# Monthly investor update

Use when an update is due or the founder asks for one. Gather the period since the previous update, or use the last complete calendar month if this is the first.

## Source-first pass

1. Read the prior sent update. Capture its metric definitions, promises, open asks, and voice. If it does not exist, say so and start a baseline.
2. Gather shipped work and milestones from authorized project records, calendar entries, and relevant correspondence. A meeting is evidence that a meeting happened, not that a deal closed. Verify every claim before including it.
3. Pull each metric from its named system. Note period, units, definition, source, and comparison value. Mark missing data `[confirm: metric and source]`; do not derive it from a guess.
4. Reconcile the previous period's commitments. State what shipped, what slipped, why, and the next credible action. Ask the founder to verify inferred lowlights.
5. Make every ask answerable: a specific type of introduction, a concrete hiring profile, or one focused question. Don't publish a confidential relationship or name without the founder's approval.

## Draft shape

```markdown
Subject: [company] | [reporting period] update

**Summary:** [the most important verified change, plus its consequence]

**Metrics**
- [metric]: [verified value] ([verified prior value], [direction])
- [metric]: [confirm: metric and source]

**Highlights**
- [shipped item or milestone] | [why it matters]

**Lowlights and lessons**
- [missed commitment or risk] | [cause] | [response]

**Where you can help**
- [a specific introduction, candidate profile, or sharp question]

**Next period**
- [a small set of measurable priorities]

[founder's own sign-off]
```

Keep it skimmable on a phone. Match the founder's established tone. Present the draft and the outstanding confirmations; never dispatch it as part of gathering or drafting. If there is no investor list, use the same structure as a private monthly operating review.