Write the board update.
Numbers first, the truth about what's not working second, the one ask you need third. No burying the lede in narrative.
It's the end of the month and your board expects an update. The temptation is to spin — everything is great, growth is strong, we're heads down. Great boards don't want that; they want to be calibrated so they can help. This prompt writes the calibrated version.
THE PROMPT
Write a monthly board update. Paste last month's numbers, this month's numbers, what shipped, what didn't, and what I'm working through below. Structure exactly (no other sections): **Numbers** Table with 4-6 KPIs: last month vs this month, % change. Include the specific numbers the board tracks (usually MRR, burn, runway, top-of-funnel metric, one product-usage metric). No commentary in the table. **What went well** 2 bullets max. Named specifics — a customer signed, a hire closed, a shipped feature that moved a metric. Not vibes. **What's not working** 2-3 bullets. State the problem plainly. Include: what we tried, what we're doing differently now, what would tell us it's still not working in 30 days. This is the section that separates good founders from theater — do not soften. **The one thing I need help with** One specific ask. An intro to X, a stress-test on Y decision, an opinion on Z. Not "would love your feedback"; the specific thing. **One data point I'm tracking that isn't on the KPI table** The leading indicator I'm watching that will move before the KPIs do. Named, with the current value. Voice: dry, first-person, no exclamation marks. Do not open with "I hope this finds you well". Start with the numbers. Context: [PASTE CONTEXT HERE]
Numbers (Aug 2026 vs Jul 2026):
- MRR: $92.4K → $104.1K (+12.6%)
- Net new logos: 47 → 41 (-12.8%)
- Burn: $85K → $78K (-8.2%)
- Runway: 14mo → 16mo
- WAU (product): 3,410 → 3,720 (+9.1%)
What went well:
- Closed Stripe (annual, $60K ACV) — took 4 months, three demos with their CX team, and a personal note from the CFO landed it.
- Shipped async voice notes; usage adopted by 34% of teams in the first 10 days.
What's not working:
- Top-of-funnel dropped 13% MoM. We think it's ad-attribution driven (we cut Meta ads mid-Jul), not organic. If organic doesn't recover to Jul levels by end of Aug with no ad spend, the diagnosis is wrong — that would mean the funnel change is structural. Testing SEO landing pages this month.
- Two of the four SDR hires from Q2 are underperforming. Have 30-day PIPs on both. Making the call by Sept 15.
The one thing I need help with:
An intro to Sarah Guo at Conviction — I'm 90% we're pre-empting our Series A in Q4 and would like her opinion on how to sequence the pre-empt conversations.
Leading indicator I'm watching:
Time-to-first-value for new signups. Was 4.2 days in June, 2.8 days in July, 2.1 days in August so far. If that continues, retention improves in 90 days.