After the Raise: Your First 90 Days With Investors
The money has landed, the champagne is gone and your phone is full of congratulations. Now the real relationship with your investors begins. The first 90 days after a raise set the tone for years: how you report, how you use advice, how you handle bad news and how fast the new money turns into progress. This guide gives you a practical 30, 60 and 90 day plan to start strong.
Key takeaways
- Finish the post-closing admin first: cap table updates, share certificates or records, filings and a tidy document archive.
- Read your investment documents again and list every reporting duty, consent right and deadline in one place.
- Agree a reporting rhythm early, and send your first update before anyone has to ask for it.
- Turn the use of funds from your pitch into quarterly goals, such as OKRs, and track them openly.
- Use investors deliberately: make specific asks, share bad news early and keep every promise small and kept.
Many founders treat closing as the finish line. In reality, it is the start of a long partnership. Your new investors now own part of the company, may have rights to information or a seat on your board, and will be asked by their own partners or networks how you are doing. The way you behave in the first quarter tells them what to expect from you.
The good news is that a calm, organized start is not complicated. It mostly comes down to finishing admin, being clear about obligations, setting a steady reporting habit and spending the money on the plan you sold. A quick note: this article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Your own documents and advisers come first.
Days 1 to 30: finish the deal properly
The first month is about closing every loose end from the round. These tasks are not exciting, but leaving them open causes real problems later, often during your next raise or a due diligence review.
Complete the post-closing admin
- Update the cap table. Record new shares, any converted SAFEs or notes and changes to the option pool. Compare it against the pro forma cap table you shared during the round and resolve any differences.
- Issue share records. Make sure each investor has the right documentation of what they own, in whatever form your company and jurisdiction use.
- Make the required filings. Company and securities filings may be due after a round, with deadlines that vary by country and state. Your lawyer should give you a list.
- Archive the signed documents. Save final, fully signed versions of every agreement in your data room, along with board and shareholder approvals.
- Check personal tax deadlines. If anyone on the team received restricted stock as part of the round, remember that a US 83(b) election must be filed within 30 days. Ask your tax adviser whether it applies.
Build an obligations register
Investment agreements often contain promises you will forget by summer: when to send financial statements, what needs investor consent, who gets notified about what. Read the documents again with fresh eyes and pull every obligation into one list.
Common items include information rights, which give investors access to regular financial statements and other reports (often only above an ownership threshold), approval rights over certain decisions, board composition, and notice requirements for major events.
An investor obligations register template
Copy this into a spreadsheet. The entries below are made-up examples; your own documents decide the real terms.
| Obligation (example) | Source document | Who it applies to | Deadline or trigger | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly financial statements | Investor rights agreement | Major investors | Within an agreed number of days after quarter end | CEO and accountant |
| Annual budget approval | Shareholders agreement | Board | Before the new financial year | CEO |
| Consent for new debt above an agreed limit | Articles or charter | Lead investor | Before signing any loan | CFO or founder |
Common mistake
Assuming the lawyers will remind you of every obligation. They closed the deal; running the company is your job. Missing a consent right or a reporting deadline can strain trust and sometimes create legal problems. One register, reviewed monthly, prevents most of it.
Days 1 to 30: set the reporting rhythm
Investors rarely complain about too much clarity. They do complain about silence followed by surprises. Set expectations in the first few weeks.
- Ask each investor what they need. A short call or email: how often, what format, and which metrics matter most to them.
- Choose a rhythm. Many startups send a monthly update and hold board or investor meetings each quarter. Match it to your stage and your documents.
- Pick five to eight core metrics. Revenue, cash, runway, customers, pipeline and one or two product or retention measures usually cover it.
- Create a simple template. Highlights, lowlights, metrics, asks and thanks. Keep it the same every time so trends are easy to see.
- Send the first update within 30 days. Thank investors, confirm the plan for the money and list two or three early asks.
Pro tip
Put your update and board meeting dates in the calendar for the whole year now. Founders who report "when there is news" end up reporting only good news, and investors notice. A fixed date keeps you honest and saves you deciding every month.
Days 31 to 60: turn money into a plan
Your pitch included a use of funds: hires, product milestones, marketing tests, new markets. The second month is about translating that slide into concrete quarterly goals and a budget.
Set quarterly goals
OKRs, short for Objectives and Key Results, are typically set quarterly and work well here. Pick two to four objectives that match the promises you made, then two to four measurable key results for each. Share them with the team and with investors, so everyone knows what "on track" looks like.
Rebuild the budget and runway
Update your financial model with the real amount raised, actual closing costs and your current spending. Recalculate runway monthly. If hiring is slower than planned, note it; if costs are higher, flag it early rather than at the next board meeting.
Start hiring carefully
Fresh funding makes hiring feel urgent. Move with purpose, but do not lower the bar to spend the money faster. Prioritize the roles that unlock your key results, and stagger start dates so you can manage cash and onboarding well.
Days 61 to 90: your first board or investor meeting
If your round created a board or added investor directors, your first formal meeting will probably fall in this window. If not, a quarterly investor call serves the same purpose. Either way, treat it as a working session, not a performance.
Before the meeting
- Send materials several days ahead so people can read rather than listen to slides.
- Include the metrics dashboard, progress on OKRs, budget versus actual and the two or three decisions or discussions you need.
- Call each director briefly beforehand to hear concerns and avoid surprises in the room.
During the meeting
- Spend little time repeating the pack. Use most of the time on the hardest questions facing the company.
- Take formal decisions where needed, such as approving the budget, option grants or policies.
- Make sure someone takes clear minutes. Board minutes are part of your company records and future data room.
After the meeting
- Circulate minutes and action items within a few days.
- Follow up on every promise made in the room, however small.
- Note what worked and adjust the format for next time.
Hypothetical example
Imagine Leo, founder of a B2B scheduling startup, who closed a seed round in early March. In April he updates the cap table, files his paperwork and builds an obligations register. He sends a first update thanking investors, confirming three hires and asking for introductions to two target customers. One investor makes both introductions within a week. In May he sets quarterly OKRs and shares them. In June, his first board meeting focuses on one hard question: whether to delay a second hire because a key customer deal slipped. The board agrees, runway stays healthy, and the investors see a founder who flags problems early. That trust pays off when he needs a bridge later.
How to work with investors well
Beyond process, the first quarter is when habits form. A few behaviors make an outsized difference.
- Make specific asks. "Any help with hiring?" gets nothing. "Do you know a senior engineer in Berlin with payments experience?" gets answers.
- Share bad news early. A missed target reported promptly, with a plan, builds trust. The same news discovered later damages it.
- Treat advice as input, not orders. Investors see many companies but you know yours best. Listen, then decide and explain.
- Respect confidentiality. Agree what can be shared with whom, and keep sensitive customer and employee data out of casual emails. Personal data still falls under rules such as GDPR, UK GDPR and US state privacy laws.
- Keep promises small and kept. Delivering what you said on time matters more than ambitious plans that slip.
Your first 90 days checklist
- Update the cap table and reconcile it with the pro forma version
- Complete filings and archive all signed documents in the data room
- Check 83(b) and other personal tax deadlines with your adviser
- Build an obligations register from your investment documents
- Agree a reporting rhythm and send your first update within 30 days
- Set quarterly OKRs that match your use of funds
- Rebuild the budget and recalculate runway
- Prepare, run and minute your first board or investor meeting
Frequently asked questions
How often should I update investors after a raise?
Many early-stage startups send a short monthly update and hold a fuller review each quarter. Check what your documents require, then agree a rhythm with your investors and stick to it.
What if we miss a target in the first quarter?
Tell investors promptly, explain what happened and share the revised plan. Early misses are common; hiding them is what damages trust.
Do small investors get the same information as lead investors?
Not always. Information rights often apply only above an ownership threshold. Many founders still send a general update to everyone and share deeper financials only with those entitled to them.
When should I start thinking about the next round?
Earlier than feels comfortable. Track runway monthly and keep your data room current, so you can start conversations from a position of strength rather than urgency.
Related reading
The bottom line
The first 90 days with new investors are about finishing the deal properly, knowing your obligations, reporting on a steady rhythm and turning the money into clear quarterly goals. None of it is glamorous, but it builds the trust that makes future support, and future funding, far easier.
Open a blank spreadsheet today, start your obligations register and put your first update date in the calendar. Your investors will notice, and so will your team.
