Investor update examples for Seed and Series A.

Subject: Kettlemoor — September 2026 update: pilot usage up, one pilot paused

Hi {{first_name}},

Here is our September update from Kettlemoor.

Summary
Three of our five pilot distributors placed all of their weekly orders through Kettlemoor in September, up from one in August. All three have an operations manager running the rollout, which tells us who to sell to. One pilot paused, and the reason is below.

Highlights
• We now ask for a named operations lead before a pilot starts, because both owner-run pilots stalled within two weeks of launch.
• We shipped price-list import. Our newest pilot was set up in 4 working days, compared with 11 for our first.
• One active pilot asked to add its second warehouse in November.

Metrics (September, compared with August)
• Pilots placing all weekly orders through Kettlemoor: 3 of 5 (was 1 of 5)
• Orders placed through Kettlemoor: 1,240 (was 410)
• Pilot fees: $3,000 from two paid pilots (unchanged)
• Net burn: $120k (was $112k)
• Cash at month end: $1.90M (was $2.02M), about 16 months of runway at September’s net burn

Challenge: one pilot paused
The distributor’s warehouse staff kept taking phone orders outside Kettlemoor, so its order history was incomplete and the owner stopped relying on it. Every distributor we’ve met takes some orders by phone, so this could happen at any customer. We now train the warehouse lead during setup and send a weekly list of orders that bypassed Kettlemoor. The pilot restarts on October 20, and our October update will report whether bypassed orders fell below 10%.

Next priorities
• Start two new pilots, each with a named operations lead, and set each one up in under 5 working days.
• Agree on paid terms with at least one of the three free pilots before their free period ends on November 30.
• Stay on track for the milestone we set for our next raise: 10 distributors placing all weekly orders through Kettlemoor by March 31.

Asks
• Introductions to operations managers at regional food distributors with 20 to 100 delivery routes who still take orders by phone or spreadsheet. We’re choosing our next two pilots in October. We’d like a 30-minute call about how they handle order changes, not a demo. Reply with a name and I’ll send a short note you can forward.
• Advice from anyone who has priced software by order volume rather than per user. We’re choosing a pricing model by November 15, before the free pilots end. Reply if that’s you or someone you know.

Thanks for reading. Replies come straight to me, and I read every one.

Dana

Before you send, replace the company, figures, and names with your own.

Notes on this update

1. Kettlemoor — September 2026 update: pilot usage up, one pilot paused

   Why it works

   The company and month come first, so investors can find past updates. The rest is an honest headline that includes the bad news.

   Adapt it

   Keep your company and period, then add the one or two facts that matter most.

   Avoid

   A headline the email can’t back up, such as “Our best month yet!”

2. All three have an operations manager running the rollout, which tells us who to sell to.

   Why it works

   At seed, what you learned is often the main news. This sentence pairs the lesson with the evidence behind it.

   Adapt it

   Lead with your most important lesson and the evidence for it, in one or two sentences.

   Avoid

   Opening with a list of everything the team did this month.

3. Pilots placing all weekly orders through Kettlemoor: 3 of 5 (was 1 of 5)

   Why it works

   Before revenue says much, how fully customers use the product shows whether it solves a repeatable problem. The August figure makes the change clear.

   Adapt it

   Choose three to five numbers that test your riskiest assumption, and define them the same way every month.

   Avoid

   Changing which metrics you report each month, or giving a number without the figure it’s compared with.

4. Every distributor we’ve met takes some orders by phone, so this could happen at any customer.

   Why it works

   It explains why one paused pilot matters beyond one customer. The paragraph then gives the response and the date the team will know whether it worked.

   Adapt it

   Name the problem, what it puts at risk, what you’re doing about it, and when you’ll report back.

   Avoid

   Leaving setbacks out until an investor asks, or softening them into “some churn.”

5. Stay on track for the milestone we set for our next raise: 10 distributors placing all weekly orders through Kettlemoor by March 31.

   Why it works

   It ties this month’s priorities to the milestone the next round depends on, so investors can see whether the company is on track.

   Adapt it

   Name the milestone your next raise depends on, with a number and a date.

   Avoid

   Priorities with no outcome or date, such as “focus on growth.”

6. Introductions to operations managers at regional food distributors with 20 to 100 delivery routes who still take orders by phone or spreadsheet.

   Why it works

   An investor can picture a specific person, and the next step, a short call and a note to forward, is easy to take.

   Adapt it

   Name the role, the kind of company, the situation they’re in, and what you want them to do.

   Avoid

   “Any intros welcome,” which gives no one a reason to think of a name.

Subject: Fallowick — Q3 2026 update: ARR $4.2M, below plan

Hi {{first_name}},

Here is Fallowick’s update for Q3 2026 (July to September).

Summary
We signed more home-care agencies than in any previous quarter, but we couldn’t get them live fast enough. New agencies waited a median of seven weeks to go live, so $310k of signed ARR moved into Q4 and we finished the quarter below plan. Fixing onboarding is our main priority for Q4.

Highlights
• We launched the payroll integration on August 12. 62 agencies now run payroll from their Fallowick schedules.
• We signed our largest agency so far, with 620 caregivers across four counties. It goes live in November.

Our Q3 priorities, scored
• Launch the payroll integration: done.
• Hire two account executives: one hired, one role still open.
• Reach $4.4M ARR by September 30: missed. We finished at $4.2M.

Metrics (Q3, compared with Q2)
• ARR at quarter end, live agencies only: $4.2M (was $3.6M)
• Signed ARR waiting to go live: $310k (was $120k)
• New agencies signed: 34 (was 27)
• Median time from signing to go-live: 7 weeks (was 4 weeks)
• Gross revenue retention, trailing 12 months: 91% (was 94%)
• Net revenue retention, trailing 12 months: 108% (was 111%)
• Average monthly net burn: $780k (was $690k)
• Cash at quarter end: $14.76M (was $17.10M), about 19 months of runway at Q3’s average burn

What went wrong
Our three-person onboarding team also handles support. When the payroll launch doubled setup work, support replies slowed, and two agencies didn’t renew in September. Both cited slow support. We should have hired onboarding staff before the launch, not after.

What we’re changing
• Two implementation specialists start in October, and we’re hiring a third.
• New agencies now import caregiver schedules before kickoff. In six trial onboardings, that saved about a week of setup.
• We’re holding Q4’s sales target at Q3’s level until median time to go-live is back under four weeks.

Next priorities for Q4
• Bring median time to go-live under four weeks. We’ll report it in the Q4 update.
• Get the $310k of signed ARR live.
• Hire the second account executive and the third implementation specialist.

Asks
• Introductions to people who have led onboarding at a vertical software company while the team grew from about 3 to 10 people. We’re doubling our onboarding team this quarter, and a 45-minute call on hiring and capacity planning would help us avoid their mistakes. Reply with a name and we’ll send a note you can forward.
• Candidates for our open account executive role who have sold software to home-care or home-health agencies with 100 to 500 caregivers. We’d like them in place before we raise the sales target again. Reply and we’ll send the job description.

Thank you for your support this quarter. Reply with any questions; we read every response.

Ines and Marco

Before you send, replace the company, figures, and names with your own.

Notes on this update

1. We signed more home-care agencies than in any previous quarter, but we couldn’t get them live fast enough.

   Why it works

   The opening gives the good news and the problem together, so the rest of the update reads as an explanation, not a surprise.

   Adapt it

   Lead with the change that matters most, even when it’s a miss.

   Avoid

   Saving a miss for the last paragraph.

2. Reach $4.4M ARR by September 30: missed. We finished at $4.2M.

   Why it works

   Scoring last quarter’s commitments shows investors that you track what you said you’d do.

   Adapt it

   Copy the priorities from your last update and mark each one done, partly done, or missed.

   Avoid

   Quietly dropping a goal you missed.

3. ARR at quarter end, live agencies only: $4.2M (was $3.6M)

   Why it works

   The definition says what counts, and signed deals that aren’t live yet get their own line, so nothing is counted twice.

   Adapt it

   Define each metric once and keep the definition the same in every update. If a definition has to change, say so.

   Avoid

   Counting signed deals that aren’t live yet as ARR.

4. We should have hired onboarding staff before the launch, not after.

   Why it works

   Owning the decision is more credible than blaming circumstances, and it shows the team understands the cause.

   Adapt it

   Say plainly what you would do differently.

   Avoid

   Passive phrasing such as “delays were experienced.”

5. We’re holding Q4’s sales target at Q3’s level until median time to go-live is back under four weeks.

   Why it works

   It names the trade-off the team is making and the measure that will end it.

   Adapt it

   When you change plans, say what you’re giving up and what would make you change back.

   Avoid

   Announcing a fix with no way to tell whether it worked.

6. Candidates for our open account executive role who have sold software to home-care or home-health agencies with 100 to 500 caregivers.

   Why it works

   The experience is specific enough for an investor to search their network, and the reply step is clear.

   Adapt it

   Describe the experience that matters most, not just the job title.

   Avoid

   “We’re hiring, so let us know if you know anyone.”