Investor Update Skill

This skill writes a complete investor update — structured for clarity, honest about challenges, and specific about asks. Output follows the format preferred by most early-stage and growth investors.

Required Inputs

Ask the user for these if not provided:

• Company name and stage (Seed / Series A / Series B / etc.)
• Period covered (month or quarter)
• Key metrics this period (revenue, MRR, users, churn, burn, runway — whatever's relevant)
• Biggest wins
• Biggest challenges or misses
• Specific asks from investors (intros, advice, talent, partnerships)
• What's coming next period
• Tone (formal / conversational — most investors prefer conversational)

Output Structure

Company Name] — Month/Quarter] Update [Date]

Hi Investor names or "all"],

One or two sentence opener — a specific highlight or honest framing of the period. Don't open with "Hope you're well." Open with the most important thing that happened.]

The Numbers

| Metric | This Period | Last Period | Change | |---|---|---|---| | MRR / ARR] | Value] | Value] | +/- %] | | Active users / customers] | | | | | Churn rate] | | | | | Burn rate] | | | | | Runway] | | | | | Other key metric] | | | |

1–2 sentences of narrative on the numbers — what's the story behind the movement? Don't just repeat the table.]

Highlights

Highlight 1 — 4–6 word title] 2–4 sentences. What happened. Why it matters. Be specific — name the customer, the number, the milestone.]

Highlight 2] 2–4 sentences]

Highlight 3 — optional]

Challenges

This section is what separates trustworthy updates from self-promotional ones. Investors know you have challenges. Being direct builds trust.]

Challenge 1] 2–4 sentences. What the problem is. What you've tried. What you're doing about it. Don't spin — investors see through it.]

Challenge 2 — if applicable]

Focus for Next Month/Quarter]

3–5 bullet points. What you're concentrating on next period and why. Keep it tight — not an exhaustive roadmap.]

• Priority 1]
• Priority 2]
• Priority 3]

Asks

Be specific. "Let me know if you can help" is not an ask. These should be actionable items an investor can act on immediately.]

1. Ask type: e.g. Intro] — Specific request. e.g. "Looking for an intro to procurement leads at mid-market SaaS companies. Happy to share a warm intro note."]
2. Ask type: e.g. Advice] — Specific question you want input on]
3. Ask type: e.g. Talent] — Specific hire you're looking for — title, key requirements]

Closing line — 1 sentence. Forward-looking or a genuine thanks. Not "as always, let me know if you have questions."]

Signature] Name] Company] One way to reply — email / Calendly / reply to this thread]

Writing Rules

• Updates should take an investor 3–4 minutes to read. If it's longer, trim it.
• Never lead with process ("This month we focused on...") — lead with outcomes
• Challenges section must be honest. A missing challenges section signals the founder isn't self-aware or isn't being transparent.
• Metrics table must include comparison to last period — a number without context is meaningless
• Asks must be specific enough that an investor knows within 5 seconds if they can help
• No jargon or buzzwords ("synergies," "crushing it," "hockey stick") — plain language only

Quality Checks

• ] Opens with a specific highlight or honest framing (not a pleasantry)
• ] Numbers include period-over-period comparison
• ] Challenges section is present and honest
• ] Asks are specific and actionable
• ] Total length is skimmable in 3–4 minutes
• ] No spin or buzzwords

Anti-Patterns

• ] Do not omit challenges or bad news — sanitised updates erode investor trust faster than bad results do
• ] Do not bury the lead — use BLUF structure and put the most important news in the first paragraph
• ] Do not send an update without a clear "Ask" section — investors who want to help need to know how
• ] Do not use buzzwords or spin — investors see hundreds of updates and will see through vague positive language
• ] Do not report metrics without a comparison baseline — numbers without context (vs. last period or target) are meaningless

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Write an investor update for month/quarter]"
• "Draft a monthly update for our investors based on these notes: paste notes]"
• "Help me write a board update for QN]"
• "Write our Series A investor newsletter"