful help.

## What's next
- Top 2–3 priorities for next period.

## Asks 🙏
- Specific, actionable requests. Each ask names exactly what you want:
  - "Intros to [type of buyer] at [type of company] — esp. anyone at X, Y, Z."
  - "Hiring a [role] — know any great ones?"
  - "Feedback on [specific decision]."

## Kudos / thanks (optional)
- Thank anyone (investor or otherwise) who helped this period — reinforces the help loop.
```

---

## Step 4: Ask-check

Before delivering, verify the **Asks** section:
- Every ask is *specific* enough to act on. "Intros would be great" → ❌. "Intros to VP Eng
  candidates with marketplace experience" → ✅.
- There are 1–3 asks, not zero and not ten. Zero asks wastes the channel; ten asks gets none done.
- The single most important ask is also surfaced in the TL;DR.

---

## Step 5: Deliver

Output the finished draft. Flag any `[TK]` placeholders the founder still needs to fill with real
numbers, and remind them of two habits that make updates work:
1. **Send it consistently** — same time each month, good months and bad.
2. **Keep the metric set stable** — changing which numbers you report hides the trend (and reads
   as hiding bad news).

---

## Tone guidance

- **Concise.** Bullets over paragraphs. One screen if possible.
- **Honest.** Report the bad with the good. Investors have seen everything; spin erodes trust.
- **Founder's voice.** Match how the founder actually writes — don't impose a corporate tone.
- **No fabrication.** Never invent a metric or event. `[TK]` over a guess.

## What this skill does NOT do

- It does not send the email — it produces the draft for the founder to review and send.
- It does not invent metrics — unknown numbers stay `[TK]`.