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Board Deck Templates for Startups
The document is a guide for seed-stage startups on creating effective board decks, offering templates and tips from Next View Ventures. It emphasizes the importance of clear communication regarding major issues and housekeeping topics during board meetings, while also providing a structure for the content of the deck. The resource aims to simplify the process for founders and help them gain valuable insights from their boards.
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Board Deck Templates for Startups
- 1. FOR SEED-STAGE STARTUPS BOARDDECK! TEMPLATES! C u s t o m i z a b l e S l i d e s & Ti p s f ro m t h e V C s a t
- 2. *Nominee, Most ObviousStatement Ever Award Growing a startup is ridiculously hard.!*
- 3. Despite how youpicture it…!
- 4. Despite how youpicture it…! reality inevitably sets in.!
- 5. Fundraising As a founder, you’reconstantly thinking about!
- 6. Fundraising As a founder, you’reconstantly thinking about! Team
- 7. Fundraising As a founder, you’reconstantly thinking about! Team Product
- 8. Fundraising As a founder, you’reconstantly thinking about! Team Product Customers
- 9. Fundraising As a founder, you’reconstantly thinking about! Team Product Customers Culture
- 10. Fundraising As a founder, you’reconstantly thinking about! Team Product Customers Culture Marketing
- 11. Fundraising As a founder, you’reconstantly thinking about! Team Product Customers Culture Marketing Sales
- 12. Fundraising As a founder, you’reconstantly thinking about! Team Product Customers Culture Marketing Sales
- 13. As a founder, you’reconstantly thinking about! ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING
- 14. No matter whichway you turn, there’s more to think about.!
- 15. And right whenthe weight feels manageable!
- 16. And right whenthe weight feels manageable! More Gets Added
- 17. So let’s removeat least one small weight right now.!
- 18.
- 19. Founders ask aboutthis a surprising amount.! ! !
- 20. Founders ask aboutthis a surprising amount.! ! We should know. We work with them.! !
- 21. Founders ask aboutthis a surprising amount.! ! We should know. We work with them.! (Lots of them, and they’re great.) !
- 22. Founders ask aboutthis a surprising amount.! ! We should know. We work with them.! (Lots of them, and they’re great.) ! And review their board decks.!
- 23. Founders ask aboutthis a surprising amount.! ! We should know. We work with them.! (Lots of them, and they’re great.) ! And review their board decks.! (Lots of them, and they’re great.) mostly ^
- 24. As a quick aside,“we” are N e x t V i e w V e n t u r e s We’re a seed- stage VC in Boston with one mission...
- 25. Help founders give theircompanies the BEST POSSIBLE
- 26. So, rather than youstressing over everything AND building board decks, !
- 27. So, rather than youstressing over everything AND building board decks, here’s a template you can use to avoid starting from scratch…!
- 28. As a headsup:! !
- 29. As a headsup:! !This template is part of our “Growth Guides” series.
- 30. As a headsup:! !This template is part of our “Growth Guides” series. These are resources to help startups get more done. (Find more at ViewFromSeed.com, under Startup Resources.)
- 31. Download Your Templates! ! (It’s free.No form to fill out. No marketing to follow.)! Get My Slides Now
- 32. FOR SEED-STAGE STARTUPS BOARDDECK! TEMPLATES! C u s t o m i z a b l e S l i d e s & Ti p s f ro m t h e V C s a t
- 33. A few thingsto keep in mind to put this deck to proper use for your startup: • Use these slides to make board deck creation simpler and easier. While each situation is different, we included the key pieces you should use, along with our opinions on what makes a great board deck. Use this directionally, but don’t simply copy/paste this resource. • This was built for seed-stage startups. It’s not intended for use by later-stage startups but rather younger companies who have just raised their first round of funding. • For some sections, we’ve offered multiple options to select. We’ve used green splats (shown below) to indicate when one section has multiple options to choose from. Be sure to delete the options you don’t use. How to Use This Resource 1 Option 1 Lee Hower Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures Throughout this resource, my partners and I offer some light commentary and opinions via these sticky notes. You’ll find them along the margins of a given slide.
- 34. Growth Guides arepart of NextView’s series of seed-stage resources intended to help founders and their teams get more done. This series includes tactical playbooks and templates such as this one. Visit ViewFromSeed.com for more. Our goal in creating Growth Guides is to help startups make progress more quickly and more confidently, so we make strong recommendations for how, exactly, one should execute. We espouse the belief that it’s better to be done than perfect as you launch, learn, and iterate on your startup. About Growth Guides About NextView Ventures We’re a seed-stage venture capital firm investing in internet and mobile startups in primarily Boston and New York (though we invest throughout the US). Co-founders and partners Rob Go (eBay, Spark Capital), David Beisel (About.com, Venrock), and Lee Hower (LinkedIn, Point Judith Capital) focus exclusively on seed in order to better fulfill the firm’s mission, which is also the mission of this Growth Guide: Help founders give their companies the best possible start.
- 35. 1 Board Decks101 Understanding the Basics
- 36. Important Board DeckBasics Content q Generally speaking, a good board deck is divided into housekeeping and major issues/ topics. q 20-30% of your meeting time should be housekeeping (at most). These are general updates that the board should know about or need to quickly discuss/approve. q 50%+ of your meeting time should be major issues. These are the 1-3 key obstacles, priorities, or initiatives at your company that require more in-depth discussion. q Your deck should include more than you plan to discuss in person, especially as your company scales and more data can be reported. The expectation is for all parties to read the deck in advance. As such, your deck is not a presentation aid but a more complete document that can be read and understood without much commentary. Design q Keep things simple. Decks should be presentable, clean, and clear, but don’t agonize over beauty. Your board wants to focus on forward progress, not scrutinize your slide design. q Many directors and observers prefer all information sent in one file, so be sure to include screen shots from any spreadsheets or product mockups/features you’ll discuss. q It’s best to send via PDF, but if you have to send via PowerPoint for some reason, use basic fonts and slide dimensions that all PPT versions and operating systems can cleanly read. Remember to circulate your deck 1-2 days in advance.
- 37.
- 38. Board Discussion OverTime Seed Round Series A Series B Pre-Product Product-Market Fit Revenue Scale 1 2 3 4 65 1. Product direction; key first hire(s); early discussion on Series A 2. Go-to-market plans for product 3. Product-market fit data/traction; Series A fundraise 4. Sales and marketing (process, value prop language, hiring, etc.) 5. Sales and marketing pipeline; product improvements; Series B fundraise 6. Efficiencies; vertical growth; channels Lee Hower Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures The major issues should be the bulk of the agenda time. Topics usually depend on the stage of the startup. This slide is a rough approximation of how the topics might change.
- 39. 2 Templates toUse Building Your Deck
- 40. Option 1: Full SlideDeck Lee Hower Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures Since the goal is to eventually scale into a larger business, at which point you more or less have to create board decks, I advise founders to start early and create full decks, even if they’ll be lean early on.
- 41. BOARD MEETING! MM.DD.YY! Company Logo DavidBeisel Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures While you should feel free to use some unique branding and layout of your own, don’t spend tons of time designing and re-designing your board deck. The goal is clarity.
- 42. 1 Housekeeping &Board Updates! 2 High-Level Progress Dashboard! 3 Team Update! 4 Current Priorities/Major Issues! Agenda!
- 43. 1 Item! • Contextif needed! 2 Item • Context if needed! 3 Item • Context if needed! Housekeeping!
- 44. Examples of Housekeeping 1. Finance (often included in dashboard) 1. Cash out date and burn 2. 409A valuation 3. Cap tables 4. Common/preferred stock dashboard 2. Hiring (use dedicated slides early on) 1. Current org chart 2. Openings and request for help 3. Office and Logistics 1. Potential moves and cost (rent + $/sq.ft. + lease length) 2. Insurance, healthcare, legal, and other service providers 4. Meeting Minutes 1. Approve last meeting’s minutes (if in use) Remove This Slide Rob Go Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures “Housekeeping” doesn’t mean “not important.” Finance is critical – it just appears on a recurring basis. Same with hiring, which fluctuates i n v o l u m e a n d u r g e n c y .
- 45. Finance! • Cash: $N! • Burn Rate: $N! • Runway: X-Y months (worst case, assuming no revenue contribution)! Product! • Key Update #1! • Key Update #2! • Key Update #3! Other Core Metrics*! • Key Update #1! • Key Update #2! • Key Update #3! *as needed for your specific business! Other Core Metrics*! • Key Update #1! • Key Update #2! • Key Update #3! Option 1Progress Dashboard! David Beisel Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures Finance updates should report similar data each meeting. Product should be ever-changing, but as a post-seed fundraise startup, you’re urgently seeking product-market fit.
- 46. KPIs! • Product: Descriptionof project.! • Biz Dev: Description of project.! • Sales/Marketing: Description of project.! • Ops: Description of project.! • Team: Description of project.! Option 2Progress Dashboard! Last Month This Month Next (Projected) KPI #1 X Y Z KPI #2 X Y Z KPI #3 X Y Z Lee Hower Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures There are many metrics you can and should report, but these change depending on your business and growth stage. Be sure to get your board’s input on important metrics. Top Projects!
- 47. Team Update! Amy Co-Founder, CEO Bob Co-Founder, CTO Matt Lead Developer Tyler WebDeveloper Jim Sales Manager (Next Hire) Demand-Gen Marketer (Intern Hire) Graphic Designer Lee Hower Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures This can go in the front or back of the deck. I prefer front because it’s easier to get through quickly and focus the rest of the discussion on the 1-2 most important issues.
- 48. Team Compensation! Name! Role!Base Salary! Equity! Start Date! Amy ! CEO! $XK! $X%! M/D/Y! Bob! Head of Product! $XK! $X%! M/D/Y! Matt! Lead Developer! $XK! $X%! M/D/Y! Tyler! Web Developer! $XK! $X%! M/D/Y! Jim! Sales Manager! $XK! $X%! M/D/Y! TBD Hire! Demand-Gen Marketer! To approve:! $XK! To approve:! $X%! M/D/Y! TBD Intern! Graphic Designer! $XK! (small to none)! M/D/Y! Rob Go Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures Particularly for seed-stage startups, when every employee represents a large percent of the team, it’s important to get the board’s quick approval on new hire compensation.
- 49. About the NextSection The following 3 slides are for Current Priorities. There are countless factors that alter the specifics of your Current Priorities slide, both in terms of content and layout. Because of this, we decided against proposing a single template version. Instead, we’ve included 3 different versions across specific situations: 1. A pre-launch startup. 2. A post-launch, pre-revenue consumer mobile startup. 3. And an early-revenue SaaS startup. These are illustrative only! They’ve been vetted by the partners at NextView and thus can be used to get a general sense of direction and level of detail, but DO NOT simply copy and paste them into your own deck. Remove This Slide
- 50. Current Priorities! Pre- Launch Startup 1 Design,build, and ship initial product! ! 2 Identify alpha customers/users! ! 3 Collect and analyze feedback! • Improve feedback loop time/yield! David Beisel Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures If your product is pre-launch, focus on the biggest possible levers to pull, and don’t invent priorities for the sake of the board meeting. Good investors know how raw this can be.
- 51. Current Priorities! Early B2C Mobile 1 Userengagement by cohort! • Day 1, Day 7, Day 30! 2 Acquisition channels! • Early results by channel! • Planned experiments! • Target/new partnerships! 3 Initial app updates! • Viral features!
- 52. Current Priorities! Early- Revenue SaaS 1 Determineideal/target customer persona! 2 Accelerate customer acquisition! • Hire/train sales leadership/BDRs! • Top of Funnel: Double down on top lead-gen channels! • Middle of Funnel: Optimize conversion rates via email, website! • Watch revenue churn closely! 3 Product enhancements to meet customer requirements
- 53. Key Concerns/Help Wanted! 1 Concern/request #1! 2 Concern/request #2! 3 Concern/request #3! Lee Hower Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures It’s crucial to be as transparent as possible early on. It both sets the tone for your board relationship and helps you gain valuable advice and support. Early board meetings aren’t s i m p l y i n v e s t o r u p d a t e s .
- 54. Option 2: Running List RobGo Co-Founder & Partner NextView Ventures This approach helps you avoid overly formalized slides while keeping your board current on the business and the most pressing needs and priorities. Because the doc can be marked by all parties, it helps CEOs and board members have a productive, iterative discussion rather than a one-way information dump.
- 55. About the NextSection Some seed-stage startups opt not to send slides. In fact, some investors prefer this approach. Instead of a full deck, you can opt to compile a running log of important updates, with a summary at the top, for investors to read and/or print. In some cases, your board may opt to annotate different sections before the meeting and flag various topics to discuss or clarify further. Imagine the next few slides were one scrolling doc. (Microsoft Word, Google Doc, etc.) Note that multiple board meetings can be contained in the same doc, with the most recent placed at the top. Remove This Slide
- 56. (Company Name) BoardMeeting! MM.DD.YY.! High Level Summary! ! ! ! Summarize some of the major progress made and/or challenges uncovered. Include both positives and negatives for a more productive board conversation – especially critical in the seed stage.! ! • You should also include 3-5 important bullets for certain critical updates and data points.! ! ! (Create in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.) Option 1 (delete this) Option 2 (delete this) Highlights & Big Wins! ! • List a few major accomplishments and/or data points showing positive traction.! ! Challenges & Setbacks! ! • List a few disappointments or difficulties. Plan to discuss these candidly, ask for help, and review strategies for overcoming these together with your board.! ! !
- 57. Housekeeping !! ! (Refer toprevious section on housekeeping for ideas of what should be included.)! • Item 1: context! • Item 2: context! • Item 3: context! ! Core Metrics !! ! Metric Name (e.g. Monthly Active Users) ! ! Explain the data in a few short sentences above a screen shot of relevant charts, graphs, or tables. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (Include 3-5 similar sections – one per metric – depending on the specifics of your business, your goals, and your current KPIs.)! !
- 58. Product Roadmap! ! 1. Milestone#1! 1. Context if needed! 2. Milestone #2! 1. Context if needed! 3. Milestone #3! 1. Context if needed! ! ! Hiring! ! • Recent hires: (job functions)! • New openings: (job functions)! • Recent departures: (if any)! ! ! Current Priorities/Discussion! ! 1. Major Issue #1: (Include a few sentences to describe it.)! 2. Major Issue #1: (Include a few sentences to describe it.)! 3. Major Issue #1: (Include a few sentences to describe it.)! !
- 59. Burn, Budget, andRunway! ! ! ! Link to a Google spreadsheet you use to track finances.! ! (This section will be a recurring item in each board meeting, so linking to a shared spreadsheet is an easy way to provide this information. In most cases, this will be an FYI more than a discussion point.)! ! ! ! ! Cash: $N! Burn Rate: $N! Runway: X-Y months (worst case, assuming no revenue contribution)! ! ! Key Concerns/Help Wanted! ! • Item #1! • Item #2! • Item #3! ! ! * * *! ! Option 1 (delete this) Option 2 (delete this)
- 60. GET MORE RESOURCES, ADVICE& INSIGHTS FOR S E E D - S TA G E S TA RT U P S • Visit ViewFromSeed.com! • Follow @NextViewVC!