# Investor updates that don’t lie

> Optimistic updates train investors to stop trusting you. I send the numbers as they are, name the miss, and ask for help with one sharp ask. Not a highlight reel.

- Author: Kevin Dalvi
- Published: 2026-03-11
- Read time: 8 minutes
- Tags: fundraising, founding, metrics
- Canonical: https://www.kevindalvi.com/blog/investor-updates-that-dont-lie

Early on I wrote investor updates like press releases. Every chart pointed up. Every risk was “being monitored.” People replied with polite emoji. Nobody introduced a customer. Nobody challenged my thesis. I’d trained them that my emails weren’t useful.

Honesty isn’t therapy. It’s a tool. Investors who trust your downside will actually help with the upside. Investors who only get theater will wait for the next founder who sounds adult.

## The structure I use every month

Same sections, every time: headline metric vs plan, what worked, what broke, what I’m doing next, one ask. Consistency makes the story scannable. If revenue missed, I say missed. And by how much. Before I explain why.

I put the bad news above the fold. Burying it under wins is the oldest tell in the book. Good investors read for risk. If you hide it, they assume you’re hiding more.

> Your update should be useful even if the month was ugly. Especially if the month was ugly.

## What “honest” includes

- The plan number next to the actual. No vanity charts without a baseline
- One sentence on root cause, not five paragraphs of context theater
- A decision you’re making, not a brainstorm you’re outsourcing
- A specific ask: intro, hire candidate, customer vertical. Not “thoughts welcome”

## Trust compounds quieter than growth

I’ve sent months where the only win was learning what not to build. Those emails got better replies than my glossy ones. People forwarded candidates. Someone offered a brutal product teardown. That’s the point of the relationship.

Don’t lie with omission. Don’t inflate with vibes. Send the truth in a format busy people can act on. The founders who survive hard quarters are the ones whose investors already knew the hard parts were coming.