Preparing for your First Board Meeting

Getting ready for your first board meeting as a startup founder can be intimidating but there are several best practices that will make it easier and less stress-inducing.

1. Prepare the following and send to all board meeting participants 24-48 hours before the scheduled meeting time: Big 3 financial reports; brief narratives for major areas of focus including sales, product, finance, HR/ talent, marketing; and an executive summary from the CEO. Let's call this the board packet. You can also include verbiage that states this information will be referenced but not reviewed in detail during the meeting. Keep reading for an explanation why that verbiage can be helpful...
2. I don't find agendas to be super important as long as you follow a similar structure as the one below but feel free to publish one if you want. After your first meeting, some boards will require the presentation of previous board meeting minutes at this point... your mileage may vary...
3. Open the meeting with a recap of the Executive Summary- major headlines with a little color and detail; do not recap every detail of the business since the last meeting. Resist the temptation to bring in multiple team members to present information individually. This usually offers lower value than you might realize and it just makes meetings longer by opening tangential discussions about inconsequential minutiae.
4. Ask board members if they have any questions or items they wish to BRIEFLY discuss about the board packet you sent before the meeting.
5. Ask the board members for input on 1-3 things you're currently trying to solve for or develop. Limit this to items the board has worthwhile expertise or perspectives to offer. Don't ask just to ask...
6. Open the discussion for any additional questions or topics the board would like to briefly discuss.
7. Take any formal votes that are required. Consent items can usually be handled virtually.
8. Recap action items, due dates or any other deliverables discussed or determined during the board meeting.
9. Some boards require minutes to be taken or audio recording of the meeting. Prepare accordingly.
10. Adjourn

If done correctly and with brevity in mind, most board meetings should take no longer than 60 minutes. How you conduct your first board meeting will set the expectations for future meetings and can influence behavior of the board members and other attendees. Make sure you are prepared and in command of the meeting.

Not all board members come prepared or pre-read the materials. Resist the temptation to compensate for this. If they want you to recite the materials already provided or ask questions that were clearly answered in the board packet, ask if you can set up a one-on-one meeting to discuss after the board meeting. It's more than fair for a founder to hold their board accountable to be prepared and helpful.

During that one-on-one you can constructively show them where that information was provided in the board packet and ask if there was information not provided in the packet that they believe would have been worthwhile. In my experience, this approach tends to modify behaviors and limit unhelpful resurgence in the future.

Over time, you will customize this framework in partnership with your board and their feedback. That's healthy and ultimately creates a worthwhile and valuable experience for everyone involved.