Module 05 · The investor update~15s dwell · weight 10
Lowlights
Report 1-2 real misses without softening them into non-problems. This is the section that builds long-term credibility with investors.
Fred Wilson (AVC) has written that the updates he trusts most are the ones that include real bad news, not just good news.
Include
- 1-2 real misses, stated plainly
- What caused it and what's being done about it
Cut
- Fake lowlights that are actually humblebrags ('we're growing so fast we can't hire quickly enough')
- More than 2 lowlights, which reads as panic rather than candor
Red flags a reader notices
- A section titled 'challenges' that contains no actual challenge
Pitfalls behind them
- Disguising a real problem as a minor operational note
- Omitting lowlights entirely for several months in a row
60-second self-test
- · Would a board member reading this be surprised later to learn what actually happened?
- · Is this a real miss, or a win wearing a modest disguise?
Template
The miss this month: [what went wrong], caused by [reason], and we're addressing it by [action].
Weak
"Only real challenge is that we're growing so fast the team can barely keep up, a good problem to have."
Strong
"Churn ticked up to 4.2% this month, driven by two mid-market accounts that cited missing SSO. SSO ships in 3 weeks; we've already re-engaged both accounts with a timeline."
Nimbus Payroll names the number, the cause, and the fix in three sentences.
Quick quiz
Pick an answer. Nothing is graded, and correct answers stay hidden until you choose.
1. What makes a lowlight fake?
2. Why does Fred Wilson value real lowlights in updates?