Founder Guide
Keep your investors informed, build trust, and strengthen relationships. DepthWise makes investor communications effortless.
Quick Navigation
1. Getting Started
Create Your Free Account
- Sign up: Visit https://www.depthwise.io/register and select "Founder" as your account type
- Verify email: Check your inbox for a verification link (check spam if not visible)
- Set up company: Complete the 3-step company profile wizard
- Invite investors: Add your investors or wait for them to connect with you
2. Setting Up Your Company Profile
3-Step Profile Wizard
Complete your profile in under 5 minutes:
Basic Information
- Company name, website, logo
- Industry and stage
- Founding date and location
- One-line pitch
Team & Traction
- Co-founders and key team members
- Current team size
- Major milestones achieved
- Customer traction
Funding & Metrics
- Total funding raised
- Current runway
- Key business metrics
- Investor visibility preferences
3. Monthly Updates
Why Monthly Updates Matter
Regular updates build trust, keep investors engaged, and make it easier to get help when you need it. DepthWise makes this painless.
Creating an Update
- Navigate: Go to your founder dashboard → "Create Update"
- Fill out metrics: Revenue, growth, burn rate, runway, headcount (optional but recommended)
- Add narrative: What happened this month? Wins, challenges, asks
- Set visibility: Choose which investors see this update
- Send: All selected investors receive notification + email digest
📋 Recommended Update Template
- MRR/ARR or revenue
- Growth rate (MoM %)
- Burn rate & runway
- Team size
3-5 bullet points of what went well
What's hard right now? What did you learn?
Specific asks (intros, advice, hiring, etc.)
Bulk Import Updates
Already have historical updates in a spreadsheet?
- Download our CSV template
- Fill in your historical updates
- Upload and preview - we'll import everything automatically
- Great for onboarding with full history
4. Milestone Tracking
Psychology-Driven Goal Tracking
Set goals, track progress, and celebrate wins with your investors. Milestones build momentum and demonstrate execution.
Creating Milestones
- Define the goal: What are you trying to achieve? (e.g., "Hit $100K MRR")
- Set target date: When do you plan to achieve this?
- Choose visibility:
- Public: All investors see this milestone and progress
- Private: Only you see this (personal execution tracking)
- Track progress: Update % complete as you make progress
- Mark complete: Celebrate the win! Investors get notified of public milestones
💡 Example Milestones
- Reach $10K MRR
- Close first enterprise deal
- Hit $1M ARR
- Launch v2.0
- Ship mobile app
- Release API
- Hire first engineer
- Complete founding team
- Reach 10 employees
- 1,000 active users
- Launch in new market
- Strategic partnership signed
5. Managing Investors
Adding Investors
Two ways to connect with investors:
Method 1: They Find You
If your investor is already on DepthWise, they can:
- Search for your company
- Send you a connection request
- You approve and they're connected
Method 2: You Invite Them
Invite investors to connect with you:
- Add their email in "Investor Management"
- They receive invitation email
- They can sign up (free for them) or view via email
Investor Access Levels
Control what each investor sees:
- Full Access: All updates, metrics, milestones, and Q&A
- Updates Only: Monthly updates but limited metrics visibility
- Custom: Specific metrics and updates only
- Removed: No longer receives updates
6. Metrics & Analytics
Weekly Metric Snapshots
Track your key metrics weekly for granular performance data:
- Quick 2-minute weekly entry (every Monday recommended)
- Track: revenue, users, MRR, burn, team size
- See trends over time in your founder analytics dashboard
- Automatically included in monthly investor updates
Founder Analytics Dashboard
Your private execution performance dashboard (investors can't see this):
How well are you hitting milestones and maintaining communication?
Average time to complete milestones, completion rate
Revenue, user, and team growth over time
Which investors are most engaged, response rates
7. Investor Communication
Q&A Management
Handle investor questions efficiently:
- All investor questions appear in your Q&A dashboard
- Respond directly in-platform (they receive notification)
- Thread history preserved for context
- Can mark questions as resolved
- Response time tracked (aim for < 48 hours)
Update Requests
When investors request specific information:
- Receive notification of update request
- View what they're asking for
- Respond with data or explanation
- Request marked as fulfilled
8. Best Practices for Founders
Update Monthly (Minimum)
Send updates by 5th of each month. Consistency builds trust. Set a recurring calendar reminder.
Share Real Numbers
Transparency builds credibility. Share the good AND the challenging - investors appreciate honesty.
Set Public Milestones
3-5 public milestones per quarter. Creates accountability and celebration moments.
Make Specific Asks
"How can I help?" rarely works. Be specific: "Need intro to head of sales at Acme Corp."
Highlight Wins
Even small wins matter. New customer? Ship new feature? Share it! Momentum is contagious.
Flag Issues Early
Runway concerns? Product delays? Tell investors early - they can often help prevent problems.
Show Trends Not Just Numbers
Context matters. "MRR grew 15% MoM" > "MRR is $50K". Show direction of travel.
Thank Engaged Investors
When an investor helps with an intro or advice, acknowledge it in next update. Recognition matters.
9. Pricing for Founders
DepthWise offers a hybrid pricing model designed to be accessible for all founders:
Free
Perfect for:
Founders connected with investors already on DepthWise
- ✓ Unlimited investor connections (on-platform)
- ✓ Monthly update submissions
- ✓ Milestone tracking (public & private)
- ✓ Investor Q&A management
- ✓ Basic metrics dashboard
- ✓ Email notifications
How it works: When your investors add you to their portfolio on DepthWise, you can communicate with them 100% free.
Founder Pro
Perfect for:
Founders managing external investors or needing pro features
- ✓ Everything in Free, plus:
- ✓ Manage unlimited external investors
- ✓ Send updates to non-platform investors
- ✓ Professional update templates
- ✓ Advanced analytics dashboard
- ✓ CSV import for historical updates
- ✓ Priority email support
- ✓ Custom branding options
Common Questions
Upgrade to Pro when you want to send updates to investors who aren't on DepthWise, or when you need advanced features like historical CSV imports, custom templates, or deeper analytics.
Yes! If all your investors are on DepthWise, you'll never need to pay. The free tier has no time limits or restrictions on those relationships.
You can use the free tier for on-platform investors and upgrade to Pro when you want to include external investors in your updates. It's flexible!
Yes! Every founder account includes a 90-day free trial of Founder Pro. No credit card required to start.
Absolutely. Cancel anytime and continue using the free tier for your on-platform investor relationships.
Our Commitment to Founders
We believe building a startup is hard enough. Our free tier will always exist for founders connected with on-platform investors. Founder Pro is optional - only pay when you need to manage external investors or want advanced features.
Ready to Get Started?
Start keeping your investors informed in minutes. Free tier available for on-platform investors.
✨ 90-day trial of Founder Pro • Free tier available • No credit card required