What are some of the best practices for communicating with investors?

Make sure a clear business model on how you Create , Capture , Scale & Sustain VALUE is clearly projected. Make the presentation top down with a strategic perspective connecting the Macros without loosing sight of the Micros ( bottom up) on what unit economics & metrics are followed to show case commitment & clarity to win the confidence of the investor.

Transparency: Be honest about both good and bad news Regular Updates: Provide scheduled reports with key metrics and milestones Concise Communication: Keep messages clear and to the point Active Listening: Value investor feedback and adapt when needed Preparation: Anticipate and prepare for investor questions Long-Term Relationships: Cultivate lasting investor partnerships

Be clear and concise, be responsive, be open to tough feedback and be transparent about your position. Ask someone outside of your circle of friends and colleagues, ideally a professional, proof read and challenge the investment logic of your proposal. Don’t labour any point, make it once and make it clearly. It’s better to focus on building a well rounded proposition to investors, than customising your proposal. Remember also to pick your investors as much as you want them to pick you - find investors you are excited to work with and join you on your journey. Be proactive about expressing the weak points (or uncertainties) of your proposition and demonstrate your mitigating measures.

Investors see thousands of pitches every year. More that come in cold. To break through the noise, you can aim for a warm introduction, ideally from a founder they backed, mutual connection that know the investor well enough to make a connection, or personalized cold outreach. Regardless of how you target getting connected, keep emails short, actionable, and simple. Most of the individual personalization should be in the initial emails. Personalizing all of the fund raising materials for each investor is a waste of time. Building two or three versions of a deck is okay when it can be used across common investor asks, such as a detail with greater detail, a teaser deck for initial interest, and a live pitch deck for sharing on calls.

Brevity and clarity are key. Most investors you present to will not be experts in your space. Even when they are, clarity on the problem you aim to solve, the customers that are facing the problem and the impact of solving it is too often forgotten as founders focus on the deeper technical, psychological, and nuanced details of what they are building. Without providing a proper foundation for diving deep, investors will be left behind, lost, as you charge forward. A solid rule of thumb, if the basics of your pitch are not understandable by an old high school friend, its too complex.

A cadence of monthly or quarterly investor email updates is the best impact-to-effort ratio thing a CEO can do. It builds trust and respect, keeps the company top of mind, and shows the CEO to be thoughtful, disciplined, and on top of the game – in addition to the specific information to convey. There's a template for this: headline and bullet points for highlights, lowlights, upcoming plans and goals, shout-outs, and asks. Or make your own format, even a 1-minute freestyle video. Less than half my portfolio companies do it, but these are the ones that succeed, or I'll give a bridge if they need, or fund their next company. Later stage, this tapers off in favor of 1-to-1 personal updates and board meetings with key investors.

Confidence and enthusiasm are helpful, but that does not mean saccharine or false optimism. There is usually more disappointing news than good news in business, as you have to try things again and again in different ways until something works. A CEO should be realistic about their failures, disappointments, and uncertainties. If you're running out of money, better say so sooner than later. Telling us investors that things are great when they aren't doesn't help anything, what can we do with that? We can only offer help if you tell us there's a problem (and if you've built trust and confidence), or answer questions if you ask them.

Connect with them personally. Ask how they got in the business. What were some of their top moments as an investor. How they prefer to work with their portfolio companies. Get to know them and what drives them. Be curious. Dig deeper. Start the first call with this. You should know if you connect with them as a person. If you want them to be your investor for 5 or 10 years. This does mean you have less time talking about the business. In the first call. This is the point. Investments have an emotional component. If the investor likes you they are much more likely to invest in you or help you. Take a strong, real interest in them and odds are good they will take a strong interest in you.