Article · ~8 min read

How to Deliver Bad News to Investors

Visible.vc team · Visible.vc Free Beginner

This is the operating manual for the answer's core move: bad news delivered early and plainly. It is concrete where most advice waves its hands. Send updates on a schedule so a down month never lands after radio silence. State which metric missed without ambiguity. Walk investors through why you made the call you made, because people forgive poor results when they understand the process. Then hand specific investors a task matched to their expertise so the update ends in help, not judgment. It turns dread into a repeatable format.

  • Go silent and your next update detonates; consistent cadence is what stops bad news from shocking anyone
  • Explain the decision-making process behind a miss, because investors empathize with results when they see the reasoning
  • End every hard update by assigning investors specific asks that fit their expertise, converting scrutiny into a working team
Open on visible.vc ↗

The question it answers

  1. I raised money and now I'm terrified of letting investors down. How do I handle the pressure of other people's money?

Read with it

  1. The India-specific voice this question needs. Serial founder Rachit Gupta says it plainly about shutting his second startup:... Inc42 Article · 10 min read Founders, VCs Open Up About Depression And Stress As Mental Health Enters Public Debate Inc42 Staff
  2. A raw first-hand account of exactly this fear. Kantaria names the psychology head-on: VC money is a drug, you sell your vision... Lenny's Newsletter Essay · ~20 min read Startup to Exit: Lessons From a First-Time Founder Suril Kantaria
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →