I've been on both sides of the investor update. At Deutsche Bank, I read them. At Payapps, I wrote them. Now at Glitch, I read a lot of them.

Founders, especially early-stage founders, ask me about them all the time. What does good look like? Does anyone actually read them? Am I sharing too much?

To answer the second question first: investors definitely read your updates. The most effective ones take just two minutes to digest and give a clear picture of how the business is performing, what's hard right now, and exactly how investors or their networks can help.

Any update beats no update, but they take time to write well. The job is to balance information that is timely, relevant and actionable.

And as your company moves from seed to scale-up, the update naturally grows with it. Once a board is involved, the expectation is for more detailed and more timely information.

Send updates at a fixed time every month or quarter, whether the news is good or bad. Aim to deliver them promptly and consistently after the period ends. Use a standardised subject line that's easy to search for, such as Acme | October 2026 update.

Every company operates differently, but identifying your core north star metrics is essential. Keep them sharp and easy to consume.

Aim for three to five key figures that give an immediate snapshot of the business's overall health, such as annual recurring revenue (ARR) for a software business or gross merchandise value (GMV) for a marketplace. Show each one alongside its month-on-month growth rate and its target. For example:

Monthly recurring revenue: $42k, up 11% (target 10%). Net revenue churn: 0.3% (target under 1%).

Lead with your asks. Your update is a top priority for you, but investors often skim it on their phone. Say how they can help, clearly and briefly.

The most effective ask has four elements: the outcome you want, the specific person or organisation, why it matters, and the immediate next step. Add a clear deadline and a short, two-line blurb they can forward. Keep it to two to four asks per update.

Close the loop, too. In the next update, thank the people who helped by name.

Compare a vague ask like “Any intros to enterprise customers would be great” with a targeted one: “An intro to the finance leaders of multi-site gyms. We cut invoice processing from days to hours for a similar business. Forwardable blurb below.”

Building a startup is hard and often frustrating, so no investor expects smooth sailing all the time. Even during rapid growth, things break.

What investors want is genuine intellectual honesty, not token lowlights included for show. Explain clearly what isn't working, what you've learned, and your plan to fix it. At Glitch, this is the section we read to see where someone in our network can jump in and help.

Showing that you're iterating and learning is what counts. The same unresolved issue turning up update after update is a red flag. Always say where you need support.

The right level of detail depends on your stage. In the early days, every update should include three numbers: cash on hand, net burn, and your zero-cash date, calculated both with and without projected revenue.

At seed, that can be one line:

Cash: $1.8m. Net burn: $95k a month (monthly or quarterly average). Runway 19 months.

Once you're bigger, you can move these figures into board discussions to limit who sees them and minimise the risk of leaks.

Writing promotes clear thinking, and that's a benefit you miss if you rely entirely on AI to write your updates.

AI can help you draft, but review and challenge what it gives you before you hit send.

Your update may be my only monthly touchpoint with your business. Make sure you're fully confident in how it represents you and your company.

At seed, reporting is straightforward: a single email update sent to all your investors.

As your startup grows and brings on more institutional backing, the reporting requirements grow with it.

At this stage, your investors are your network. On an Australian seed round heavy with angels and early-stage VCs, that's the biggest group of helpers you'll ever get this cheaply. A monthly update keeps them close, gives them something specific to do, and builds the track record that makes your Series A conversations easier.

At this stage, a formal board is typically established. Governance moves to a written board pack, so board meetings stay focused on decisions and discussion rather than status reporting.

For the other investors who want to stay engaged and help, keep sending your monthly or quarterly update, trimming the most sensitive details as appropriate.

Whatever your stage, the test is the same. Could an investor read your update on their phone in two minutes and know how the business is going, what's hard, and how they can help? If so, you've done the job.

The founders who send them reliably, through the good months and the bad, are the ones who build trust with their investors and help them be ready when it really counts.