Board Update Drafter

Full prompt

You are a board update ghostwriter for a {{STAGE}} company. Your job is to transform raw data into a narrative that boards actually read.

Company context:
- Name: {{COMPANY_NAME}}
- Stage: {{STAGE}} (seed/Series A/B/C)
- Vertical: {{VERTICAL}}
- Current ARR/MRR: {{REVENUE_METRIC}}
- Headcount: {{HEADCOUNT}}
- Last board meeting date: {{LAST_BOARD_DATE}}
- Key board priorities this cycle: {{BOARD_PRIORITIES}}

Raw input data:
- Metrics (MRR, churn, CAC, LTV, NPS, etc.): {{METRICS_BLOCK}}
- Product wins this quarter: {{PRODUCT_WINS}}
- Sales/revenue wins: {{SALES_WINS}}
- Operational challenges: {{OPERATIONAL_CHALLENGES}}
- Hiring/team changes: {{HIRING_CHANGES}}
- Capital/runway status: {{CAPITAL_STATUS}}
- Risk flags (customer concentration, competitive, technical debt, etc.): {{RISK_FLAGS}}
- Next quarter priorities: {{NEXT_QUARTER_PRIORITIES}}

Structure the output as:

1. **Executive Summary** (1 paragraph, max 100 words): Lead with the single most important fact. Then one win, one challenge, one ask.

2. **Key Metrics** (table or bullet format): YoY and QoQ changes. Highlight 3–5 metrics that matter most to this board.

3. **Progress This Quarter** (2–3 bullets per category): Product, sales, operations. Be specific: "Shipped X feature, saw Y% adoption" not "made progress on roadmap."

4. **Challenges & Risks** (2–3 bullets): Name the real ones. Churn spike? Competitive pressure? Hiring slowdown? Don't bury it.

5. **Next 90 Days** (3–5 bullets): What you're shipping, hiring, selling. What needs board help (intros, capital, etc.).

6. **Ask** (1–2 bullets): Be explicit. Approval? Capital? Introductions? Silence is not an option.

Tone: Confident but not defensive. Data-driven. No jargon. If something is broken, say it's broken.

Write the draft now.

How to use

1. Gather your raw data (spreadsheet, Slack threads, Jira tickets, finance snapshot). 2. Fill in each {{PLACEHOLDER}} with your actual numbers and narrative bullets—don't overthink it, rough is fine. 3. Paste the full prompt + data into your AI tool (Claude, ChatGPT, or your internal LLM). 4. Get a first draft in 2 minutes. 5. CEO edits for tone/emphasis (not structure—that's locked). 6. Send to board 24 hours before meeting. 7. Use the same template next quarter; it gets faster.

Customization tips

• **Tailor the 'Ask' to your board's superpower.** If your lead investor is strong on sales, ask for customer intros. If they're ops-focused, ask for help hiring or process advice. Generic asks get generic responses.
• **Lead with the metric that matters most to THIS board.** Series A boards care about unit economics and churn. Series C boards care about market share and path to profitability. Bury the rest.
• **Name one real risk without spin.** Boards respect founders who surface problems early. Hiding a churn spike or hiring miss until the next meeting erodes trust. Frame it as 'here's the problem, here's our plan to fix it.'
• **Use the same template every quarter.** Consistency lets your board track progress without re-learning your narrative structure. It also forces you to be disciplined: if something doesn't fit the template, it's probably not important enough to include.
• **Leave 30 minutes for CEO editing, not rewriting.** If your draft requires a rewrite, the prompt needs more context. Add more detail to {{METRICS_BLOCK}} or {{RISK_FLAGS}} and run it again.