I love receiving investor updates.

It should be a win / win for founders & investors:
* Investors learn more about the company, the founders and the market
* Founders get to reflect on progress against goals and engage investors

Some founders waste the opportunity:

Typical mistakes:
1/ not doing it / sporadic communications
2/ not asking for specific help
3/ not leading with KPIs or comparing to expected progress
4/ waffling

1/ If you stop communicating with investors it is usually a sign the business is in trouble.

Or maybe you:

- are disorganised
- are afraid of sharing bad news
- you don't value others' input

Maybe you have a good reason not to; but just let us know.

2/ Investors want to see founders succeed.

Channel investor's creative energy into things you want; or else risk well meaning distraction.

Need help hiring a particular role, review of a document, an introduction to someone?

Ask

You never know what help might be available.

3/ Whatever your key metrics you are tracking (revenue, users, NPS, growth, etc) put them up front.

Is your strategy succeeding?

If not, don’t hide it. Instead, say what you think went wrong and how you are responding/fixing it.

Show you are learning; not just lucky.

4/ Be succinct. Say what is important. Don’t waffle, prevaricate, rationalise, justify, hide key points in unnecessary detail, etc.

Founder and investor time is scarce and precious.

Every interaction informs a decision on the next round.