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name: investor-update description: "Write a structured monthly or quarterly investor update. Use when asked to write an investor update, investor newsletter, board update, or startup progress report for investors. Produces a clear, credible update with highlights, metrics, challenges, and asks — in the format investors actually want to read."

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

Work from what is given. If any of these is missing, still produce the complete output: fill each gap with a reasonable assumption marked (assumed, confirm) and list those assumptions at the end. Ask a question first only when the core subject itself is missing (there is nothing to write about).

• 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

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

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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.]

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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.]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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[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]

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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 Q[N]"
• "Write our Series A investor newsletter"