Why and How to Update Your Angel Investors

As a general rule, angel investors are pretty low key as far as maintenance. Most startups using angel investors to get off the ground usually plan an aggressive reporting plan for investors. It’s exciting to give updates on what is happening in the business and because so much happens so quickly in the beginning, weekly or bi-weekly updates are easy to accomplish. There’s new marketing, new sales, new clients, and new goals being developed. Then, the startup becomes more stable, and the day to day running may start taking priority over contact with your angel investors. Soon you’re contacting quarterly, then your angel investor is contacting you for updates. That should never be happening. Being low maintenance is one thing, being ignored is unacceptable.

A bi-weekly or monthly report to your angel investors is a schedule you should be able to keep up with. Information to include might be some of the following to give your investor a good overview of how their investment in your startup is performing:

Using bullet points is a great way to make your report easy to write and easy for readers to scan.

• Sales and marketing – mention new clients, go over any deals currently being negotiated in the pipeline, and any new partnerships that have been developed since the last report.

• Fundraising – if fundraising is still ongoing or expansion capital will be sought in the near future, mention it. Your readers may contribute more or bring in additional investors.

• Upcoming promotional events – mention any industry or trade events your startup will be appearing at. If you’re participating in a community event that will raise awareness of your brand-it goes in the report.

• Product/service updates – Any improvements or update to existing products or services should be mentioned.

• Ask for help if you need it – does your company need assistance making connections to suppliers or distributors? Do you need more investors? No one will know unless you put it out there.

Along with your angel investors, it’s a good idea to send a basic startup health report to any prospective investors, board members, mentors, and close confidants you want to give the scoop to on how your startup is performing. This communication will benefit you in two big ways. First, it will give your current investors piece of mind as to how things are running. Second, it can entice investors who have been on the fence about investing to get involved should you need additional capital for growth.

An easy way to write your report is to set a deadline for yourself of when you want to send it out. Then, make a simple template and fill in the different areas throughout the week when you have information. It’s simple to sit down for 15 minutes and write about latest sales and client acquisitions, you can also go back and add more if you get additional information to add before it’s time to send. Once you commit to a schedule for reporting whether it is bi-weekly or monthly, stick to it. One added bonus with regular, detailed reports is that business owners can devote time to running their business, and not answering investor questions.