Report Template

The format for periodic progress reports to Cube Incubation. Copy this page, fill it in, and file it under reports/ with a dated slug.

Cube has not specified a required format, so this is designed rather than mandated. If they send a template later, use theirs and keep this as the source of the content.

How to use it

1. Copy the skeleton at the bottom of this page into src/content/docs/reports/YYYY-MM-<slug>.md.
2. Fill it in. Numbers come from Metrics — do not invent them.
3. Add it to the Reports group in astro.config.mjs.
4. Keep the previous report unedited. A report is a record of what you believed at a point in time, not a living document. Corrections go in the next report, not by rewriting the last one.

Write it in one sitting

A monthly report should take under an hour once the metrics exist. If it is taking a day, the report is doing work that a dashboard should do — go automate the numbers instead.

The sections

1. Header

Period, date filed, who prepared it, who it is for. Trivial but it makes the archive usable two years from now.

2. Executive summary

Three to five sentences. If the reader stops here, what must they know? Lead with the single most important thing that changed, not with a list of activity.

Write this section last, after the rest is filled in.

3. Status at a glance

One table: the headline metrics with this period’s value, last period’s value, and the delta. No commentary — commentary goes in section 5.

This is the section that gets read. Keep it to eight rows or fewer.

4. Progress against plan

What you said you would do last period, and what actually happened. Three columns: committed, outcome, note.

Report the misses

The temptation is to list only what shipped. An incubator that only ever hears good news learns nothing about you and cannot help. A missed milestone with an honest reason is more useful to them than three hit ones — and it is how you find out whether they have someone who can unblock you.

5. What changed, in prose

Two or three paragraphs on the substance. What did you learn, not just what did you build. Discoveries that changed the plan belong here.

6. Financials

Spend this period, burn rate, runway in months, and any change to the funding position. If there is no spend yet, say so — a zero with a reason is a real data point.

7. Risks and blockers

The top three, from the risk register. For each: what it is, what changed this period, and what you are doing about it. Do not re-list the whole register every month — only what moved.

8. Asks

The section founders skip and incubators most want. Be specific and small. “Intros to anyone doing alternative data in Istanbul” beats “help with growth.” Name the person, the skill, the introduction, the amount.

If you genuinely need nothing this period, write one line saying so. Do not pad it.

9. Next period

What you are committing to, in a form that can be marked hit or missed next time. Vague commitments make the next report unwritable.

Three to five items maximum. More than that and you are describing a wish list rather than a plan.

The skeleton

---
title: Progress Report — <Month Year>
description: <one sentence on the period's headline>
---

**Period:** <YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD>
**Filed:** <YYYY-MM-DD>
**Prepared by:** <name>
**For:** Cube Incubation

## Executive summary

<3-5 sentences. The single most important thing first.>

## Status at a glance

| Metric | This period | Last period | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days of data history | | | |
| Sources live | | | |
| Roadmap phase | | | |
| Capabilities shipped | | | |
| Licensing stage | | | |
| Monthly spend | | | |
| Runway (months) | | | |

## Progress against plan

| Committed last period | Outcome | Note |
|---|---|---|
| | | |

## What changed

<Prose. What you learned, not only what you built.>

## Financials

| | |
|---|---|
| Spend this period | |
| Burn rate (monthly) | |
| Runway | |
| Funding position | |

## Risks and blockers

**1. <Risk>** — <what changed, what you are doing>

**2. <Risk>** — <what changed, what you are doing>

**3. <Risk>** — <what changed, what you are doing>

## Asks

- <Specific, small, nameable>

## Next period

1. <Committed, and checkable next month>
2.
3.

What makes these reports worth writing

The reports are for Cube, but the archive is for you. Twelve of these is a record of what you believed each month and whether you were right — which is the only honest way to calibrate your own estimates.

That only works if you resist two temptations: rewriting old reports to look better, and reporting activity instead of outcomes. Hours worked is activity. Days of history collected is an outcome.

Next

• Metrics — what to measure and where each number comes from
• Baseline Report — the first one, already written
• What To Do Next — where next period’s commitments come from