seed-updates

Investor Updates is the habit that makes the next round easier. Once a month, a short, honest email: what the numbers did, what went well, what did not, what you need, and how long the money lasts. Investors who already backed you can help when they know the asks; investors who said "not now" watch the line go up and come back. This skill keeps the numbers in one file, works out the growth and the runway exactly, and writes the update in the standard shape. It writes. It does not send: the founder reads it and says yes first.

${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} below is this skill's folder (where this SKILL.md lives).

python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/update.py" init                                 # seed/metrics.json from the example
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/update.py" add --month 2026-12 --set revenue=7875 --set walks=2100 --cash 160000
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/update.py" add --month 2026-12 --highlight "..." --lowlight "..." --ask "..."
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/update.py" write --month 2026-11                # seed/updates/2026-11.md
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/update.py" write --month 2026-11 --to prospects # seed/updates/2026-11-prospects.md
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/update.py" write --stdout                       # the latest month, printed only

Other flags: --dir PATH (default ./seed), add --money-in N (funding that arrived that month, which is not burn), add --net-burn N (override), add --tldr TEXT (your own TL;DR line), init --force.

What it reads and writes

file	what
metrics.example.json (this folder)	the Leashly pilot example init copies
seed/metrics.json	your metrics (key, label, unit: usd, count or pct), the headline three, and one entry a month: values, cash at month end, money_in, highlights, lowlights, asks, optional tldr
seed/config.json	from /seed-plan: the company name, the founder's name for the sign-off, the raise for the prospects version
seed/updates/YYYY-MM.md	write: the investor update
seed/updates/YYYY-MM-prospects.md	write --to prospects: the short version for "not now" investors

The method

• Growth: (this month minus last month) / last month, one decimal, for money and counts ("up 23.9% from $5,325"). Percent metrics change in points ("down 0.4 pts from 2.8%"). A metric with no last month says "new this month".
• Net burn: last month's cash + money that came in this month minus this month's cash. A raise landing is not negative burn: record it as money_in.
• Runway: this month's cash / the average net burn of the last 3 months (fewer if that is all there is), one decimal. "To around" = this month plus the runway, rounded up to a whole month. If the cash is not running down, it says so instead of a number.
• TL;DR: your own line if the month has tldr, otherwise the three headline metrics with their growth and the runway.
• Honest by default: a month with no lowlights, no highlights or no asks is flagged. Lowlights build trust; asks get you help.
• Prospects: the headline numbers and the top two highlights, the raise from config.json, "Hi {first_name}," for you to fill in per investor, and the opt-out line: "Not a fit any more? Reply 'no' and I won't send these again." Cash, burn, runway, lowlights and asks stay out on purpose.

Steps

1. First time: update.py init, then replace the Leashly metrics with the five or six numbers this company tracks every month. Keep them the same month to month.
2. Each month, ask the founder for the month-end numbers, the cash in the bank, any money that came in, and three highlights, the lowlights and up to three asks. Record them with update.py add.
3. Run update.py write --month YYYY-MM. Read the TL;DR, the numbers and the runway back to the founder. Fix wrong numbers in seed/metrics.json and write again.
4. For investors who replied "not now" (in /seed-closer's seed/pipeline.json, status passed with a "not now" reply), run write --to prospects. Never send it to anyone who said no, opted out or bounced.
5. Sending: show the founder the recipients and the full email, and wait for a clear yes for that batch. Then send it through the founder's own Gmail connector (or save Gmail drafts if they prefer). Fill in {first_name} for each prospect. Nothing goes out on its own.
6. Hand off: /seed-closer logs any reply and books a call; /seed-model updates the assumptions when real numbers drift from the plan.

Example: the reel

Leashly (fictional) runs a one-city pilot before the seed. November 2026 in seed/metrics.json: revenue $6,600, 1,760 walks, 210 active owners, $44,000 GMV, 31 walks saved by a backup walker, 2.4% walker cancellations, $177,800 cash at month end (October: $196,500; September: $214,000). update.py write --month 2026-11:

Subject: Leashly investor update: November 2026

**TL;DR:** Revenue $6,600 (+23.9% MoM), walks completed 1,760 (+23.9%), active owners 210 (+22.8%). Runway 9.8 months.

- Revenue: $6,600, up 23.9% from $5,325
- Walker cancellations: 2.4%, down 0.4 pts from 2.8%
...
Cash at the end of November: $177,800. Net burn this month: $18,700. Average net burn over
the last 2 months: $18,100 a month, so the cash lasts about 9.8 months, to around Sep 2027.

The net burn is $196,500 - $177,800 = $18,700 in November and $214,000 - $196,500 = $17,500 in October; the average is $18,100, and $177,800 / $18,100 = 9.8 months. The prospects version opens "Hi {first_name}," and ends: "We are raising a $1.5M seed (post-money SAFE). If the timing is better now, would a 20-minute call be useful?"

Rules

• Never send on the founder's behalf without a yes for that batch, and only through their own account. Respect every "no" and opt-out forever.
• Real numbers only. Never round a number up, drop a bad metric or skip a lowlight to make a month look better.
• Runway is arithmetic on the founder's own cash and burn, not a promise. Not investment advice.
• The prospects version never shares cash, burn or runway.