Investor updates are a great way to keep people excited and to make asks, if needed. If they don’t know what you need, how are they going to be able to help you?
Set the cadence as monthly or quarterly, anything more than that (ie. bi-weekly) is overkill for you and their inboxes.
Please start sending regular monthly updates to people that are interested in your business. This has gotten excited enough to invest in companies.
For any investors that say no or keep me posted, you’ll want to create a mailing list and send them monthly updates or at least an update a month before your Demo Day.
If you make progress between now and Demo Day, 4 weeks prior to Demo Day you can re-ping investors that had met you at the beginning of the program with an update, and a limited offer to invest pre-Demo Day at a discounted price.
Some have found this to be a hack in turning original No's into Yeses. Right before Demo Day -- if you are pursuing a small pre-Demo Day raise to prime the fundraising going into Demo Day -- it’s a lot easier to close an angel who had met with you before vs a cold new pitch. So even if you get No’s now, these may turn into Yes’s before Demo Day.
Here’s a template of a newsletter layout that’s worked well. You may not want to send this until prior to Demo Day:
Subj: [Company Name] Update: Read about [Company Name] {Big highlight}
Hi [Investor First Name],
Please see below for updates from [Month]!
We are thrilled to share some exciting news with you. You are receiving this because you've expressed an interest in the past to stay updated on [Company Name] company developments.
{List Top 3 highlights in bullets around traction, notable customers, product, hiring, etc.}
Thank you and please reach out with reactions or questions; would love to catch up over coffee!
Best,
The [Company Name] Team
You can also send a memo on company letterhead attached in an email to keep things documented.