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S-04 Monthly Investor Update Builder
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v1.0 | updated October 2026 | vcafterdark.com/resources/s-04
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WHAT THIS ANSWERS
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What goes in this month's investor update, in what order, and what will an investor see in your numbers before you point it out? The sheet drafts the update from your log, tests runway and default alive, and puts anything red at the top with your plan next to it.
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GET AN ANSWER IN 2 MIN
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1. File, Make a copy. Open 01 Inputs.
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2. Add this month's row to the log: revenue, cash at month end, net burn, money raised. Customers, headcount and one KPI if you track them.
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3. Type this month's words: asks first, then highlights, lowlights with the fix, next month. Short lines.
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4. Read the gray status at the top. If it says do not send, open 98 Checks and fix the row it names.
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5. Open 03 Outputs, copy the draft, paste as plain text (Ctrl+Shift+V or Cmd+Shift+V) into your email, edit, send.
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HOW TO READ IT
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Runway: cash at month end divided by the average net burn of the last three months. Averaging three months keeps one light month from overstating runway.
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Default alive: hold spending flat and keep growing at your last three months' compounded rate. Alive means revenue covers spending before the cash runs out. Growth needed is the lowest monthly rate that gets you there.
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Burn multiple: net burn divided by net new annualized revenue over the same months. On the 2020 scale in 99 Sources, under 2x is Good or better, and the post reads 3x or more as a sign product market fit is weaker than it looks.
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Cash tie out: last month's cash minus this month's burn plus anything raised should equal this month's cash. If it does not, a number in the update is wrong. Fix it before you send.
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Flags: anything red goes first in the TL;DR with your plan line next to it. Amber flags get the plan line after the numbers. Default dead is amber with 12 months or more of runway and red under that (your amber threshold).
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COLORS
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Blue text on yellow: an input. Type here.
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Black text: a formula. Leave it alone; it updates itself.
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Gray box: the answer.
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VERSION
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v1.0, October 2026. First release. 24 month log, cash tie out, three month runway, default alive with the growth you need, burn multiple, dropped metric and no ask flags, and a plain text draft in a fixed order.
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Feedback or a bug: michaelbeer8@gmail.com (subject: VC After Dark resource feedback)
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For educational purposes; not legal or financial advice.
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Personal views of Michael Beer. Not affiliated with Alumni Ventures. Not an offer to buy or sell securities.
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