As a tech / startup PR, I spend way more time helping founders write investor updates than I do writing press releases.
What makes a good investor update? I have 5 simple rules.
A thread…🧵
What makes a good investor update? I have 5 simple rules.
A thread…🧵
1. Have a goal. That goal is not “keep the investors happy.” Your investor update is an opportunity to pump up, activate and ask for help from your biggest supporters. People with a killer network.
Have an ask, have a clear understanding of what you want from this update.
Have an ask, have a clear understanding of what you want from this update.
2. Make a deck, not a doc. You want to create the easiest reading experience for your investors. They’re time poor, and they don’t want to dig through a shit tonne of info in a bad format. Keep it to 5ish slides. And only include the important shit.
3. Tell a story. Tell *this* story.
A. This is what we said we’d do.
B. This is what we’ve done.
C. This is what we’re doing now.
D. This is what we’re doing next.
E. This is what the world looks like when we’ve done it.
A. This is what we said we’d do.
B. This is what we’ve done.
C. This is what we’re doing now.
D. This is what we’re doing next.
E. This is what the world looks like when we’ve done it.
4. Don’t bullshit. State everything in simple language. Don’t fall back on charts as an excuse not to be clear and open. You can add the charts as an appendix. You’re talking to humans here. So talk to them.
5. Never hide the bad news. Show it. Shout about it. Put it at the front. And then explain exactly how you’re handling the bad news, what you’re doing to mitigate it, and what you’ve learned.
And that’s about it. If you can follow that…your investor update won’t suck. And your investors will appreciate it.
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