A worked investor update example for a seed-stage company. Revenue beat plan. Onboarding missed. Both are on the page, with last month and the plan beside each number.

The template is one page, sent on the same day each month, with the same numbers in the same order. The plan sits beside the actual. Empty sections stay off.

I used to put investor updates off, then overcompensate with a 50-page deck. As an investor I learned they wanted one page: plan vs actual, cash, and whether last month’s promises happened.

Include the numbers that missed, the cash, and the list from last month. Most templates have nine sections. You need the ones an investor actually looks for.

A late update is bad. A blank page is worse, so I waited. When I finally wrote, it became a highlight reel. Investors didn’t want theatre.

The page that lands is short. Plan vs actual, why it moved, cash, last month’s promises, next 30 days, an ask if you have one. Nothing else.

9 things belong in a regular shareholder update. Score last month’s letter against this list and cut the rest.