No One Reads Your Board Package

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  Dana OshiroPart-time Partner
  Heavybit

Most founders in early stage companies have poured over their board packages only to find that one or two directors simply haven’t read them. In the eyes of Acompli CEO Javier Soltero, the reason isn’t that you aren’t important — it’s that you’re not treating them as partners in building your business.

“In an early stage company, the appeal to investors is the idea that not every question is answered.” Says Soltero, “They’re interested not only that they can contribute, but frankly, that they’ll be present at the time that those questions get answered.”

In a recent Heavybit presentation Soltero offered some advice to startups about setting board expectations and creating a relationship where board meetings are a key time to collaborate.

Says the seasoned entrepreneur, “Investors want to help. Enlist their help in a journey/project and have work for them to do.”

In essence, don’t just come to a board meeting with a checklist of all the things you’ve done. Soltero suggests that founders forgo large board packages and instead, offer a short agenda and two to three serious questions to help set the tone of the next quarter. He offered his top three tips for board meetings in an earlier post. For the full Heavybit presentation, check out our library.