Bored by Board Prep? Four Ways to Turn the Time Suck into a Superpower
Founders have so many priorities and action items and prepping for a Board meeting or writing a monthly update can seem like another time suck. After 3 early stage Board meetings in 2 weeks, I have a ton of empathy for the pressure on Founders around the trying to placate various expectations and asks on data/financials/format.
Don’t do it for your investors… do it for you!
Get ahead of issues and ‘zoom out’ or you risk building fast in the wrong direction with limited support.
Here’s how the best founders I know architect board meetings:
⚡ Force the real priorities
➔ What 3 things actually move the needle this quarter?
If you can’t name them in a sentence, you’re doing too much.
Saying no isn’t optional. It’s survival.
⚡ Get strategic, not theatrical
➔ Don’t waste time reading slides out loud.
Use the room to stress-test your biggest bets—and to invite uncomfortable conversations.
Great founders don’t just report. They use their board to take risks and get support.
⚡ Use prep as pressure-testing
➔ The gold isn’t in the deck. It’s in the 48 hours you spend forcing yourself to articulate what’s working, what’s not, and what help you need.
⚡ Debrief and reset immediately
➔ Block 30 minutes right after the meeting.
Gut check: What changed? What’s off? What needs a course correction today?
Board meetings steal hours from your calendar. If you’re not getting sharper, you’re just burning time.
Enduring companies aren’t built by founders who do more… they are built by founders with relentless focus and constant iteration.
