Guide
Investor update videos: 2 to 3 minutes sent with the written update
Updated
An investor update video is a short video of you talking, sent with your written monthly update. The written update carries the numbers, and the video lets investors hear how things really are.
In short
- An investor update video is a 2 to 3 minute video of the founder, sent along with the written update.
- On camera, say one decision, one surprise, one specific request for help and one thank you.
- Numbers, caveats and legal items belong in the written update, where investors can compare them month to month.
- Keep forecasts and promises out of the video, because said out loud they lose their caveats and sound like commitments.
- The written update goes out every month, and the video every month or every quarter.
What is an investor update video?
It is a short video of you talking to your investors, sent in the same email as the written update. It never replaces the written update.
- The written update is usually monthly, with revenue, cash, runway and news.
- The video adds what a list cannot show: whether you sound confident, tired or worried.
- Investors read updates from many companies, so a video from you stands out.
- Start in a normal month, so investors already know your videos when you need their help.
What to say in an investor update video
Say only what is better heard than read. Four parts are enough.
- Make the request specific. Ask for one kind of person, not for any introductions, and name up to three people you would like to meet.
- Talk as if you were telling one investor how the month went, not giving a speech.
- Two to three minutes is enough for these four parts.
The four parts of an investor update video
The example lines are made up, to show how each part sounds out loud.
| Part | What to say | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One decision | What you decided this month, and why | "We stopped selling to agencies this month, because most of them cancelled after the first month." |
| One surprise | Something you did not expect, ideally in a customer's own words | "A customer told us they mainly use the product for reporting, which we never built it for." |
| One specific request | Who or what you need, named precisely, with names if you have them | "We want to meet operations leaders at logistics companies with 200 to 1,000 staff." |
| One thank you | The investor who helped since the last update, by name | "Thank you, Sarah, for introducing us to our first logistics customer." |
Part: One decision
- What to say
- What you decided this month, and why
- Example
- "We stopped selling to agencies this month, because most of them cancelled after the first month."
Part: One surprise
- What to say
- Something you did not expect, ideally in a customer's own words
- Example
- "A customer told us they mainly use the product for reporting, which we never built it for."
Part: One specific request
- What to say
- Who or what you need, named precisely, with names if you have them
- Example
- "We want to meet operations leaders at logistics companies with 200 to 1,000 staff."
Part: One thank you
- What to say
- The investor who helped since the last update, by name
- Example
- "Thank you, Sarah, for introducing us to our first logistics customer."
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
What to keep in the written update
If investors will compare it, quote it, forward it or check it later, write it down.
- Use the same layout every month, so investors can compare this month with the last one.
Put these in writing
| Put in writing | Why |
|---|---|
| Revenue, new revenue, churn, burn, runway, headcount and cash | Investors compare them with last month |
| Anything with a caveat | The caveat stays attached in writing and gets lost when spoken |
| Cap table changes, option grants and legal matters | An accountant, a lawyer or a future buyer may read them |
| Anything investors might forward | A partner can read a written update in a minute, but has to choose to watch a video |
Put in writing: Revenue, new revenue, churn, burn, runway, headcount and cash
- Why
- Investors compare them with last month
Put in writing: Anything with a caveat
- Why
- The caveat stays attached in writing and gets lost when spoken
Put in writing: Cap table changes, option grants and legal matters
- Why
- An accountant, a lawyer or a future buyer may read them
Put in writing: Anything investors might forward
- Why
- A partner can read a written update in a minute, but has to choose to watch a video
What never to say on camera
Do not forecast or promise anything on camera. Put anything about the future in the written update, with its caveats next to it.
- Avoid lines like "we will hit $100,000 in monthly revenue by December", "the round closes next month" or "that deal is done".
- A forecast you say out loud has no caveat next to it, so investors remember it as a promise.
- A video can be forwarded on its own, without the written caveats beside it, so a forecast in one reads as a promise.
- This is not legal advice. Ask your lawyer what your investment documents require.
How to record and send it
Record after the written update is done. The written update is your outline, so you can record in one go.
- Record it once. Small stumbles are fine, and you do not need a script.
- Upload it as an unlisted YouTube video or a private Vimeo link, and put the link at the top of the update email.
- An unlisted link keeps the video out of search, but anyone who has the link can still watch it and pass it on.
- Send it on the same day each month, with the written update.
A monthly update video in five steps
Write the update first
It is your outline
Phone at eye level
A window in front of you for light
Record in one go
2 to 3 minutes
Add captions
So it works with the sound off
Upload it and send the link
Unlisted on YouTube or private on Vimeo
Where Cutroom fits
Cutroom edits the video for you, so the update does not turn into an evening of editing.
- You upload one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes long, which is enough for an investor update.
- Cutroom adds captions in one of 40 styles. If you pick the Punch or Native style, it also shortens the pauses and removes the ums and uhs that show up in your transcript.
- You get a vertical (9:16) MP4 file to upload to YouTube or Vimeo. It suits investors who watch on a phone, and looks tall and narrow on a desktop screen.
- A 2-minute update costs 140 credits: 100 to edit and 40 to export. Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, enough for 8 of them.
- Captions are burned into the video. There is no separate subtitle file.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom watermark, which Lite removes.
Questions people ask
- What is an investor update video?
- It is a short video, usually 2 to 3 minutes, in which the founder talks investors through the month. It goes in the same email as the written update and never replaces it.
- Should investor updates be video or written?
- Written, always, with video as an extra. Investors compare the written update with last month, forward it to partners and search it later. The video lets them hear how you are doing.
- How long should an investor update video be?
- Two to three minutes. That is enough for one decision, one surprise, one request and one thank you. Everything else goes in the written update.
- How often should I send an investor update video?
- Every month if you can record it quickly, otherwise every quarter. Send the written update every month either way. Skipping a video is fine, but skipping the written update is not.
- What do I say in the video during a bad month?
- The bad news first. Say what happened, what you think caused it, what you are changing and what help you need. Investors take bad news better when they hear it early from you.
- Do investor update videos need captions?
- Yes. Investors often watch on a phone, sometimes with the sound off or in their second language, and captions let them follow along.
Record your next update in one go and get it back edited and captioned. Your first video is free.