Acing Your First Start-up Board Meeting: Board Deck Tips
You’ve worked day and night getting your start-up off the ground and have been fortunate enough to attract investors who have funded your start-up, who now have a seat on your board of directors. Now comes a big milestone: your first board meeting with investor directors. You want to impress them and reinforce their decision to make an investment in your start-up. But how do you pull together a deck that wows without overwhelming them? The key is crafting a clear narrative that quickly gets to the point. In this article, we’ll walk through best practices for creating a compelling board deck — from outlines to visuals — so you can ace that presentation with confidence. With the right preparation, your first board meeting will be a success.
Understanding the Purpose of a Board Deck
The first board meeting with your investors is a big deal. This is your chance to make a great impression and set the right tone for an effective working relationship. Think of your board deck as your opportunity to bring everyone up to speed and make sure you’re all on the same page regarding the company’s vision, priorities, challenges, and key metrics. Your board is there to oversee your company’s operations, and even the most committed board members can’t be as hands-on as your internal team. The directors also have a duty to act in the best interest of your start-up and make fully informed decisions when acting on certain corporate actions. An informative yet concise board deck helps calibrate them so they can provide advice and guidance, and ultimately act in the best interest of your start-up and your stockholders.
When preparing your board deck, take a step back and look at your company objectively. How are you executing against your strategic plans? What’s working? What needs to improve? Where do you need help? Discuss how you’ll leverage your board’s experience and expertise.
A typical board deck includes:
- A CEO update on key highlights and challenges (and updates to the same in subsequent meetings).
- Key metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs), and financials (including cash runway) to track progress and funding needs.
- Any risks or obstacles you need help overcoming.
- Your priorities and goals for the next quarter.
- Specific areas where you need advice or input, e.g., hiring, partnerships, product roadmap.
- A list of items that the board will be voting on at the meeting.
Keep the deck focused yet comprehensive. Share it well in advance (at least a few days) so members come prepared. Your first board meeting is a chance to set the right cadence and make the most of your board’s collective wisdom. With the proper context and focus, your directors will be equipped to guide your start-up to new heights.
Creating an Effective Board Deck Structure
Include an agenda slide. Open your board deck with an agenda slide outlining the key topics and goals for the meeting. This helps set the right context and ensures all board members have the same expectations going in. Refer back to the agenda throughout the meeting to keep everyone on track.
Focus on the big picture. Give a high-level update on major developments (and updates since the last meeting for subsequent meetings) and your key challenges ahead where you need guidance. Keep this high-level — you’ll dive into details later.
Dig into key metrics and milestones. Share progress on key performance indicators like user growth, customer traction, customer retention, revenue, hiring, product development, and recurring expenses. Compare these to your targets and budget, and discuss if you need to make any course corrections.
Outline your strategies going forward. Discuss your short- and long-term research and development, hiring, marketing, and growth strategies. Get feedback on what’s working and how to improve. The outside perspectives can be invaluable.
Designate time for open discussion. Leave room and designate a slot in the agenda for an open Q&A (at the end of each segment, at the end of the meeting, or both) where board members can ask follow-up questions or discuss other topics not covered in the deck. This will allow you to keep the meeting organized and run the meeting on time. Some of the most valuable insights can come from these open discussions, and allowing time for these discussions in the agenda will prevent meetings from going past the allotted time.
Focus on minimalism and KPIs. Limit each slide to one key message or relevant KPI. Don’t crowd the slides with too much text or multiple ideas. Use large font sizes, minimal text, and lots of white space.
Use visuals. Incorporate charts, graphs, images and graphics to bring your key points to life. Visualizing data and concepts helps board members absorb the information faster (e.g., red, yellow and green colors to indicate significant setbacks, delays or completion of goals, respectively). Avoid complicated charts that require explanation. Your goal is to share insights, not confuse people.
Maintain a consistent theme. Use the same slide layout, font, and color palette throughout the deck. This helps create flow and cohesion, allowing board members to focus on the content rather than the design. While color can be useful for highlighting or categorization, having too many colors on one slide is chaotic and distracting. Stick to a simple color palette with accent colors used sparingly.
Highlight key terms. Use bolding, color, or increased font size to draw attention to important words, statistics, or phrases on each slide. This helps ensure the most significant points stand out.
Include a summary slide. End your data presentation with a high-level summary of your key findings and takeaways. Reiterate what’s going well, where improvements are needed, and your recommendations or requests for guidance. This helps ensure everyone leaves with the same key messages.
Lastly, and importantly, share your deck with your advisors. (Make sure the advisors are under confidentiality obligations first, of course!) Your advisors may have helpful feedback on your board presentation from their years of either preparing these themselves or serving as directors in other companies. Your lawyers can also identify where you need to hold a formal vote of the directors and prepare appropriate board resolutions ahead of time.
With the right preparation and structure, your board meeting will be a productive one. Focus the discussion, share key details, outline your strategies, and make room for open discussion. By leveraging your board’s experience and guidance, you’ll make progress on overcoming obstacles and reach new heights. The effort you put in will pay off many times over.
Conclusion
So there you have it — some tips for creating a stellar board deck that will wow your directors. Remember, a board deck isn’t just about the numbers. It’s your chance to tell a compelling story and showcase your vision and your ability to see the big picture, not just the technical details of your business. Now get out there, create an awesome deck, and ace that board meeting!
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