Helps founders draft investor updates, board decks, and quarterly business reviews with structured frameworks.
---
name: board-update
description: When the user needs to write a monthly or quarterly investor update, prepare a board deck, or communicate company progress to stakeholders.
related: [process-docs, pitch-deck]
reads: [startup-context]
---
# Board Update
## When to Use
Activate when a founder needs to draft an investor update email, prepare a board meeting deck, or write a quarterly business review. This includes prompts like "write my monthly investor update," "prepare for our board meeting," "draft a quarterly recap," or "how do I communicate bad news to the board." Also activate for fundraising decks where market and vision framing is needed.
## Context Required
- **From startup-context:** company stage, fundraising history, board composition, key metrics (MRR, burn, runway, headcount), current strategic priorities, and previous update cadence.
- **From the user:** reporting period, key wins and losses, metric changes, specific topics requiring board input or approval, any sensitive issues to address, and whether this is an email update or a slide deck.
## Workflow
1. **Determine format and cadence** - Monthly email update (standard for seed/Series A, under 800 words), quarterly board deck (Series A onward, 20-30 slides, sent as pre-read 48 hours ahead), monthly condensed deck (8-12 slides), or ad-hoc update (one page, one topic, sent immediately for material events). Default to monthly email for early-stage.
2. **Collect the 11 sections** - Walk through each section of the framework below. Each section has a designated C-suite owner. For each, apply the "Headline - Data - Narrative - Ask/Next" structure.
3. **Lead with the headline** - Write a 1-3 sentence executive summary that captures the single most important takeaway. Boards see 10+ decks per quarter. Surface key messages by slide three. Some investors read only the summary.
4. **Apply the bad-news protocol** - If any section contains negative developments, use the transparent delivery framework. Never bury bad news. Boards find out eventually. Finding out late makes it worse.
5. **Add specific asks** - Every update ends with concrete, actionable requests. Name the person if possible. Investors who cannot help you cannot add value.… load the full skill through Skill Me