3 Lessons from A VC on Managing Calendars & Saying No

Has any person in history ever said, “I wish I had more meetings, conference calls and my oh my it would be lovely if I could receive just a few more emails a day?” 

I certainly haven’t found one. While we all suffer this communication pain, I’d hazard a guess to say being a VC investor may turbo charge these issues. Here’s the truth: being a VC and PE investor is AMAZING. We literally get to fund dreams for a living, create jobs, watch visionary entrepreneurs succeed, learn from them when they fail, and ultimately determine which companies we want to exist in the world by giving them the lifeblood they need to survive, capital. 

Yet, there is one thing about being an investor that no one tells you. When you give away money by investing for a living, everyone who is or has ever dreamed of being an entrepreneur becomes your new best bud. OPM – other people’s money does that to you. After a speaking event, I always joke that I’m not popular or special, I just have a checkbook. 

In a manner of speaking, we VC’s get paid to meet people and take meetings. We are always on the hunt for promising companies and competing to back them. However, that means we are kissing ALL the frogs. We invest in less than 1% of the companies we look at, probably far less.

That means if my company, Entourage Effect Capital, has invested in 64 companies we have met with at least 6400 companies. Then imagine we also have to be meeting with LP’s, (investors) who by and large, you have to meet with 7 times before they invest. Thus if we have 250 LPs then we have had 1,750 meetings with investors, and that is if you close every investor you meet with. Sadly, I’m not that good… yet. 

And you thought your weekly team meeting is bad, right? So, this holiday I said, no more. I am getting a handle on my calendar. Thus, I went down a rabbit hole, and after reading 26 articles on time blocking, calendar management, email inbox management and not letting other people dictate your entire life… this is what I found out and am implementing. I hope it serves you. If you have any ideas to add, please send them my way!

1) Eliminate to Win 

You simply cannot take all meetings, and to save yourself a world of hurt you MUST better at which ones you select. This is horribly uncomfortable for me. I love helping people (which is why I write all of this). I hate saying no to giving people my time as it seems like a free commodity to give, until it’s not. Once you realize this, you have won the first battle. You then need to create or find a screening process that keeps you honest. I implemented a process whereby I and my team know how to screen calls and meetings in a way that works for me. 

To screen which calls I take, my team asks themselves these questions and they push me to ask them too (thanks LJ!):

1. Method - Can it be handled by email? If so, then do that.
2. Need - Is it a company I’m really interested in, we can absolutely learn something from, and/or we would invest in? If not – politely decline (templates for how below).
3. Outsource - Can I outsource the call to a more relevant team member, provider, or other contact?
4. Prioritize - Investor calls and our portfolio companies get priority above all else. If I don’t say what is important, someone else will do it for me. 
5. No 1st Intro In-Person - No non-investor introductory meetings. If I don’t know you or have a direct need for a meeting to support our effort, I might take a call if relevant, but I won’t meet with you. Instead, let’s first do a 10-minute intro call. HOLD FAST on 10 minutes with opportunity for another call.
6. Length - Is the meeting length necessary? I’ve started pushing for 15 or 45 minute meetings instead of 30 or 60 minute meetings. 
7. Group calls - If not useful to me, then drop off.
8. Reoccurring calls – Really ponder the necessity of these. If not, have the tough conversation. An awkward conversation is a good price to pay for the limited resource that is your time.

2) Say No Politely and Frequently 

Here are best templates that I have pulled from others and tailored for myself. I keep them in a template folder easily accessible for copy and pasting.

When the meeting doesn’t match my current objectives (From First Round):

Hi Bill,

Great to hear from you. Hope all is well. Fortunately, our firm is really starting to take off, and I’m under extreme pressure to deliver against some ambitious goals. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to connect right now.

Best,

Codie

For a company we won’t invest in: 

Hi Susan,

Great to hear from you. Hope all is well. Unfortunately, you are (too early/in wrong sector/etc) for us to invest in and don’t fit our thesis, but we wish you all the best!

Best,

Codie

Request Denial Reminders:

1. They may respond prodding you, Good for them! I love persistence. But I also love when someone doesn’t waste my time by letting me believe there is an opportunity when there is not. No need to respond again, you’ve responded once. 
2. Cold emails do not always have to be answered. In fact, they probably shouldn’t. It’s the same as phone calls, telemarketers, and people at the door. You not responding doesn’t mean you don’t like the person; it just means they are not a top priority. You are saving them by not wasting their time. 

How to block calls and use your calendar:

I don't joke when I say, if it is not on my calendar, then it is not getting done. My fiancée finds this quite obnoxious, but there is too much in my head to add keeping a mental calendar to it. Literally everything is on my calendar: When I work, when I eat, my habits, meetings, routines, etc. My calendar is the “GPS” for me to hit my goals. Here’s how I set it out:

1. Two days a week I allow for calls scheduled back to back 
2. Two days in each city for meetings and no more unless scheduled meetings back to back and can fill day entirely 
3. Include buffers between meetings (10-15 minutes to allow for overflow)

Schedule allowance:

• Monday and Fridays are for phone calls, Tuesday is a flex day for phone calls if absolutely need be, and always make sure they are scheduled after our portfolio operations call
• Tuesday and Thursday are for work travel - try to not travel Monday or Friday, use those as office days
• No calls on travel days (too much can go wrong)
• No phone calls before 11am unless it's a big investor
• Time allotment - Investor calls 30 minutes, new intro call 10-15 minutes, new portfolio company call 15 minutes, and follow up call w/ anyone 30 minutes
• Don't cc me on any back and forth to schedule a meting w/ person (always offer multiple times in first connect for meeting)
• Podcasts get one hour that is it, screen podcasts prior to insure correct fit
• Do not plan anything with a time conflict
• All engagements should color coded
• Review my calendar every Sunday night to prepare for the week prior

3) Prep Properly

Prior to any call or meetings, you must make sure you have time to prep and can maximize it. There is nothing worse than a meeting that could have been a one and done but turned into multiple because someone was unprepared. 

• Every single call should have an agenda even if it is only one or two lines and it is put on your calendar. The goal for the call should be properly listed including items to cover, and on the call stick to it.

How to prep for each week:

• Each night plan for the next day and review agenda in advance, pull together the resources prior for any meetings or calls 
• Every Friday, review calendar and ask yourself how you spent your time during the previous seven days. Then on Sunday, look at the coming week and consider how you want to spend your time. Full disclosure: I am not great at this yet, and I would say I hit it about 50% of the time.
• Put all activities on calendar: workouts (yoga am, muay thai pm), schedule investor outreach and scheduling times, and schedule research reading and writing times. I find it critical to schedule my workouts or else that sneaky willpower of mine goes for a run instead of me. 
• Implement a monthly focus day where your whole day is blocked to do more intense work.

Now here’s the real secret, TRY to actually do this above. I promise to hold you accountable if you return the favor. A

After all, we wouldn’t let someone else tell us our priorities in life. Why do we let them tell us our priorities day to day? 

Codie Sanchez - Entourage Effect Capital

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