Module 03 · The investor update~15s dwell · weight 9
Progress vs last month's goals
Show whether last month's stated priorities were actually hit, missed, or dropped, and why.
Elizabeth Yin (Hustle Fund) points to accountability against stated goals as what separates a real update from a status post.
Include
- Restate last month's top 3 priorities by name
- Mark each done, partial, or missed
- One sentence on why a missed item was missed
Cut
- New priorities that weren't on last month's list, presented as if they were
- Silent dropping of a goal without acknowledgment
Red flags a reader notices
- Every goal from last month is marked 'done' with no partial or missed items, month after month
Pitfalls behind them
- Restating goals so vaguely that anything counts as progress
- Skipping this section in months where the answer is uncomfortable
60-second self-test
- · Am I grading myself against what I actually said last month, word for word?
- · If I missed something, did I say why in one honest sentence?
Template
Last month we said we'd [goal 1, 2, 3]. Result: [done/partial/missed] on each, [one line on the miss].
Weak
"We made really good progress on most of our goals from last month and are excited about where things are headed."
Strong
"Last month's goals: ship usage-based billing (done), close 2 enterprise logos (1 of 2, second pushed to next month on legal review), hire a support lead (missed, pipeline was thin)."
Nimbus Payroll grades itself against its own words, including the miss.
Quick quiz
Pick an answer. Nothing is graded, and correct answers stay hidden until you choose.
1. What should this section do with a goal that was missed?
2. What's a warning sign in this section over several months?