Good morning, fellow founder! 👋

Welcome to another edition of FounderForge. Your Europe-focused startup digest - just because we do things a little differently here! 🇺🇸 👀

If you missed our last issue, you can still read it at the link below! 👇

Today's topics are all about keeping them in the loop:

• Investor Update Frequency 🔁

• The Ultimate Investor Update Template 📃

📊 Data Dive: Investor Update Frequency

It’s the beginning of the month - so you know the drill! 👇

You need to get your 8 Head Ofs and CXOs together to start writing the quarterly or monthly investor update.

All because investors want it regularly (or require it in SHA 🙄).

What a hassle (right?!). 🎢 

Communication is the key to success

While it may take some time to gather the information, the value of consistent updates is huge. 🚀

On the one hand, they are simply a great tool for building accountability.

On the other hand, they are a door opener for future funding (guess what - investors like to invest in companies where they know what's going on) and a great tool for regular reflection. 🚪

The important thing is that they are set up in such a way that they do not take up too much of your time (ideally you have the data ready anyway...). 📊

Depending on the depth of the report and the stage of the company, the question arises as to how often such a report should be sent out.

Let's look at how often other companies communicate with investors 👇️

How often should you send it?

As with everything in life, consistency is key. 🗝️

Hold yourself accountable for providing this update on a regular basis - whatever that may be. 🔁

Looking at some data from NFX's Founder Sentiment Survey, almost half of all founders surveyed talk to their investors monthly.

Weekly and quarterly also seem to be common too.

However, in our opinion, weekly updates would be overkill - even more so daily. 🤯

If you have time to communicate with your investors on a daily basis, you might want to ask yourself if this is really the most important thing you can do with your time (probably not #eisenhowermatrix). ⏱️

When some serious money is at stake early on, communication tends to be more frequent.

The bigger you are - the less you communicate

Was it just a bit of Stockholm Syndrome because they were the first people who didn't think you were completely crazy? 🤓

When you start a business, there are very few certainties - and a lot of unknowns. That's why outside opinions and accountability are more important in these times.

The bigger the company, the more stable the business (hopefully 😅).

The more stable and predictable the business, the less communication is needed.

Also, data becomes more meaningful - better not to share it too much... 👀

If it's just about setting targets and reporting, you can move to a quarterly schedule. 🤝

Now that we've talked enough about frequency, let's talk about the structure of investor updates:

🛠 Founder's Toolkit: Ultimate Investor Update Template

As we have learned first hand it is very important to keep your investors engaged - not only for them but also for you. 👀 

The benefits of regular updates include:

• Accountability - Reporting bad numbers month after month creates a greater sense of urgency to improve.

• Reflection - Organizing and writing down all your thoughts helps you take a step back and reflect.

• Alignment - Shows how everyone's work fits into the bigger picture of the business.

• Top of mind - As people go about their lives, it's good to be at the top of their minds so they can provide you with valuable opportunities when they arise (or future funding, for that matter).

Now all you need is a clear outline of what a GREAT investor update should look like. 📰 

Good news: FounderForge has the perfect template for you - and it's completely FREE! 🙌

Check it out below! 👇

🔗 Founder's Library: Curated Resources

A collection of random reads that the FounderForge team enjoyed.

• A Playbook for Value Creation by Rick Zullo

• How to Screw up Your AI Startup: A Tale of Tech, Triumphs, and Traps by Andrew Bush

• Unlocking Hidden Value: How Niche Markets Are Bigger Opportunities Than VCs Think by Jackie Dimonte

• Startup Leaders Share the GTM Basics for Technical Founders to Hit Their First $1 Million Revenue by Megan Reynolds

• The Final Act: Founders Share 8 Takeaways From Sunsetting a Startup by Elena Ghinita

• The Real Truth About Bootstrapping vs Venture-Backed Startups by Greg Isenberg

• What’s the Toughest Part of Running a Startup? by Jason Lemkin

This week we went a bit wild with the resources - but they are all worth a read!

😂 Meme of the Fortnight

Sometimes you just need to add vanity metrics to show "progress". 😏

🤔 Your Thoughts on Today's Edition

• 🔥 It was great!

• 😒 Meh - it was okay.

• 👎 Not interesting to me.

That's all for now!

If you find this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend!

Cheers,
The Founders Blacksmith 👋

Issue #15 | 04. April 2024