Investor updates are powerful tool for founders to get more out of their investors, save time and quickly keep your investors in the loop and aligned.
My OG post on this from few years ago was pretty popular so updating it slightly for 2022.
At Galileo we ask our founders to send out regular email updates on top of our regular meetings, this is because we can see the difference it can make – founders that are disciplined in sending updates often raise more and faster in their next rounds and get more support from their investor base.
I get the same questions each time we ask founders to send them so here we go:
What to include in an investor update email?
Below are the main sections to include. Or jump the template here. I think it’s a good balance between detail and brevity.
- Runway
- Core Growth Metrics
- Highlights
- Lowlights
- Key focus
- Asks
- Thanks
Common Questions
Ok, but why should I send regular investor updates? Or how to scale your advice-seeking
An update email allows anyone interested in your progress, typically your current and would-be investors, advisors and mentors, to stay in the loop by just reading an email. There’s no onus on anyone to do anything (other than you to send it) and it allows everyone to stay updated and reach out and help where appropriate.
It’s a scalable way to get advice and introductions without taking up a lot of your time.
Either you meet everyone for a coffee every month (which x5-10 people will mean a lot of time) or you send them all a short email every month.
Also, regular update emails can help you build a trusted network. Many investors, Galileo VC included, usually require and update email of some kind post investment too.
What startup stage should you send an update email?
I recommending sending regular updates as soon as you get going! Specifically in the early stages it helps a lot. Such as in the lead up to raising your first pre-seed round (put any investors interested in following your progress on it) up to and including post seed rounds and Series A rounds.
Beyond Series A you’ll probably have regular board meetings (typically quarterly) but I would still recommend sending out Monthly or bi-monthly updates to all investors. You’ll get more support over time and your board should serve as a different function for the biz.
How often should I send an investor update?
Monthly is good! But if you only have a couple of investors and meet regularly you could do bi-monthly or quarterly too.
What format should it be in e.g. email or powerpoint?
Text email is fine. Anything fancy like Mailchimp newsletters or various update-apps are usually overkill, takes more time and goes to spam anyway.
Who should I include on an investor email update?
Just your current investors, vetted potential investors (e.g. only serious interest not every person you’ve ever met), current advisors (if any).
I would BCC your investors (but you don’t have to either) and cc the co-founders.
Template investor update email 2022
Hi all, This is <StartupABC> update email for <month>. StartupABC Refresher: 1 sentence pitch to refresh everyone on what you do. RUNWAY - Cash in bank - Monthly burn (and/or 'drop-dead' date) SUMMARY/CORE METRICS SNAPSHOT: [1-5 Core metrics/points is fine. This section should act as your quick summary the health of your business. For investors its vital to see how you're doing, will inform the advice they may give you.] - Monthly Sales Revenue - Growth metrics e.g. signups, new customers, product engagement - Tech/R&D Progress e.g. suitable for deep-tech startups etc. HIGHLIGHTS: - List your top 1-3 highlights, 1 sentence each (expand on anything significant in a separate area if required) LOWLIGHTS/CHALLENGES: - List your top 1-3 challenges here. This is where your investors and advisors will at a glance be able to see and think about what they could help you with. KEY GOALS/FOCUS: - 1 key goal for next month i.e. business goal not product goal. Could expand this to a few points but I find just keeping it simple works best. ASK [Super important section to include. This is where people can directly help out and feel good when they do] - 1-3 top asks for your advisors and investors e.g. introduction to new hire or expert on a topic THANKS - Publicly acknowledge the people who help you within the group (Creates a bit of competitiveness but also promotes the goodwill among your network) e.g. Thanks to Michelle for the advice on our pricing, it helped increase our margins! Thanks, Super awesome founder.
Example monthly investor update email from a YC backed startup, Mindset Health
I’ve been on a various update emails over the years and one that’s always super clear and thoughtful is from the Mindset team below.
Mindset have been through Monash Generator, YC and received seed investment but have been sending these out since before all of that. If you don’t know their hypnotherapy-based app, go check it out.
They’re also hiring here.
Hey everyone, Mindset Health helps people manage health conditions with app-based hypnotherapy. Our Core Metrics -MRR: $XXX USD, +XXX% MoM -Monthly listens: XXX listens, +XX% MoM -Cash in Bank: ~$XXX USD -Monthly Burn: $XXX USD Highlights -Hiring: we've hired a junior engineer (has been fantastic) and about to hire a XXX -Growth: we reached positive ROI with our web funnel, which helped drive strong revenue and engagement growth. -Product: we launched the Android version of XXX with the new voice and variable sessions. -Research: we've begun discussions with XXXXX on how we'd structure a retrospective study on Nerva with XXXX University. Lowlights -Hiring: The XXX who is contracting with us expressed interest in working remote moving forward. We don't want our early team to be remote so he's remained as a contractor for now. -Product: XXXXX launch was quite buggy which hurt early user's experience, although it's now much more stable. -Focus: Split focus continues to hurt XXXX until we build the framework product that unifies resources. A few of our learnings -Management: Based on team feedback, we need a more structured onboarding process and greater written communication. -Facebook Audiences: We figured out how to target the right audience in FB ads to improve ROI. -Clinical research: Running a XXXX doesn't get us reimbursement or approval, just marketing. We can accomplish a similar result with XXX significantly faster and cheaper. Our Focus For Next Month -Brand: rollout the brand redesign across the web. Content: Adding new XXXX sessions and XXXX program depth (written content etc). -Product: Build feature depth for XXX and replace iOS version with XXXX. -Growth: Getting users to refer/inform their healthcare practitioners. -Hiring: Growth marketer and a senior engineer. Ask We'd love intro's to any *wicked* smart analytical people for our growth marketer role (no marketing experience required) and senior/mid engineers with React experience. Kudos -XXXX Incredible team onboarding and culture building advice. -XXXX Intro to a web design contractor and helpful feedback on processes, planning, strategy and updates. -XXXX Valuable SEO advice on link building and sprints. -XXXX Helpful advice around employee equity, investor management and press strategy. -XXXX Provided Australian remuneration data that helped us decide on salary/equity for new hires. -XXXX Intro'd us to an Apple App Store expert. As always, everyone else who’s been generous with their time, connections and support! Cheers, Alex & Chris
