Founders often tell you they’re going to send monthly updates, but how often do they really do it? Today, I did a review of my entire portfolio to answer that question. Here’s what I found…

A Peak Inside My Portfolio

• 31 names in the portfolio total
• 28 of those investments are active (the others have exited)
• 2 founders said upfront that they are not doing updates. I invested knowing that, so I am not expecting anything from them.
• 2 investments were made in the last 3 months. Those rounds are still closing, so I don’t expect an update yet.

That leaves 24 active investments that should be sending updates. So, did they do it?

• 20 of 24 have sent an update in September or October
• 2 sent updates in August
• 1 sent an update in April
• Only 1 company has not sent an update this entire year. I just contacted them to see what’s new.

Amazing job, founders! 20/24, or 83% of companies are right on time with their updates. Most of those that are behind are pretty close.

Given how much work it is to run a company, that’s incredibly impressive!

Do Frequent Updates Correlate with Success?

I’ve heard a ton of investors say that the more frequent the updates, the more successful the company. But from what I’ve seen, that is not true.

The results are bimodal. If you aren’t hearing from a company, it’s either a likely 0 or a huge success.

My most successful investment is a SaaS startup I backed at pre-seed that hit $17 million ARR in less than two years. I rarely hear from them.

And guess what — I don’t care! I’m never going to bother these guys for an update.

By contrast, the company I have yet to hear from this year is probably about to go out of business, if it hasn’t already.

What Should You Do if You Don’t Get an Update?

“You are 11 hours late on your update! How dare you?! I gave you money!” Yeah, not that.

I never contact a company for an update unless I have not heard from them in 9 months or more. Running a company is hard. If a founder commits to monthly updates, I’m happy if I get 4 a year.

After 9 months, I send a very polite message:

“Hi Jim!

Did I miss your monthly update? I’m not seeing one since December 2023.

Hope all’s well with you!

Best,

F”

Notice how I put the blame on myself. Maybe my spam filter zapped their message or it got lost in an avalanche of ads.

If I still don’t hear for another few weeks, I’ll send another message.
The key is to be nice. These folks are working hard for you, and they don’t always have time to get the update in.

What Should Be in My Update?

Some founders miss updates because they think an update has to be an elaborate presentation. Not so.

Here’s what an investor update should look like:

“Dear Uber Investors,

We had another great month! Big increase in sign-ups is driving revenue.

Sept Revenue: $42,000 (+ 35%)
Burn: $30,000
Cash in Bank: $1,200,000
Runway: 40 months

Highlights:

• Signups doubled this month to 5,200
• NYC launched!

Lowlights:

• Key engineer left, working on replacement

Asks:

• Intros to excellent engineers for our open position
• Intros to growth hackers with marketplace experience

Shoutouts:

• Francis Santora for introducing us to Sequoia, Mike Michaels for intro to growth hacker

See you next month!

Travis”

It really is that simple. Your update should be brief and mostly numbers.

You will want these key figures for your own use anyway. You may as well share them with your investors too.

And if they’re bad, don’t worry. Your investors may be able to help!

Wrap-Up

I’m surprised at how founders are so on top of their updates! I’m also really impressed.

These are some of the busiest people in the world. And let’s be honest, sending the investor update isn’t their highest priority task.

If you’re running a little (or a lot) late on your update, write up a little note today! Your investors will love to hear from you.

And if you’re an investor, reply to the updates! Most investors don’t, and it’s an easy way to encourage a founder and show you care.

What do you think…do updates correlate with success?

More on tech:

Small Investors Lead to Big Investors

How I Make Sure I’m Never Late to Meet a Founder

Talking Investment Red Flags on the Mr. Bray Labs Podcast

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