We believe working sessions can be very useful when seed stage companies are just getting started. These are jam sessions where we go deep on a big challenge. We prefer this format instead of moving prematurely to stuffy board meetings. Board meetings too often turn into reports where founders seek approval, whereas working sessions are a conversation for collaborators to solve problems.

Ideally, we ask founders to send an overview e-mail a few days in advance of the session so everyone can come prepared with tactical advice, potential intros, send over relevant articles in advance etc. The template below can be used as a guide.

<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/fe9c9ae3-fa71-4072-8263-87c16bdcca8c/Screen_Shot_2021-02-19_at_11.22.09_AM.png" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/fe9c9ae3-fa71-4072-8263-87c16bdcca8c/Screen_Shot_2021-02-19_at_11.22.09_AM.png" width="40px" /> Remember - working sessions are the founder's time to use as they see fit. If there is nothing to cover, consider shortening or cancelling the meeting. This is not a standing meeting or a required read out. It’s a tactical tool to clear through a roadblock with investor input.

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General advice for investor updates and working session agendas:

• Be concise
• Use bullet points
• Plain text emails are fine
• Include any attachments that might help support the discussion
• Follow up after the working session with action items and owners

💡Define Success

Choose a single success metric that will drive the meeting. Agreeing on it upfront will ensure everyone is pushing in the same direction during your time together.

• After this working session we will have:
  • Figured out X,
  • Decided that Y is the right milestone for us to hit,
  • Agreed we need to hire someone with a background like Z

📝 Context Load

<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/be1a2c09-a7f2-4643-895d-458507c3faa6/Screen_Shot_2021-02-19_at_11.22.09_AM.png" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/be1a2c09-a7f2-4643-895d-458507c3faa6/Screen_Shot_2021-02-19_at_11.22.09_AM.png" width="40px" /> I'm not in the business day to day, so the founders will always have more context than I have about the state of the business. If I don't come in pre-loaded with context (through updates, metrics, etc) then my feedback is more of a guess in the dark.

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• Each uncertainty usually has additional background context that you can share ahead of time so you don't waste valuable meeting time on items that could've been handled asynchronously.
• Include off-the-shelf info that is relevant or provide a synthesis as well as direct links to pertinent data sources.