Accountability Is a Strategy, Not a Burden

Alex Kraft | June 2, 2025

I've seen a bunch of posts around Venture Capital vs. "Bootstrapping" recently. Everyone is entitled to their opinion based on their experience.

One interesting area I found is the pros/cons and listing "don't have to write investor updates" if you bootstrap...I believe that comment is more about ego and feeling like you don't have to answer to anyone else.

Why is writing a monthly update bad? That's an area that I disagree with. To me, a monthly update is extremely productive. It creates accountability and forces me to be keyed in on the important levers of our business. Each month, I examine what's working well, what's challenging, and areas to improve. It isn't a BS pencil-whipping exercise.

When you put things down on paper, you can't ignore them. You can't keep mentioning the same challenges over and over. It forces you to deal with problems (or don't and get poor results). It helps organize and prioritize your attention. Sure, you can be "in the know" without writing updates, but slowing down and doing it every month has helped me make better decisions. I've also enjoyed going back in time and re-reading prior month's updates as a reminder of what we've solved and how we did so.

I'd definitely add a "monthly update" to my to-do list regardless of whether I led a VC-backed or bootstrapped company.