An investor update is a brief report shared with investors to share recent wins and losses, financials, team updates, customer wins, core metrics, and your plan for the next month (or quarter). It’s important to build transparency and trust with your investor base and keep them informed. This will ensure they know how best to help you and will continue to invest in your business. It will also make it easier to ask them for help in the future if needed, such as referring new customers or participating in a funding round.
In general, you’ll want to aim for an investor update that is concise and navigable, with short sentences and bullet points. It’s also a good idea to collect all the highlights from the previous month before you start writing. You can do this with a simple spreadsheet or by taking notes. Lastly, pick a time to send your investor updates (typically the end of the current month or the beginning of the next) and stick to it. This will show that you take the update process seriously and will be prepared to provide consistency over time.
Creating an investor update can feel daunting, especially if you’re not used to putting one together. But it doesn’t have to be! Visible takes your investor updates from a chore to a powerful tool for growing your business. With investor update templates, best-practice reporting frameworks, and the ability to import a one-time financial snapshot directly from your accounting software, Carta helps you create an efficient and effective investor reporting process.