1. Company Name Board Meeting Place Date Time Tip: Avoid Dial in number and make people show up
2. Agenda Board Business Finance & Admin Update Business Update CEO Update Functional Update StrategyBrainstorming Closing January 19, 2010 2
3. Board Business Previous Meeting Minutes Resolutions Options grants Tip: describe who hiring and why, include a cap table and an ongoing analysis of usage Secret tip – always have an option usage forecast in the back so board knows status of option pool Other Issues January 19, 2010 3
4. Business Dashboard Key Metrics Dashboard This slide should be EVERYTHING board needs to understand state of business Tip: They should be able to leave, zone out after this slide Agree on metrics, never change format List performance against plan, when necessary short commentary describing variances January 19, 2010 4
5. Finance – Current Month “Flash” Light summary of current month revenue/expenses vs. plan Explain variances at high level Light summary of next months revenue/expenses vs. plan Explain variances at high level Other Finance related accomplishments and admin items January 19, 2010 5
15. Business Update – Key Progress CEO update Key items that board should be aware of Accomplishments Challenges (HAVE CHALLENGES) Tip: focus on the challenges, wins take care of themselves January 19, 2010 8
16. Validation/Lessons vs. Key Assumptions For early stage startups only Outline 5-10 key assumptions about the business Focus on those that drive strategy, biz plan, investment thesis of board members, metrics, etc Chart progress, share leanings against them January 19, 2010 9
17. Business Function Updates Rotate functions for a deep dive each meeting Sales should always present Pipeline, key wins/losses, lessons, funnel analysis, etc Add in monthly rotation of other functional groups Product, marketing, engineering, operations, etc Or Customer Discovery, etc if you like those groups better Everyone should be as factual, data driven as possible Base presentation on state of business, area of focus, etc. January 19, 2010 10
18. Strategic Conversations/Brainstorming Have a series of strategic slides Keep them simple, not a McKinsey report Meant to drive dialog/brainstorming not a presentation Limit to 1-3 topics per meeting If you have a good board, focus 60%+ of board meeting energies here Why? Get their ideas, experiences Make sure board understands strategic questions Get buy in on key issues January 19, 2010 11
19. Closing Review Action Items Next Meeting Breakout session Committee meetings (audit, compensation) Board only session without management January 19, 2010 12
20. Appendix Financial Details P&L Balance Sheet Cap table Any other key financials Other Materials Marketing (competitive analysis, coverage, etc) Engineering (project plans, key wins) Sales (pipeline if not covered above) January 19, 2010 13