The formula for a productive investor update email

It’s the beginning of the year so I’ve started receiving investor update emails from my portfolio, or those that I’m closely tracking and the founders have put me on the list.

Some of these emails are far more effective than others.

There are multiple schools of thought on whether investor updates are a waste of time, neutral or highly beneficial. I know where I stand. They are worth the hours that they take when done well. If they’re not done well, then it’s a lot of bother and not a lot of ROI.

At this point, I have a formula for how to do them effectively that I will share with the founders in my network. And now, I’m sharing it more broadly with you, particularly as momentum is growing around the topic on social media. And not all the advice I’ve seen has been all that good!

So, here’s my five rules for a good investor update email, including frequency, formatting tips, structure, and a dashboard of metrics. We’ll also cover who should be on the list to receive these emails, beyond the obvious (the current Cap Table). There’s a real art and a science to getting these updates right, and they are a useful exercise both in helping founders stay accountable and in providing a moment for true introspection about what’s gone well that month. It also provides current and potential investors with a rare window into whether a founder can set milestones, and then hit them. And that helps VCs builds conviction, well before they send a term sheet.

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