This monthly update will (re)gain your investors’ trust
By Nicolas Valaize (fundraising coach at Nyuko)
Three out of five portfolio companies at svs.vc (a very humble business angel vehicule I created with my friend Sébastien Sabic) do report to their investors on a monthly or quarterly basis. These reporting are usually worth reading but often irrelevant and/or too heavy. The worst being, of course, not sharing anything at all.
However last night, we received what I consider the best startup reporting email I’ve ever been through so far. Clear, short, insightful, the effect was immediate: within minutes I reached out to the entrepreneur, answering his queries plus offering my help on a specific topic.
I thus encourage any entrepreneur having investors on board to give some thought to using the following template, on a monthly basis.
1. Updates
Finances. A quick overview of short/mid-term cash-flows (how much is left in the bank, how high is your cash burning, …) plus any happening/upcoming finance event (fundraising, prizes won, subsidies, big spending,…).
Growth events. Be narrative on what happened since last reporting on sales/users growth, why so and what’s your plan to improve your funnel.
2. News — from bad to good.
Bad news first. This is probably the easiest way to get your investors trust you: by telling them in the first place the bad news. Share any relevant internal/external issues (partnerships going wrong, legal troubles, competitors beating you, big miss,…). Simply share them right here, right now.
By the way, you’ll probably feel less lonely when sharing these. Generating compassion from your investors might lead to stronger relationships.
Good news. Gradually share the best news to end the list with the most exciting one to hear.
Our entrepreneur last night shared a ten bullet points list. The first two were quite worrying. The remaining eight were just so exciting that my only thought at that moment was “I trust he will handle these matters as best as one could do.”
3. Metrics
Five. Chose five key metrics that drive your business. They could be Business, Financial, Product or Engagement Metrics (must-read: 16 key startups metrics & 16 More Startup Metrics). List these metrics in quick bullet points, as well as their progression compared to previous month/period.
Getting back to our entrepreneur. He is so obsessed with his KPIs (like you should be) that he shared with us the url of his live KPI dashboard on Geckoboard. It looks something like this and equals transparency:
4. Need help
Tired of useless investors not replying to any of your long emails? Ask one or two very specific tasks for them to perform in the coming days and make them accountable.
What I received last night was asking investors for some help on hiring a very specific profile.
5. Main next steps
List what you’ve planned to execute and what your investors can expect you to deliver, by the next newsletter you’ll send them — and beyond.
Hopefully this template will put your investors to work, by becoming a trustworthy founder.
Liked this post? It would be cool if you could hit the Heart button. If you want more updates, you can find me here on Twitter: @NicolasValaize. Cheers!
