Email To Your Investors

Depending on who your investors are they will most certainly be trying to organise their finances right now. They will be in meetings 24/7 trying to repair the damage, because the more you own and earn, the more you have to lose at a time like this. If they still have or run their own companies as well as being an investor then they will be focusing on what to do to stay afloat during this crisis. The questions they will be asking themselves are;

  • Which investments can I afford to lose?

  • Which companies should I close?

  • Which companies should I try and save?

  • What staff can I cut back on?

  • Which investments shall I pull out of?

  • What investments should I be making?

  • Which projects need my personal help to keep alive?

  • Do I believe the founder of the companies I've invested in can run a business into profit during a crash? If not then I need to pull out.

These questions will help investors make cuts and save money. They need to make business decisions so they can maintain their wealth as much as possible and keep their large overheads at a manageable size. Once they have identified what they can do and how to move they will be asking you the following questions,

  • What cash is left in the business bank account?

  • How much does the business owe to staff or suppliers?

  • Can you provide me with an overview of accounts?

  • What cutbacks have you made or can you make to reduce spending?

  • Do you really need all the staff to run the company?

  • What staff can you not let go of?

  • What are you willing to put in, or do more of, in order to keep your business alive?

  • How long can the business run at this rate before it folds?

  • Do you need more money to keep the business alive?

  • If so how much and what are your plans for getting that money?

  • Is there a way you can pivot the company to provide/offer or service something else that people need more of right now?

It's best to answer those questions first before you contact your investors about the company. By already doing the work for him/her or them you will show the investors your ability to run a business during challenging circumstances. It will help your relationship moving forward.

Regarding your accounts overview, you will need to have downloaded your latest set of account information from platforms like Xero, Quickbooks or your accountant should be able to provide that for you. If you don't have this information you need to create it before you contact the investor. Not having this info available may indicate to your investor that you are not a serious player.

You May Need To Tweak This, But Here Goes!

Hello (INSERT THE NAME)

I hope this email finds you well and safe. I understand you may be under a lot of pressure right now but I just wanted to write to you about the current state of (INSERT THE NAME OF COMPANY)

I have taken a look at the business as best I can and asked myself key questions to help me see things more clearly. The answers are below;

What cash is left in the business bank account? (INSERT THE AMOUNT)

How much does the business owe out to staff or suppliers? (INSERT THE AMOUNT)

What cutbacks can I make on staff? (INSERT THE WHO, WHY AND HOW MUCH IT SAVES THE COMPANY)

What cutbacks can I make regarding suppliers? (INSERT THE WHO, WHY AND WHAT THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION IS AND HOW MUCH IT WILL SAVE THE COMPANY)

What other cutbacks can I make to reduce spending? (INSERT THE WHAT THEY ARE AND WHY YOU ARE DOING IT)

I am willing to put in (INSERT THE AMOUNT) of my own money to keep this business alive. Only offer this if you can afford to do this and still keep your family safe and maintain a roof over your head. If you can't, don't take the risk. 

I believe the business can run at this rate for a total of (INSERT THE AMOUNT) for (INSERT THE NUMBER) more months.

If applicable add the following;

From looking at my calculations I am going to need a further investment of (INSERT THE AMOUNT) to keep it going.

To get this money I need to (INSERT YOUR ANSWER: ASK YOU FOR __ AMOUNT / BORROW IT FROM / OR SELL SHARES AT __ AMOUNT TO STAY AFLOAT)

I have also thought of how we can pivot the company to stay afloat and I believe we can offer the following, (INSERT THE SUGGESTION)

This is why believe this is a good way to go - (INSERT THE WHY)

Attached is the overview of the business accounts. - (ATTACHE THE ACCOUNTS TO THE EMAIL)

I would appreciate your thoughts on this as you may have more experience than me. Please can you let me know when you can do a call to run over this? I need to make a decision by (INSERT THE DATE) so I can let the staff, suppliers and the bank know.

By the way, if any of your other founders, friends and colleagues are struggling with finances too then you may wish to check out this webinar I took part in. It's for personal and business finances and super simple. It really helped me get to this stage. 

Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Stay safe.